Boot Options - GUI Update

[Jandra A]

Hi all,

I'd like to share the feedback we've gotten around* Boot Options* so far.
This feedback is based on conversations with *four users* (3 system admins
and 1 support)
*Design Mockups (for reference):*
https://ibm.invisionapp.com/share/8ENYRVXAPFD#/319095138_1-_Boot_Options_-_System_On

   - *Boot Mode* options
      - Terminology
         - Alternative for ‘Regular’ : Normal
         - Alternative for ‘Setup’ : Configuration, petitboot (?)
         - Alternative for 'Safe' : Emergency
         - 1/4 user didn’t know what ‘Setup’ meant
         - *--> Might need info-icon help to understand what Regular, Safe,
         and Setup mean. Need more research to see a definitive trend.*
      - Some users expected additional options:
         - 1 user expected an ‘SMS’ option (AIX)
         - 3/4 users expected a ‘Single user boot’ mode (use case: no
         network connection, no logging in, console only)
         - *--> Might need add additional options or determine if they are
         the same as the existing options; will need to understand the
use case to
         determine value and priority. Need more research to see a
definitive trend.*
      - 1/4 user was surprised to see Boot Mode; doesn't believe it applies
      to Linux based systems
      - ** Note: On OpenPOWER, we don't currently really have a "Safe" mode
      of operation outside of bringup. **


   - *Boot Source* options
      - Terminology
         - Alternative for ‘Disk’ : System
         - Alternative For ‘External media’ : Optical
         - Users aren’t clear on what ‘Default’ source refers to
         - *--> Might need info-icon help to understand what Default,
         External Media, Network, and Disk mean. Need more research to see a
         definitive trend.*
      - Usability:
         - If ‘Network’ option is selected, users expect to be able to
         point to that server’s IP address
         - *--> Need to understand how this is handled in the back end.
         Might need more research to understand how others would
expect the Network
         option to work.*
      - Expected additional options:
         - 1/4 users expected the ability to boot to PXE (use case: when
         re-imaging a machine)
         - *--> Might need add additional options or determine if they are
         the same as the existing options; will need to understand the
use case to
         determine value and priority. Need more research to see a
definitive trend.*


   - Terminology on *Orderly *vs *Immediate *(for Reboot/Shutdown methods)
      - *4/4 users have understood the terms ‘Orderly’ and ‘Immediate’
      either because they use them or because the definition in the GUI was
      helpful*
      - Intel was surprised to see something other than 'warm' and 'cold'.
      Their definitions were:
         - warm: CPU is always on (during a host reboot)
         - cold: CPU/ power goes off to the host
         - *--> I am unsure if this is the same thing ^ *
      - Other names users have mentioned to refer to this:
         - Warm vs Cold
         - Controlled vs Immediate
         - Graceful
      - *General usability *(1 user saw design with 'next boot' and
   'subsequent boot' sections; 2 users saw design with general settings and no
   support for 'next boot')
      - 1/1 user was not certain how the ‘next boot’ would work because
      technically there is always a ‘next boot’ so when would the ‘subsequent
      boot’ happen
         - User was concerned that the "next boot only" setting would not
         clear automatically after the reboot (i.e. that he would have
to log back
         in, revisit this page, and manually uncheck the box)
      - 1/1 user thought the order of ‘next boot’ and ‘subsequent boot’
      should be switched since ’subsequent boot’ would be the default.
They also
      thought it would make more sense to apply ‘subsequent boot’ settings to
      ‘next boot’ rather than the other way around (which is the current GUI
      proposal)
      - *--> Understand how and when the 'next boot' would be used. UX will
      work to create alternative designs so that it is clear when the
'next boot'
      settings will be applied and not applied. *
      - *--> Consider more closely associating the reboot/shutdown method
      (orderly vs. immediate)  to the Reboot and Shutdown buttons*
   - ‘Next boot’
      - *The value of being able to set different settings for ‘next boot’
      is unclear.*
         - 1 user only reboot 1-2 times a year
            - Thinks this might be more helpful for customers with large
            clusters of servers
         - 1 user is in support and would not use this
         - 1 would use 2-3 times per quarter
         - 1 user uses the command line and relies on the default settings


   - Access to this panel?
      - 1 user thought this should be for root level privileges only
      - *--> Who should have access to this panel and how do we ensure
      that? *



*QUESTIONS: *

   - Does Boot Mode apply to Linux based systems? (SME)
   - Do we have a way of informing users that a reboot is complete? (SME)
   - On the ‘Network’ option in Boot Source, where is the remote source
   over a network defined? / How is a user informed of it or change it? (SME /
   user)
   - What does ‘Default’ refer to in Boot Source? (SME)
   - Still need to understand the value of ‘next boot’ and how it would be
   used (user)
   - Is 'single user mode' the same as Regular, Safe, or Setup? (SME)
   - Should we support boot to PXE? (SME / user)


–
*Jandra Aranguren*
IBM Design | IBM Studios Austin | UX Design

*E:* jandra.aranguren at ibm.com
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