[R] R GUI For Which User?
Dan Putler
dputler at scu.edu
Thu Jul 11 20:11:50 CEST 2002
I also agree with Philippe Grosjean that there is a need to investigate the
effects of different types of GUIs on software "usability". To do that,
however, there is a need to develop a set of appropriate metrics, and to
understand that the appropriateness of a given metric (and ultimately a given
type of GUI) is likely to be conditional on the type of user.
My sense is that the heat of the rhetoric in this discussion is driven by
perceived differences in implicit metrics and student/user types. If I am
training students to become professional biostatisticians who will be
analyzing data from clinical drug trials, then my concerns (really the most
important metrics) relate to the ability of the student to do the most
complete and appropriate analysis possible in a way that can consistently be
replicated. In this instance, the most preferred user interface for teaching
these students is going to be a text editor or an IDE. On the otherhand, if
my students are MBAs who will ultimately be marketing managers, placing them
in a situation where they will be "customers" of statistical analyses rather
then analysts themselves, then my concerns and appropriate metrics are very
different. Specifically, I want to make these students informed buyers of
statistical analysis. The best way to make them informed about the process
of statistical analysis, and how to use the results of an analysis to make
better managerial decisions, is to have them actually conduct several
analyses and have them apply the results to a managerial problem in a
low-risk, classroom environment. However, in this sort of environment the
two things I want to accomplish are: (1) minimizing the time it takes them to
be able to conduct a usable (but likely imperfect) analysis and (2)
minimizing the frustration level they experience when working with the
software. In this instance the best interface will be very point-and-click
oriented, which will greatly limit a student's freedom in the types of
analyses s/he can conduct, but will keep them out of "trouble" and minimize
the time it takes them to use the software in a useful way.
So why this long-winded discussion? The point I want to make is that there
probably isn't a single "ideal" interface to R. In a related thread, one
contributor commented that there were 10 GUIs for R in some form of
development, and there could ultimately be 20 (my sense is the author
perceived this to be a bad thing). It is possible that 10 different GUIs is
the right number, although it is an empirical question. The saving grace is
that most (all)? of us are empirical researchers.
Dan Putler
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