Dispensing with the Implementation Model of the File System

Right now, serious programmer-type readers are beginning to squirm in their seats. They are thinking that we're treading on holy ground: A pristine copy on disk is a wonderful thing, and we'd better not advocate getting rid of it. Relax! There is nothing wrong with our file systems. We simply need to hide its existence from the user. We can still offer to him all the advantages of that extra copy on disk without exploding his mental model.

If we begin to render the file system according to the user's mental model we achieve a significant advantage: We can all teach our moms how to use computers. We won't have to answer her pointed questions about the inexplicable behavior of the interface. We can show her the program and explain how it allows her to work on the document; and, upon completion, she can store the document on the disk as though it were a journal on a shelf. Our sensible explanation won't be interrupted by that Save Changes? dialog. And Mom is representative of the mass-market of computer buyers.

Another big advantage is that interaction designers won't have to incorporate clumsy file system awareness into their products. We can structure the commands in our programs according to the goals of the user instead of according to the needs of the operating system. We no longer need to call the left-most menu the File menu. This nomenclature is a bold reminder of how technology currently pokes through the facade of our programs. We'll discuss some alternatives later in this chapter.

Changing the name and contents of the File menu violates an established, though unofficial, standard. But the benefits will far outweigh any dislocation the change might cause. There will certainly be an initial cost as experienced users get used to the new presentation, but it will be far less than you might suppose. This is because these power users have already shown their ability and tolerance by learning the implementation model. For them, learning the better model will be no problem, and there will be no loss of functionality for them. The advantage for new users will be immediate and significant. We computer professionals forget how tall the mountain is after we've climbed it, but everyday newcomers approach the base of this Everest of computer literacy and are severely discouraged. Anything we can do to lower the heights they must scale will make a big difference, and this step will tame some of the most perilous peaks.