DiscoverySpace: Crowdsourced Suggestions Onboard Novices in Complex Software

Complex software, while powerful for experts, can overwhelm new users. Novices often do not know how to execute tasks, what they want to achieve, or even what is possible. We aim to address these problems by leveraging the large expert user base such programs tend to have. We present DiscoverySpace, a prototype extension panel for Adobe Photoshop that suggests macros for effects to apply to the user’s photo, based on features of the photo. These macros are Photoshop actions that have been created and shared online by the user community, and can be applied in one click. Our work demonstrates how high-level macro suggestions can help users get started in a complex application. Preliminary feedback from a pilot study indicates that these suggestions may be most useful for users with exploratory goals, such as “make this photo more fun”, rather than users with very specific goals.