Buttons hidden in plain sight
summary
Applies the Cognitive Dimensions framework to the 4diac IDE and reports concrete fixes found by lightweight developer walk‑throughs and user studies (roughly 3–10 participants per round). Finds 3x3 pixel connector dot is unusable, so it becomes a full hit area with hover feedback, attention‑flicker and a Ctrl‑hover connect mode — these changes noticeably reduce failures. Reimplements breadcrumb navigation, leaves invalid connections visible as errors instead of deleting them, and discovers ELK automated layout misoptimizes mixed connection types. Users request many specialized search modes.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Introduction
- 3:53Cognitive Dimensions overview
- 10:40Usability trade-offs
- 13:10Dogfooding importance
- 17:22Usability studies matter
- 21:55Lightweight usability studies
- 25:52Cognitive assessment lessons
- 31:56Key takeaways
- 32:37Q&A
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