Monthly Archives: May 2011

The package managers we used had two main methods of interaction for installing software once the user has found it. In one paradigm, there is an install or un-install button provided, and the installation or un-installation begins immediately when the … Continue reading →

In what may come as no surprise, my tests with users confirmed the intuition that a less complicated interface was easier to use. In all cases, the users went for either search or category navigation as their first operation, and … Continue reading →

Before a user can use a package manager, they first have to find and run it. There were three locations in the interface that were used for this purpose: Listed as a regular application In the same area as regular … Continue reading →

In the open-source package managers I studied, there is typically a distinction between the person who develops a package (the developer) and the person who adds it to the package manager. (the packager) In package managers like Apple’s App Store, … Continue reading →