Microsoft Inductive User Interface

[Marcel Kollenaar]

Hi,

Seen on the net. Microsoft has a new 'insight' in user interfaces. For me I still like the deductive type. However with the new web technology it is a nice idea to look at it.

Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Regards,

Marcel

[mronck]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Hi Marcel,

There seems to be a trend to extensively simplify things were computing is concerned. One could ask himself for whom he is programming in the first place.

Whether one could say it is a positive thing to create easy to use programs, the inductive way also seems to increase the number of screens involved. If one screen should deal with only one task, and one has 50 tasks to handle, the calculation is easy.

Furthermore, I always thought users were happy if they could handle everything on just one screen (for instance with tabbed forms).
Handling only one task per form would increase the total time for any task too.

Kind regards,

Marcel

[CALocklin]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

I thought it was a very good article. The basic principles sound like good ones to me and I see them as mostly just good design practice. They would definitely make forms easier for users to understand. Nothing says things have to be broken down into their smallest pieces; only that they should be in logical pieces (my words/interpretation) so the user can easily determine what to do and how to do it.

As it says early on, "The principles described in this document do not require or imply any ridgid sets of designs, controls, or visual elements."

Based on their own principles, I would say that a form that is designed to handle multiple closely related tasks would make sense if the user could easily identify each task and how to accomplish it. In that case, each task would probably have its own area on the form and each "area" could be thought of as a sort of subform. (not necessarily a literal subform)

In this context, I don't see "Tasks" as things like 'Find' operations, setting indexes, running queries, getting field statistics, or other things one might normally do from the menu or toolbar.

I believe something like "Enter/Edit Customer Information" would fit their definition of a task. Per their definition it is "A screen with a single, clearly stated, explicit purpose..." It could certainly be argued that my example is really two tasks but they are so closely related that I would accept this under the premise that these concepts "do not require or imply any ridgid sets of designs...." Certainly this is not as vague as their example of "Account Manager" which tells the user very little and implies the ability to handle all kinds of tasks related to account management. It also fits their definition that "A screen is focused on one purpose if the designer can express that purpose with a concise, meaningful, and natural sounding screen title."

Again, I would highly recommend this article to all developers. At the very least, it should provide some ideas for making forms easier to use and applications easier to work with.

Cal Locklin
www.aimsdc.net

[Steve Wood]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

I too thought it was a good article. Towards the end they state some downfalls of IUI; primarily that it did NOT result in greater productivity and it treated all users as beginners. I personally dislike using systems stringently built on IUI because it takes too darn long to accomplish my tasks and I feel like I am reading a For Dummies book. However, if I look at my online BofA account, built on IUI, the only thing that makes it tolerable is that is has a main page with access to everything.

Al Cooper (of VB fame, www.cooper.com) once said "Whatever GUI you provide to your customers, they would probably appreciate LESS".). I�ve tried to follow that motto and over the years have removed more than I have added to my products.

Another comment, blurted out during a Deep Purple concert (Made in Japan album) is �make everything louder than everything else�. And this is what I see on most Independent Developers work. vivid greens, bold AND underline, italics, different font sizes, homegrown graphics, etc. � all intent to draw the users attention to something that is supposed to be important. But the problem is that all of that is NOISE and it makes it less likely the user will learn how to use the system.

[Marcel Kollenaar]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

I think the evolution of UI has not stopped, the best interface is the one with the fewest complains, no need for training (intuitive), the largest effectiveness, the fewest clicks and very important 'respect for the user'.

Further, there are no rules or are there? Just the situation for which it is developped. A technical application for a laboratory instrument needs a different UI than a mortgage application or a UI for a flight instrument in an airplain.

It will be a combination of both, deductive and inductive and other types for which no name has been invented yet. If you use a function and it's interface very frequently it must be easy and speedy. If you use an option once a year it must be very clear and in a way 'inductive', it must lead you through the process. If it is a very dangerous function you must use an interface with a lot of information and steps what will happen when it goes wrong. If it is too tedious put some overiding checkboxes into it when they want to speed it up.
Maybe its an option to go graphical. Draw a decission schema and make it dynamic! Options enough between DUI and IUI.

The World is Grey...

Marcel

[mronck]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Important question seems to be whether we think software is a product where we can ask for the user to get some training first or whether we think every idiot should be able to work with it right away.

The answer to that may vary from product to product.

I have to deal with customers that do not know how to copy files from one directory to another, no matter what UI is involved.

Computers and Software are more and more seen as things that everybody should be able to work with whether he has any training or knowledge or not.

We should not forget that any attempts to develop our software in that direction will take investments that are huge. Is that what we want or can we expect the user to get some training ?

Marcel

[Marcel Kollenaar]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Marcel,

You hit one of the many nails right on the head.

-- USERS --

"I have to deal with customers that do not know how to copy files from one directory to another, no matter what UI is involved."

Maybe its an option to tell the user that they must have at least secondary education or higher education or a warning "Not for adults above 50 year" or in a specific category eg. Teachers. And always mention: RTFM.

"Computers and Software are more and more seen as things that everybody should be able to work with whether he has any training or knowledge or not."

Yes, that's the direction we are going. But I thinks it's a wrong direction. There must be a kind of computer driver licence. Especially when they connect the computer at the net. I speak a lot of silly users with pc's with no virus protection or a firewall and a leaky OS. They simply don't want to invest. And when they do have a virus scanner they don't update their virus identities and when they bought a firewall they can't implement it or maintain it.

"We should not forget that any attempts to develop our software in that direction will take investments that are huge."

More than 10 years ago they started with C++, Object Oriented programming, data hiding objects, code reuse. At this moment it has still not brought what they promised ten years ago. It's still complex. And we are still nailed to the windows interface!

"Is that what we want or can we expect the user to get some training?"

I have no answer but I do know an aphorism:

"We cannot solve the problems at the level at which we created them". From: Albert Einstein.

I believe we are still at the same and wrong level.

Regards,

Marcel

[CALocklin]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Hey, Marcel, watch out! I agree with almost everything you said but you might get in trouble on this board with "Not for adults above 50 year."

There are a lot of good A5 developers on this board that are over 50. I personally get a great thrill out of watching while some young whippersnapper tries to show me, or someone I know, how to do something on the computer - then I get to show him how it's really done.

(On the other hand, you are miles ahead of me and most of us on writing dll's and working with api functions. It may not be terribly difficult once you know what your are doing but, as you know, v5 had a few issues with them so I decided to quit beating my head against the wall.)

[Marcel Kollenaar]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Cal,

"Hey, Marcel, watch out! I agree with almost everything you said but you might get in trouble on this board with "Not for adults above 50 year.""

I talked about - USERS - LOL


"There are a lot of good A5 developers on this board that are over 50.

[b]As you said: "developers"[b]

I personally get a great thrill out of watching while some young whippersnapper tries to show me, or someone I know, how to do something on the computer - then I get to show him how it's really done.

I'm 45, but I'm not a - USER -

(On the other hand, you are miles ahead of me and most of us on writing dll's and working with api functions. It may not be terribly difficult once you know what your are doing but, as you know, v5 had a few issues with them so I decided to quit beating my head against the wall.)

And you all are miles ahead of me and most of us on writing a database application.

It's a bit in balance :-)

Marcel

[mronck]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

And even when we all together as developers jump on the same scale of the balance we might get even with the users on the other side of the balance as well......

Or is that wishfull thinking ?

Marcel, you know as well as I do what happens when you give some youngster a still boxed game console.
Within 20 minutes he is competing with the neighbour youngsters to get to the last level !

Why is this different when business users are concerned ?

It has much to do with interest in the case.
Youngsters will eat the game-console it they thought it would make them better gamers.
In the business world this is not often the case.
They have to work with it for the job, but most of the time with that type of users there is no natural interest in the thing, let alone willingness to invest either time or money in it.

That brings me to the following case:

Young IT-man enters the office of the CEO (an older and very impressive guy who sits behind his empty desk).
The IT-man carries a computer and puts it on the CEO's desk. Right in the middle in front of his face.
CEO reacts: "What the hell is that !"
IT-Man responds: "Well, it is something new. It is a computer, and it can improve your efficiency and help you manage all your problems in half the time you used to."
CEO looks disapproving and says:

"That me be the case, but now get that stupid thing off my desk, I have work to do."

Kind of explains everything.

Greetings,

Marcel

[whanigsberg]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

One of Cooper's most interesting points is that an interface needs to be efficient for the full range of potential users. So the beginner requires full and explicit menuing while the experienced users need shortcuts to speed things up.

Of course, this is easier to proclaim as an objective than to achieve in practice.

Cooper, Alan, "About Face: the essentials of interface design", a great book which just came out in a second edition.

Bill

[Marcel Kollenaar]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Agree and LOL.

Marcel

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Very good article. Good ideas. May not suit every situation but certainly gives clear sound advice.

[Marcel Kollenaar]

Re: Microsoft Inductive User Interface

Just renew the link

And here...