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+--- Thread: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation (/Thread-Behavior-of-OSCAR-1-2-0-does-not-match-documentation)
Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - opensourceguy - 05-13-2021
I installed from the deb file under Pop_OS, which is an Ubuntu derivative, using "
dpkg -i oscar_1.2.0-Ubuntu20_amd64.deb"
The deb fails to declare a dependency on libqt5serialport5, but that's a trivial problem.
The real problems begin after I have created a profile. When I attempt to import data, I get a little popup window with a progress bar for the input and two buttons "Choose a folder" and "Cancel"
1. This does not match the behavior described in the User's Guide.
2. The dialog box contains no indication of why OSCAR wants me to choose a folder or what it will use the folder for.
3. When the import from the card is (apparently) done, this popup goes away and I am presented with a directory chooser dialog. There is no status message confirming that the import succeeded, nor complaining that it failed.
4. There is zero indication of what the directory will be used for, whether it should be a new directory or an existing one. Furthermore the chooser has a default of /, which is obviously wrong - under an ordinary user account I have no permission to write there,
5. When I instead choose a directory under ~, which I have created for the purpose, the second dialog box silently goes away, I am back at the main window, and there is no status message and nothing I can do next. The "Daily", "Overview", and "Statistics" tabs are grayed out. No files have been written to the directory I selected. To all appearances the program has silently discarded the import data and given up.
6. The User's Manual is worse than useless for troubleshooting this problem. I never saw the "CPAP Data Located" popup it told me to expect.
Oscar's interface has all the discoverability of a brick wall. "Read the manual" is the wrong answer, because the manual does not match reality.
I'm an open-source developer myself. We should be able to do better than this, and it is shameful when we don't.
RE: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - Crimson Nape - 05-13-2021
Hi opensourceguy! -
I'm sorry it is so hard for you. Here is the explanation. The "Choose a folder" points OSCAR to the raw data file location. This can be the SD card, a directory on your computer, a NAS drive, Cloud device or any attached storage device. In the Preferences section, you can have OSCAR use the last import location without prompting you. This really helps, so you won't have to keep pointing it to the data on each import.
Please review the links in my signature for help in understanding and using OSCAR.
Also, The OSCAR Team is always looking for more developers to assist in its development. If you would like to contribute to the code, please send the team leader, Gideon, a PM stating your areas of interest and qualifications.
RE: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - staceyburke - 05-13-2021
My 2 cents. I’m technically challenged and downloaded OSCAR with absolutely no problems. Plugged in my chip and never (in 8 months) have I had a problem. Worked great from day one. I can’t believe how easy it is to use. Thank all of you that helped with the program.
RE: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - sawinglogz - 05-13-2021
(05-13-2021, 01:55 PM)opensourceguy Wrote: 6. The User's Manual is worse than useless for troubleshooting this problem. I never saw the "CPAP Data Located" popup it told me to expect.
Oscar's interface has all the discoverability of a brick wall. "Read the manual" is the wrong answer, because the manual does not match reality.
I'm an open-source developer myself. We should be able to do better than this, and it is shameful when we don't.
Are you volunteering to maintain the user's manual?
RE: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - pholynyk - 05-13-2021
Where did you find the 'User's Manual' ??
RE: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - opensourceguy - 05-14-2021
You appear to be oblivious to what a properly designed UX is like. The fact that you need to explain how the interface works, rather than it being fully discoverable as the user encounters it, means the UI design was not good enough.
Do you really not understand that saying "Please review the links in my signature for help in understanding and using OSCAR." is in itself an damning admission of interface-design failure? Yes, there's a lot of that going around, it's more common than not, but that's no excuse for it.
Here's a specific: "Choose a folder" is about the least helpful prompt imaginable, because my SD card is not a "folder". Why is it not something like "Choose a directory or SD-card device containing raw CPAP data"? Why does the directory chooser dialog not have the same legend? What are your developers thinking when they write such useless prompts or leave prompting out entirely?
The documentation completely fails to specify that you have to explicitly select a raw-data source, leaving the reader with the impression that if he/she has an SD card reader plugged in it will be autodetected. This impression is reinforced because of the mystery progress bar, which makes it look like the data upload starts running immediately.
If that progress bar is not metering the raw-data-upload completion, what is it doing? And why does it not have an attached legend telling the user what it's metering? The only way that omission makes sense is if you have a goal of keeping users as disoriented and confused as possible.
How does your upload procedure deal with the fact that under Linux hotplugged USB devices do not have stable names? Does first upload take a "folder" name that is used forever, and will be incorrect if you happen to plug in devices in a different order after a reboot, or do you get re-prompted for a raw-data folder every time? Why do neither interface prompts nor documentation address this issue?
Why does the documentation fail to specify any of this? UI documentation is an admission of UX design failure, but if you're going to have any it should at least describe reality and be helpful. OSCAR's fails both tests right out of the gate.
If you think answering my questions about the UI is sufficient, you're missing the point. The interface itself should tell me how it works. Each step should orient the user for the next one. That's what competent UX design is like.
Yes, I have the technical capability to edit the code to add snippets of text to these UI elements, and to fix the documentation. But I have lots of other things to do, including making money so I can pay my bills. Before I put any time into fixing this I'd like to see some sign that I wouldn't be fighting an uphill battle against blank incomprehension of these very basic UX issues.
RE: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - opensourceguy - 05-14-2021
(05-13-2021, 03:01 PM)sawinglogz Wrote: Are you volunteering to maintain the user's manual?
That kind of dismissive answer makes me want to run away from trying to do anything to help this project. It unpacks to "We failed to do the job we took on properly, and will deflect all criticism by making you the bad guy unless you repair our failure for us."
If that was the objective of your communication, well done, mission accomplished.
If you actually wanted my help, you would start with something like "Yes, we know the documentation is awful. We apologize." Then I might think you had some actual interest in doing your part of the job better, and I might not be wasting my time trying to help.
RE: Behavior of OSCAR 1.2.0 does not match documentation - Crimson Nape - 05-14-2021
Based on your level of animosity directed towards OSCAR and the members trying to offer help, I strongly suggest that you consider using another program, like Encore or Encore Pro. I hope their operational function and documentation will be more to your liking.
Based on the fact that no further productive actions are being sought, I am closing this thread.
*** Thread Closed ***