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I think this is a very worthwhile problem to solve. However... I don't think the basic premise of the interface is very helpful. Having to dial in an exact con
by pgroves 15y ago
I think this is a very worthwhile problem to solve. However...
I don't think the basic premise of the interface is very helpful. Having to dial in an exact configuration to get any information is very cumbersome, and requires the user to scan the parameters and take notes to get an idea of what the tradeoffs are.
In particular, the way service providers disappear from the results when a configuration they don't support is entered creates more questions than answers to the user. When I enter a few configurations with no result for Rackspace, I think "why don't you just TELL ME what Rackspace supports."
I know you have many dimensions of data to deal with, so a more complex visualization is difficult, but it will be worth it if you can work it out. I would recommend looking at Edward Tufte's books.
You may also find Tableau software's free web visualization software useful. It solves this basic problem although I have never used it so I can't say if it works well.
- okrasz 15y agoActually I didn't thought it may cause such problem. Interesting. Actually when I think of it right now, I somehow realized that the controls have two purposes - one is setting parameters for calculation and second is filtering if criteria is not met. This in deed might not be obvious. Just a quick thought - would dropping a provider down the list + dash instead of price + stating "provider does not support this configuration" instead of server summary. Probably a limiting resource should be also mentioned. Would it make it?
- okrasz 15y agoAfter giving a second thought I think it is not something what you are asking for. You would like to have a way to have quick look to visual price lists, without filling in anything. Something like multidimensional graph.