Magnolia is a registered trademark owned by Magnolia International Ltd. Photo (c) by Herzog & de Meuron (http://www.herzogdemeuron.com ) Andreas Weder, Head of UX design @Magnolia May 9 2013 for J. Boye, Philadelphia There‘s Apps for that
Jan 28, 2015
Magnolia is a registered trademark owned by Magnolia International Ltd.
Photo (c) by Herzog & de Meuron (http://www.herzogdemeuron.com)
Andreas Weder, Head of UX design @Magnolia May 9 2013 for J. Boye, Philadelphia
There‘s Apps for that
Welcome
Andreas WederHead of UX design
Magnolia International Ltd.CMS vendor based in Basel, Switzerland
My task: build UI, shape UX of next gen product Magnolia 5Coming out on June 20 2013 after 2 yrs of hard work
Magnolia known for ease of use and flexibilitycurrent UI has grown stale: - feels and looks old- too simple to properly accommodate and handle new features- not easy to extend for us and for developers
Welcome
Beautiful, old city at the RheinOne of oldest university on the continentCMS hotspot: Adobe/Day CQ, Vignette and Magnolia
Version 1.1
We hate our CMS! anonymous editor
What I encounter in my daily work.
People are extremely unsatisfied with CMS UIs.The larger the product,the more complex the environment,the less satisfied.
Why is this?
Looked at this in a blog article
No focus on user needs
1
Version 1.1
CMS is the enterprise software that UX forgot
Karen McGrane
Recognized by othersContent strategist, Former Creative Director of Razorfish
Basically says: no focus on user needs in CMSes
Version 1.1
CMS is the enterprise software that UX forgot
Karen McGrane
customers focused on features
neglected backend application
industry is feature driven
Industry: instead of focusing on the user, we focus on featuresone way in highly competitive market to leave your competitors behind
Customers:- we receive large list with req features during RFPs- people who evaluate have no good idea of what their users need
Backend: UI receives no attention; users are expected to adapt (CMS experts group)
Version 1.1
CMS is the enterprise software that UX forgot
Karen McGrane
But also suggests that UXD is a solution
UXD to the rescue
focus on userstrategic decision
+quality -quantity
Strategic decision to put users first- holistic: not only usability, but also functional and emotional- typically higher quality features, but less of them
What we have to...or want to accomplish
2
Let‘s see how UXD copes with the 2nd problem
Consistent UI + Seamless UX
Undo/Redo
Easy to configure
Integrate workflow enginesWorkflows
Clear indication of states
Show web app pages & formsIntegrate external services
FlexibilityExtend with filters and servlets
Easy to extend feature-wise
Publishing for external appsIntegration
Show just HTML fragments
Open source
Adapt look to customer CD/CI
Easy to extend UI-wise
Site managementClear overview
Support multiple sites
Support for mobile devices
Core servicesSecurity & Permissions
Searching & filtering
Messages & notifications
Versioning
Content editingHandle user generated content
Visual editors
Tracking changes
Areas and Components
Content storage
Robust handling of problems
Multiple users and groups
ScaleabilityRun in the cloud
Handle temporary, heavy load
Handle 1000s of editors
Segmentation supportContent publishingMulti-channel publishing
Powerful, easy to understand templates
Publish for various devices
UI to handle many features
First look at major feature topicsOverwhelmingWhere to start?How to create something consistent, seamless?
An integrating elementlarge set of features
various user groups and tasksdata from many sources
easily extensible by third parties
Integrating element in complex environment
An integrating elementlarge set of features
various user groups and tasksdata from many sources
easily extensible by third parties
high complexityvery
Integrating element in complex environmentMany dimensionsTogether: highly complex puzzle
But we knowto deal with complexity
This requires new strategies
Divide and conquerA common strategy Deal with complexity on a high level
Split up a big problemSolve smaller problemsFuse all pieces together againAlign them into coherent entity
(c) by Apple
OS is where you can see thatUses Apps to provide interfaces for main topics you work on
(c) by Microsoft
Uses Apps to provide UIs for larger taskAlso built-in Apps to run the infrastructure
Imagine putting this into a menu
(c) by Microsoft
Apps allow us to
deal with UI complexity
I would conclude: apps allows us to deal with UI complexityIn Magnolia 5, we are using apps mainly for that
A entirely different interaction paradigm
What else makes Apps attractive?
Apps are focused
(c) by Apple
„Look at this app“ (describe)
Apps are focused
cover a set of related taskstypically on a single type of contentcan offer a narrowly focused UI
Good
Text editor, a web browser, Skype, a calendar app, the address book
A entirely different interaction paradigm
Apps are memes for modularity
(c) by Lego
Apps are memes for modularity
you think in bricks take modularity to the UIfeel natural as building blocksclear how and where to extend
make it clear how to extend your product.
Natural building blocks:- add App to edit & manage your content- add a sub app with your editor- extend Apps to change behavior- chain Apps in workflows- install an extension by installing an App (or module)
A entirely different interaction paradigm
Our take on apps
So does it work for web apps?Here‘s our take on this
A entirely different interaction paradigm
demo
What happens to a UI when we add Apps?
An entirely different interaction paradigm
Depending on how you realize itHub‘n‘Spoke
All images (c) by Samsung
The most radical implementation: Springboard navigationA button (physical / virtual) to return to the home screen
(c) by Microsoft, Apple
Desktop OS don‘t work like thatApps in a window, multiple windows side-by-sideFascinating: bringing back springboard-type navigation to Desktop- Apps run full screen (Windows 8!), Springboard is Hub
A entirely different interaction paradigm
What we have to watch out for
... if we add Apps to our UI
„Too many clicks!“
- Na. People don‘t mind the clicks, if they are mindless.- our user tests have shown that: people prefer clean interfaces.- It‘s one click more anyways.- We can implement shortcuts to reduce them again.
Disorient the user
- how do you switch between apps- how do you avoid disorienting the user while doing so- what about programmatic app switches?
Granularity of apps
What is an app, what not?One app or several apps?Clearly identify tasks and use cases first
Content stuck in app silos
- how do you access content managed by a different app?- how do you pass data between apps?
Avoid the UI wilderness
(c) by Apple
- enterprise is not equal to customer- easy to use, but also easy to learn functionality- easy to BUILD: behind sophisticated iPad apps is a large amount of work
Web apps have different mechanics
(c) by Hack N Mod, http://hacknmod.com/hack/5-awesome-web-apps-you-never-knew-existed/
- page based (less so with Web 2.0)- expectations towards a web app are different- proper support for browser history
A entirely different interaction paradigm
If you intend to add Apps
prepare for a bigger changefocus platform on core servicesintegrate instead of do-it-yourselfoffer framework to ensure consistency
Big change: turns into a platform, more like an OSCore services: CMS: content storage and servicesIntegrate: example: analyticsFramework: not just UI, but also services: messaging, switching
What I like about Apps
help us to deal with UI complexityprovide clear extensions pointsusers get the idea immediatelyforce us to think in tasks
But a lot to be gained
clear extension points: app contest: 25 app ideas in 40 minutes of which 10 were really greatusers: very used to apps
task: what is a task? what needs a UI? what tasks have to be addressed together?
Apps leave a lasting impression
oresund bridge between copenhagen and malmöimpression: this is one goal of UX design
Thank you!
Andreas WederMagnolia International Ltd.
Your questions? Your opinion!