I happened to ask for a new telephone in the company I work, and I went to the guy who was responsible. The guy complained to me about the new application he had to use, a Java Swing application that allowed him to set the phone number to the UTP plug etc. "In the previous application you could open a new account in just one click. With this new one, you have to save, click here, then back to the tree, wait until it is saved etc." he complained.
I wondered what the analyst/GUI designer responsible for the GUI of that application was thinking. Didn't he look at the previous application s/he was replacing? The new application had to be at least as easy and fast to use as the previous one. Do we keep in mind the one-click pattern of WWW when we design the GUIs of our Swing applications, or not?
Our purpose, as analysts/designers/developers is not only to be able to create nice interfaces with great components (trees, tables etc.) but also to make them as user friendly as possible. Listen to the user next time, and understand his/her needs!
I wondered what the analyst/GUI designer responsible for the GUI of that application was thinking. Didn't he look at the previous application s/he was replacing? The new application had to be at least as easy and fast to use as the previous one. Do we keep in mind the one-click pattern of WWW when we design the GUIs of our Swing applications, or not?
Our purpose, as analysts/designers/developers is not only to be able to create nice interfaces with great components (trees, tables etc.) but also to make them as user friendly as possible. Listen to the user next time, and understand his/her needs!
