Karl Johnson
My thoughts on the RIA world
Wednesday February 14, 2007
RIA Usability is KEY Part 2 : Less is More!
In this second part of my impromptu "series" on RIA usability, I want to cover simplicity in design as far as it applies to the usability of a rich internet application. "Less is More" is an often used phrase in the English language, but seldom used to refer to functionality and interactivity in software. Quite the opposite usually. And just because your application is rich in design and capabilities does not mean it has to be overflowing when it comes to things a user can see or do at any one time. I am not a visual designer and I don't claim to be one. We have an awesome group of RIA visual designers here at Cynergy in our User Experience Group, so the rest of us don't need to focus on making the pretty picture designs. But everyone involved in RIA development needs to focus on the usability of the application, and the way any given screen or component is put together should take the "Less is More" saying to heart.
"Count the buttons!" exclaims Over-C CEO Michael Elliott as he demos the Cynergy developed enterprise RIA Over-C.net to a potential client. He pretty much uses this phrase every time he demonstrates the software. He loves the fact that there are very few things a user can do at any given time - or more importantly - he loves the fact that his customers will love it.
You may be thinking that limiting what a user can do is bad, and I would have to respectfully disagree. Of course you want your app to be that killer app that does more than any of your competitors, but if a user does not know what to do and when, then your app really does very little. Maybe it does a lot for you, but very little for the user, and the user is who software is built for. (Shocker, I know!) When a user only has a handful of buttons or clickable images or controls to interact with at one time, they suddenly have this feeling of knowing how to use your application. Even if they have had no costly training or have logged few hours experimenting with your interface to become familiar with it, they know what to do. This is a big win win and accomplishes a pretty huge goal in any software - being intuitive for your users. It is key to establish an implied flow for the users behavior that feels natural to them by simplifying your design and your user's potential actions.
Designing this flow is a combination of long ago established software UI paradigms with actions that just feel right and make sense. Don't get me wrong, this is a very fine line to walk and must be done with care. Especially when tackling a problem that we so often face at Cynergy - developing a great looking and unique business application that is targeted at users who have spent years doing things the way the other guy's application did it. Breaking the mold can be very hard and is not always the best way to go, that is for sure. Walking that thin line means coming up with a user flow that feels familiar to them, but at the same time, improves their efficiency and accuracy of accomplishing their tasks. As well as making it more fun for them!
There are two phrases or sayings that you may hear when talking about software usability and design. "Keep It Simple Stupid", or KISS, and "Design it so your grandma' can use it.' (or something similar). These both provide pretty good rules to live by, but software development is never a one size fits all design process. While designing for a clean and simple user flow, remembering your target user is paramount. If your target users are developers or power users...then it really does not make much sense to dumb down your app to the point where your grandmother could use it. My grandmother is 93 and would never even dare try to turn a PC on. No point in making this app easy for her - but it should be easy and intuitive for your target users. Maybe it does not need one giant flashing button to indicate to the user how to save the form, but a few appropriate placed buttons or icons will solve the problem while not presenting more options to the user than they really need at any given point in the app, or at any given view at a time.
Feel free to check out demo videos of four of the many RIA's we have developed at http://www.cynergysystems.tv. Including the app that hosts Cynergy TV, which is also a RIA we did.
If you are sitting there thinking that it is ridiculous to expect a RIA developer to not only be an awesome, innovative coder but also be able to whip out simple, yet highly effective user flows and design - you are NOT alone! And it is rather ridiculous. RIA's are complex applications on a lot of dimensions, and it takes a team of talented people with different skillsets to create a really successful RIA. Our VP Dave Wolf put this very well in his post a few months back, "It Takes a Village." Check it out.
Comments, questions, feedback, anti-rants - karl.johnson[a t]cynergysystems.com
|<
