Managing Complexity: Interface Design Approaches for Facets on the Web - Larry Lempert April 15, 2008
American Kennel Club breeds by group: Sporting (Retriever, Setter, Spaniel …) Hound (Beagle, Basset Hound, Greyhound …) Working (Boxer, Doberman Pinscher, Saint Bernard …) Terrier Toy Non-sporting Herding
Facets of Dogs Care (feeding, grooming, health …) Breeds Training Roles (pets, seeing-eye, bomb-sniffing …) Dogs on TV (Lassie, Rin Tin Tin … )
Advantages | Disadvantages Facets can … Allow combinations of concepts Present a variety of perspectives Align information with how users think, what users need Confuse, overwhelm users Lead to nowhere (null sets)
Key Issues Paradigms for use of facets in navigation and searching Role of full-text searching Options for displaying facets Multiple picks
Paradigms for Facets on the Web Browse Drill-down via integrated browse/search Advanced search with up-front mix and match
Options for Displaying Facets At what point are facets introduced? up front, after entry point, through search How much to show at once? all facets, some facets, some focuses How to enable selection? links, dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons