Too Much of a Good Thing? Identifying and ResolvingBloat in the User Interface: A CHI 98 Workshop Leah Kaufmanand Brad Weed Introduction Computer industry criticisms of 'bloat' are not a new occurrence. Typically, users and pundits alike complain about how slowly applications load and run or the amount of RAM required to run a single, let alone multiple, programs. In recent years, however, we've seen additional criticism of bloat in the software interface design and the sheer number of f~atures built into products. A 1992 critique [1] stated that: ing to do their work? How does it affect the visual design and layout of the interface? Is the problem perceptual and due to poor visual design? Or is it conceptual and rooted in an overabundance of features? We've reached a point in the software industry where its important to understand the source of this problem, it's effect on users, and figure out how it might be resolved. This workshop brought together usability researchers and interface designers to jointly examine the problem of feature bloat in software. Through discussion, presentations, shared insights and experience with interface design, testing, and use, we worked towards a clear understanding of this issue
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