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Thread March 28, 2015 editorial: comments

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1 March 28, 2015 editorial: comments

User Unfriendly?

I was inspired to write about this topic based on a thread on one of our forums this week that discussed the question of “user friendliness” in software. One of comments questioned whether the term itself is a misnomer, because any product will eventually become “user friendly” after you spend some time with it.

I do see the logic there, but to me there are some factors beyond just experience with a product that contribute to user-friendliness — factors that make that learning period shorter.

Intuitive design, especially in regard to the user interface — both in terms of the controls included and the graphics — is really important. Some GUIs are more thoughtfully laid out than others, and make accomplishing a given task a lot easier.

For instance, we expect certain controls to be on certain products, and if a company decides to break from the norm and create a control set that’s different from the standard for that type of product — for example I’ve run across some compressors without threshold or ratio controls — it can make that product harder to use, at least at the beginning.

A variation on that is Apple’s annoying habit of changing tried-and-true user interface features in subsequent versions of its own software, causing confusion for its users.

It’s a fine line that a manufacturer walks, of course, because on the one hand, they want their products to be innovative, but at the same time they can’t stray too far from convention or they risk confusing potential users and causing them to stick with an application or plug-in that offers a more tried-and-true design.

If a developer wants to successfully integrate unfamiliar features and nomenclature into a product, they need to provide easily accessible and well-written online help. Having a manual, either PDF or online, accessible right from the GUI is a good place to start. Have a question? Click open the manual, search the item, find your answer, done.

That said, not all help features are created equal. I hate to pick on Apple again, but some of its Mac software uses that glacially slow inline help system instead of a manual (yes, that’s you Logic Pro X) — which can take minutes to look up a simple search term, and by time you get to the correct page, you’ve likely forgotten what you were looking up in the first place. That’s not what I’d call “user friendly.” A PDF or web-based manual is much easier and more efficient.

Sure, we can learn how to use anything, given enough time and resources, but I certainly more inclined towards products whose design is conducive to quickly grasping its functionality, rather than one that makes me work hard. Do you agree?

Have a great week.

Mike Levine
U.S. Editor
Audiofanzine
2
Excellent points about making product user interfaces more intuitive. Please Apple, stop relying on User Forums and You Tube tutorials: we want user manuals on line with excellent search functions.

Forums and YouTube should augment, not replace a robust and current User Manual and tutorial.

Regards
Cliff Keller
3
Excellent points for all. I have experienced many issues during my learning curve that were deflected often to a forum. I am not really a fan of such things. More times than I have patience for, I have had to weed through hundreds of silly banter posts in order to find the gem I am looking for. When one is in the middle of a project having to read about someone's issues from two years ago and all the off-topic threads is the least favorable option.

Another issue I have is the operations manuals themselves. PDF is a wonderful format but far be it from perfect. Searching for answers takes time that most of us don't have a lot of. This is time that can be spent on a mix or tracking but here I am looking up how to perform some menial task that is buried in hundreds of pages in a PDF document. Search functions aside, it all takes time. Then, hopefully when found, it is written in an easy to understand format.

It all boils down to one fact, we are doomed to be at the mercy of software developers who are extremely smart and talented. :bravo:They are also very close to the situation and seem to have forgotten that not everyone is like them. So instead we get instructables and manuals that filled with great knowledge but sometimes miss the mark on instructing. :(((
4
I don't understand.
I have all Logic X pdf manuals...

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/logic-pro-x-user-guide/id960809726?mt=11
5
6
If you think Apple is bad with the changes they've made, try using Windows 8/8.1. I'm a computer consultant, and even I had a helluva time with that mess. And I was supposed to explain it to people when they got new computers. The interface failed usability studies, but Microsoft is still standing by it.

On the DAW front, I had a similar experience with Sonar and their new "Skylight" interface in X1. But after a few days of using it, I liked it much better than the old interface. It really did seem to streamline my workflow.

That said, more than a year after Windows 8/8.1 came out, the interface still sucks.

Steve
7
The first time I tried to burn a CD in ITunes? I had to do a google search on how to do it. Why do the software writers/engineers have to come up with little emblems for words? We have to learn what their icons mean. Not very intuitive at all.
8
Extremely good points.

I have never got used to the 'Ribbons' in MS Office.
Fortunately I have a pre-ribbons version, so stick with that and good old XP.
Why XP?
My old laptop has a cardbus interface. My audio interface of choice is the E-MU 1616m.
The cardbus card just works.
Try finding any new laptop that supports cardbus.

So I tailor my music making around some slight restrictions, and the technology doesn't get in the way.
Back to the music.
9
Quote:
I don't understand. I have all Logic X pdf manuals...

I stand corrected regarding the manual. However, it's not directly accessible from inside Logic. You have to go to the Help menu, click on the support link, which takes you to the Apple site, and then find the link for the User Guide. Why not link directly from the program?
10
Even from this small group of replies it can be seen that there are many ways to do anything and what is intuitive to one is a conundrum to another.
There seems to be two main ways to overcome this. The first is to standardise work methods, but then the majority of people will know how it works, but hate how it works.
The other is to have many ways to do the same task (menu option, hotkey etc) but this is more coding, more testing = more money.
Another way to help(?) is to layer the interface and have a simpler look when you first start. Perhaps that is all you will ever need, but if your needs expand you can spend time building a new layout that works for you.
The trouble with this approach is when the user is a seasoned pro and just wants to get the job done but is forced to spend hours searching for and uncovering elements he hopes is there.

For me the worst thing is having to search out and relearn stuff just because some style guru needs to change the look with no real benefit (you know who you are MS / Apple ) .

Programmers do really try very hard to make the use of the software a pleasure, but what is obvious to a programmer, especially a musician/programmer, can be a mystery to many others. Large companies spend a lot of money testing UIs. For the smaller developer there is no opportunity for this luxury.

It is interesting to compare the longevity of programs. Is it because they have an obvious well laid out UI or the users have invested so much time in them?

It is also interesting to compare conventional scores to all the graphic scores of the 20th century - created mainly because it was felt that conventional notation was inexact and limiting.

I've stopped drawing graphs, but I am still writing notes. So will time filter out the unworkable?