Fastwebwork

First let’s peek at the history of Windows in general.  In August of 1995, Microsoft changed the way computers would be seen from that moment on.  With the release of Windows 95, Microsoft launched a fully graphical environment.  Some people will note that Microsoft was not the first, nor was it the most technologically advanced fully graphical environment, and technically, it still ran on a DOS core, but for the most part, the average user powered on their machine, saw the Windows 95 logo and then was able to click on the “Start” button.  Microsoft brought the graphical environment to the masses.  Where Apple had sold hundreds of thousands of copies of its graphical environment, and had breached the million unit mark by the release of Windows 95, and IBM had sold several million copies of OS/2, Microsoft came out swinging.  They sold hundreds of millions of copies of Windows 95 and to a certain extent, the race was over.

In 2000, Microsoft took their business and server platform, Windows NT and combined it with the user-friendly environment of Windows 95 and released Windows 2000.  Windows 2000 had the server and workstation versions.  It made a more solid platform for user as well as administrators.  It didn’t have the general appeal as it was more of a business system.  Microsoft released Windows XP to have the strengths of Windows 2000 and the commercial appeal of Windows 95.

We all are aware that Microsoft released Windows Vista in 2007 to give a whole new platform and refresh to the Windows environment.  It was panned by critics, and rightfully so, as slow and bloated.  It had memory issues and didn’t have all the bells and whistles Microsoft had promised.  Whether it was able to be improved or not, the Vista brand name became poison in the marketplace.  Microsoft had planned on updating Vista to repair some of the issues they had not fixed, but instead, moved forward heavily with Windows 7 to refresh the Windows line and put in the new technologies that Microsoft promised without the poison pill of Vista.

So what is Windows 7?  Why would I want to use it?  Is it worth the cost or riddled with bugs like previous versions?  Windows 7 is the next version of the Microsoft operating system environment.  It is supposed to be faster, more stable and more reliable than Windows Vista.  It is supposed to be more backward compatible as well as forward compatible than Vista.  It is supposed to run a larger number of older applications than Vista, or even Windows XP.  And the ultimate question becomes…. Is it?

Why would we want to go to a new version of the operating system?  It’s a complex, yet easy answer.  Machines are getting faster and have much more capability.  Ten years ago, a terabyte drive would have cost a king’s ransom.  Now, it’s relatively inexpensive.  Processors are now no longer represented by clock speed, but model number.  The speed of the average computer has doubled in the last 18 months, and the memory amounts, which used to be considered high when you reached into the megabyte level, are now in the multiple gigabytes.  So, an operating system designed to take advantage of the new processors was bound to be the standard.  Microsoft has announced stop dates for shipping new units of Windows XP, and so to provide a new computer, vendors are going to have to choose; Windows Vista or Windows 7.  Most vendors will choose Windows 7.  That’s the short end of it.  The long end is there are tremendous new advantages of the operating system.  There are new applications coming out that will take advantage of the new Windows platform.  There are new operating system parts and pieces that will take advantage of the new hardware and software.  Microsoft created the .Net Framework back in 2002 when they released Visual Studio 2002.  The .Net Framework allows for new applications to be created and minimal amounts of additional software to be included.  With Windows 7, Microsoft is releasing the .Net Framework 4.0.  It will work with the new Visual Studio 2010.  For developers, this will be an added bonus for switching to Windows 7.  There is the Aero desktop, which, for users, is one of the more exciting features of both Vista and Windows 7.  The major difference is that in Windows 7, they’ve removed the majority of the bugs, and it now works with a tremendous amount less hardware required.  They’ve included the new DirectX 11 so gamers will have something to be happy about.  DirectX is the platform that game developers use to create 3D graphics, sound and other graphics capabilities in the Microsoft world.  DirectX 11 promises a tremendous new level of graphical interaction and a great new platform for developing some astounding new graphics.  There is the new WinFS environment.  WinFS stands for Windows File System.  Now, most average users aren’t all that excited over a new file system, but in this case, it’s actually a reason to switch to Windows 7.  WinFS was promised in Vista, but dropped at the last minute due to the technical challenges inherent in making it work.  What is it?  Simply, they use database technology, borrowed from the SQL Server team, to catalog all your files.  In Windows Vista or older, if you had to search for a file, you would go to the search engine, and type in the name and it would search through every file on your system and eventually present you with a list.  In Vista, if you allowed indexing, they simulated WinFS, and you could type in the first few letters and it would show up.  Now, in WinFS, it is no longer simulated, it is real.  The speed advantages are tremendous and will give the average user a much better experience.

Now, there are a lot of new adventures in Windows 7, but what is still there?  What applications did they give a facelift to?  Notepad, Windows Calculator, Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer, MS Paint and WordPad are all enhanced.  Notepad has new formats and takes advantage of the ribbon menu controls found in Office 2007.  Windows Calculator has a full new interface.  Microsoft added many new features and enhancements to Windows Media Player as well as completely rewriting Internet Explorerfrom the ground up.  MS Paint and WordPad also take advantage of the ribbon controls in Office 2007, as well as WordPad now has save options for the DocX format found in the Office 2007 suite.

Over the coming few articles, I’ll be investigating Windows 7, first providing looks into the updated applications listed above, and then delving into the newer and more robust features of the Windows 7 environment.

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User Centered Design

Web applications are written to help people accomplish their objectives more efficiently. Each user has very specific ideas of what they want an application to do for them, and though most designers have excellent goals, but there are times they don’t always mesh with end users’ needs. The most over-used phrase for developers is: “It’s a training issue.” In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The general principal for most users is: “If something is too hard to use, I tend to avoid it.” They have no desire to “train” on a new system. A User Centered Design model is necessary to building quality software. This includes usability testing, in order to determine if the software being built is user friendly. If you want to encourage your staff to become usability aware, you should require that each of them to attend and observe one usability testing session.

By focusing on User Centered Design, we increase adoption rates. Usability can be described by the following: the extent to which the intended user can meet his or her goals using the system being tested.

Pages and features should be either self evident or self explaining. Web pages are scanned, not read, and anything that is not intuitive will go ignored. Users typically focus on the first ‘reasonable’ choice and very few take time to read instructions, preferring to forge ahead and muddle through. There is just no substitute for the experience of watching your customers try their best to navigate a system that you have designed for them. The way subjects actually use your system may reveal bugs that are invisible to you. It also may suggest enhancements that were not obvious during the initial design stages.

A Usability Test should be performed during the beginning stages of development. When done properly, these tests are excellent tools to learn more about how users interact with an application. When done during the design phase, developers can save time and money by identifying usability shortcomings before releasing a new system (or in the early stages of a redesign), when changes can still be made relatively inexpensively. Be prepared, some feedback will be negative, it is not personal even if it is hard to swallow. This should be seen as positive feedback in order to improve the experience for the users.

The following steps are needed to set up a simple questionnaire style usability test:

1 – Define target audience for application.

2 – Find the correct user group with a pre-test questionnaire. The user group should have a broad range of skills. Some of the users should know how the system works, some should be very computer savvy, and some should be computer challenged. There should be approximately 10 to 15 people in the user group. Some usability testing groups offer a reward to testers for their participation in the study. This should be a consideration if it is difficult to get volunteers to participate in the testing group.

3 – Create a set of tasks for the testers to follow.

4 - Create the usability questionnaire, include tasks for testers to follow with corresponding questions.

5 – Write a Post-task questionnaire to be answered without the computer.

6 - Choose a testing screener. Screeners are not there to help the tester use the application but to observe and record actions and reactions silently. Write down any observations, even the gaps. Notice all the sounds and behaviors and comments that might be relevant. Remind the subject to verbalize and be as open with their thinking as possible. Any questions the screener may have should be written down and asked after the testing is completed.

7 - The tester is there to find out what can and can not be done without help, and should be able to find all the answers to their questions in the help files.

8 - Set up the computer in a conference room or office for one tester at a time to walk through the site, trying to follow the task list given, and answer the corresponding questions with no distractions or interruptions.

9 – Send a follow-up thank you note to each user, thanking them for their time and input.

10 – Compile data from pretest, test and follow up questions.

11 - Review data and make updates to the UI as appropriate.

Some of the Questions the Usability Testing should answer:

How do people interact with the system you are testing?

What is difficult or easy for people to do?

What makes sense about it?

What is exciting about it?

What changes would users like to see?

What do they really hate about it?

What additional tools, information, skills, and support will people really need to use your system?

Speed of task completion?

Error rate?

Subjective user satisfaction?

Their demographic background

What are users’ overall reactions?

How do users react to individual screens (characters, layout, sequences and moving between screens)?

Is your terminology and system information (system status, instructions, error messages, etc.) easy for users to understand and act on?

How easy is learning to use the system for your users?

How capable is your system (speed, reliability, and error correction facilities)?

Below is a list of questions that can be added to the survey. These will need to be expounded on and put in the task style of questions. This is by no means a complete list.

1) In the past year I have used this system (never, occasionally, regularly)

2) In the past month I have used this system (Not at all, 1-3 times a month, Once a week, 2-4 times a week, Daily)

3) What tasks do you currently use this system to perform?

4) What features do you use most often?

5) What do you like most about this application?

6) What do you like least?

7) If you were able to make changes to this application, what would you like to change?

Have you used another application that is similar?

a. If yes, please give the name of the product.

b. What features did the other application have that you liked and why?

c. What features did the other application have that you did not like and why?

9) The tasks were easy to follow. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

10) The tasks resembled problems I encounter while working on the system. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

11) I was able to complete the assignment. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

12) While working, I was always able to tell what was going on. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

13) The words and definitions used were familiar. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

14) I felt that I was in control over the task at hand. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

15) I was able to find the buttons and commands that I needed. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

16) I was not worried about making irrevocable mistakes. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

17) This system was efficient to use. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

18) The error messages I encountered were useful. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

19) I was able to find help for my questions. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

20) The help I found was useful. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

21) Overall, I was comfortable working with the system. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

22) I can imagine the problems that this system could solve. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

23) I would want to use this system to solve problems. (Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree)

24) Rate how easy or difficult it was to run a report. (Very Difficult, Moderately Difficult, Neither Easy or Difficult, Moderatly Easy, Very Easy)

25) What was easiest to do or understand? (If you need more room, write on the back of this page.)

26) What was the hardest to do or understand? (If you need more room, write on the back of this page.)

27) When you were exploring the site, what items or features did you look at? What were your observations about what you saw? (If you need more room, write on the back of this page.)

28) Optional: Please add any additional comments you may have. (If you need more room, write on the back of this page.)

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With a name like Fastwebwork, you expect us to have developers that build web based applications in multiple languages. And we do, but we don’t stop there. Our engineers are ready willing and able to build stand alone applications as well. We tackle your hardest projects with skill and talent that comes with years of experience.

Fastwebwork is a team of senior level software engineers building custom applications for our clients, based on the well-established User-Centered Design process to deliver the maximum value to the Customer/User and Supplier. We believe automating your business process allows employees to be more productive, saving your company time and money. If you need web based applications, stand alone applications or just want to stream line some of your current business processes, Fastwebwork can provide a cost effective way to bring your ideas full of life cycle.

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