Improving the usability of the hierarchical file system

Gary Marsden, David E. Cairns
[ACM Link]
Most users don't fully understand hierarchical file systems. For example, when an application's default folder is changed, some users believe their files have been deleted. Approaches which involve storing metadata with files are good ideas, but they requlre users taking time to store attributes with files.

Databases have successfully shifted to another model besides hierarchy. Restrict, Project, Product, Union, Intersection, and Difference from Relational Databases could possibly be applied to file systems, as well as 'order-by' and 'group-by' from SQL.

Users prefer to search for files visually rather than recalling filenames. The ability to sort files within folders on name, date modified, type, etc. are useful, but not system-wide.

How people organize

Stuff goes into the computer and doesn't come out": a cross-tool study of personal information management

Richard Boardman, M. Angela Sasse
[ACM Link]

Quite useful paper detailing users' management of personal email, files, and bookmarks. The authors did studies of interviews with 31 users and long-term file tracking of 8 users. There are four primary email management strategies:

• Frequent filer (most incoming messages) - 8 of 31 users
• Extensive filer (many incoming messages) - 14/31
• Partial filer (few incoming messages - 7/31
• No-filer (no incoming messages) - 2/31

Aquisition of files varies - Email comes quickly and uncontrolled, while bookmarks and files are more slowly created. Most participants found files most important, then email, and they were were not particularly concerned with bookmarks. Often, file folder names are duplicated between file system and email program.

The three primary file management strategies:

• Total filers (almost all files, upon creation) - 18 of 31 users
• Extensive filers (most files are filed) - 11/31
• Occasional filers (most are unfiled) - 2/31

For file retrieval, users greatly prefer browsing to searching. They may browse by location, or by metadata sorting. When users cannot find files, it is usually because of deleted or archived items, clutter, or misfiling.