Category Archives: UI Design
Icon or text. Where would you click?
Earlier today I downloaded the trial of a well known backup application. After installing it, rebooting my laptop and starting the application the popup shown was displayed by the system tray. Once I got over the annoyance of only having 15 days rather than the normal 28 to try it out, I went to click on the OK icon to continue my trial. The problem was, this had no effect. It was only when I hovered the mouse over the word “OK” that the hyperlink became active.
This website needs a Technical Writer…..and quick!
I found myself having to organize a couple of WebExs yesterday. I don’t have to do this very often so the application we use is still fairly unfamiliar territory for me. I do remember the pain in trying to use it, but having to go through the process twice in fairly quick succession cemented just how much the UI sucked. Take the following example.
Can changing the UI affect a company’s content strategy?
“It had better not smell of Windows in any way.” I eavesdropped a conversation about an application’s interface when this sentence was uttered. The premise was a large potential almost exclusively Mac based client. Any user interface that looked even remotely like Windows would be dismissed faster than you could say “A fatal exception has occurred”. That’s not a problem though. It just means the Product Manager has to steer the application’s development in a direction that allows it to meet the demands of customers with either a Windows and Mac preference. It is as simple as that though?
Skinning the Technical Communication cat
How would you document a process where there were multiple ways to perform an action. Maybe there is a:
- Toolbar icon
- Menu item
- Context menu item
- Keyboard shortcut
Having such variety as part of the UI is good for the user, but it does present issues for the poor old Technical Writer. Should they document all the various methods of performing an action? If so, how should it be presented? If not, which one should they choose?
