TAGZILLA: Tag-Based File Storage and Retrieval

Abstract

AbstractUsers have to rely on memory for storing or retrieving data in Hierarchical Folder Organization (HFO) such as the Microsoft Windows Explorer for managing their information. We propose 20 Interface Design Objectives (IDOs) for Personal Information Management (PIM) interfaces. We find IDOs of HFO that need the most improvement using a qualitative survey of 66 users on importance and satisfaction scales. We present an alternate tag-based interface called TAGZILLA based on the concept of the ‘Stream of Consciousness’. TAGZILLA provides users with an interface to create tags for storing files and retrieve files based on tags. It also suggests tags during storage and retrieval. We report an increase in satisfaction for all IDOs using a return survey with 20 participants who used TAGZILLA. We also present a preliminary quantitative experimental comparison of TAGZILLA with the Windows Explorer interface for the IDOs needing most improvement.KeywordsMicrosoft Windows ExplorerPersonal Information ManagementTaggingHuman Computer InterfacesHierarchical Folder Organization