dcunningham.net

It’s very hard to come up with a good User Interface for an application. There’s a lot of factors to be considered: feature set, screen real-estate, ‘flashiness’, and most importantly, target audience.Complexity in the UI causes complexity in the code - a checkbox here means disabling a button there. Options set in the app configuration file can have ramifications for whole sections of the UI, - which is something I’ve been hitting massive difficulties with in the Workstation Migration Assistant.

I had initially planned a kind of ‘wizard’ approach, using Tabs - click next, next, next, finish, and you’re done. I’ve realised though, that this has caused me a ridiculous amount of problems, which in turn, results in a less stable application. When it comes to data migration, the app needs to be as solid as possible and able to cope with unexpected results caused by USMT, or network issues, or USB drives being disconnected etc, but never bomb out because of jumping through tabs, setting a whole bunch of capture options and then changing your mind to doing a restore.

So it dawned on me that the interface was too complex, too prone to problems, and so I’ve done my best to simplify things. Have a look here and tell me what you think:

Update: The UI image below has been updated with my current progress. There’s been a few more refinements but in general, I’m quite pleased with where it’s going. Just FYI, because a few people have asked, the advanced settings haven’t been removed - I’m just using a config in which the Advanced Settings button is disabled.

Most of the options that existed in the previous UI are still there - maybe hidden away, because for the most part, they won’t be changed by the end user, but will be preconfigured by the IT department. The idea is to keep it simple for the end user so for the most part, they can open the app, click Start and that’s it.

So, am I on the right track?

Dan