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Subject: 
Re: Am I the only person who finds Lego CAD systems infuriating?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto
Date: 
Wed, 31 Aug 2005 18:15:49 GMT
Viewed: 
3658 times
  
In lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto, Calum Tsang wrote:
> In lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto, Larry Pieniazek wrote:
> 
> > I stand by what I say, LDD is in my view harder to use, by far, than any of the
> > LDraw editors, at least for adults, and to equate them gives short shrift to the
> > LDraw editor programs.
> 
> I can't honestly say they're THAT much better.  I've had equal frustration with
> both the LDraw editors AND LDD. They're broken in different ways.
> 
> There's been a lot of effort made to repackage the LDraw tools to make them
> easier to install, to create tutorials, to add arcane new features.  And of
> course, as with any Lego AFOL operation, a good heap of administrivia and
> committees.  But none of it I've seen actually has helped the basic usability of
> these tools.

I think that by usability you actually mean learnability which is somewhat
different. I agree that most of the Ldraw CAD tools are not that easy to learn.
They do not have dedicated teams to make them so. I think that, at heart, CAD is
a difficult technique to teach people anyway. LDD is most definitely inferior in
its usability as you can do far less with it.

> If they are ever to capture more than the cult following of users, they'll need
> a true UCD analysis and with usability testing.  They'll also need to be
> directed by a set of goals dictated outside of the usual base of users.  Alas,
> I've never seen a piece of FOSS actually have that done.  As a result, the
> systems will continue to infuriate casual users like me.
> 
> Calum

Alas, many of the major tools are not FOSS so it is difficult to add to them. I
have a number of ideas which I think would add to MLCad and make it easier to
learn but they are unlikely to be added quickly.

Just my thoughts,

Tim



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Am I the only person who finds Lego CAD systems infuriating?
 
(...) Learnability is one aspect of usability. If you want to use Jakob Nielsen's definition: (URL) others, such as efficiency, memorability or satisfaction, I cannot comment on, I couldn't get past the first one. Error correction I have to say (...) (21 years ago, 1-Sep-05, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Am I the only person who finds Lego CAD systems infuriating?
 
(...) I can't honestly say they're THAT much better. I've had equal frustration with both the LDraw editors AND LDD. They're broken in different ways. There's been a lot of effort made to repackage the LDraw tools to make them easier to install, to (...) (21 years ago, 31-Aug-05, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)  

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