Terminology Study: Location vs. Environment

Terminology Study: Location vs. Environment

Overview

An informal study gathering the opinions on the term "Environment" vs "Location" as the name of the concept of associating a set of services and proxies with where the machine is. Of the 10 participants asked (so far), 8 preferred Location, 1 could see an argument for either, and 1 preferred Environment.

Methodology

• Show participants a paper screenshot of either the Environment dialog or the Location dialog. Alternate which is shown first with each participant to remove order bias.
• Ask users to describe what the dialog does. Present other option afterward s and ask them which they preferred.

Results

Why participants chose Location over Environment

• Go with terminology users already know for this type of concept
• A Solaris tech writer mentioned that "Environment" is a term non-english speakers don't understand, and therefore was no longer being used in docs.
• Location meant something physical and can change, and Environment is not changed often and is also associated with unix environment variables, desktop environment -- things that are only changed once, not as dynamic. Environment is also too broad and vague a term.