[Boost-testing] Report usability

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-09-22 10:10:09

Hi,

On 13 September, David Abrahams <dave_at_[hidden]> posted
this litany of complaints:

> When I visit
> http://engineering.meta-comm.com/boost-regression/CVS-RC_1_34_0/developer/index.html
> and click the "Release View" link, I see that its purpose is
>
>    Provides Boost developers with visual indication of the CVS
>    "health". For user-level report, see user summary.
>
> There are at least two problems with this:
>
> 1. When I click the "Full View" button I see the same message.  So the
>    message does nothing to tell me what the difference is between the
>    release view and the full view.
>
> 2. There is no link labelled "user summary" anywhere.  So what,
>    exactly, am I supposed to click in order to "see user summary?"
>
> 3?  Isn't there supposed to be a table there?  Regardless, it's very
>     very odd to see a page headed "Developer Report" that has... no
>     report on it.
>
> 4?  IIUC, Full View/Release View are unlike any of the other links in
>    that section of the left column, in that they switch "modes" rather
>    than taking me to different reports.  Shouldn't this be visually
>    distinct?  Maybe a pair of radio buttons, elswhere on the page?
>    Wouldn't it be more descriptive just to have the buttons say
>    something like
>
>       * show all tested compilers
>       o show only "officially supported" compilers

Was this posting missed?  I really think it's important to address the
readability of our reports, since that's where I direct people when
they ask "does Boost work with my compiler?"

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
www.boost-consulting.com