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Please don't take the this the wrong way, usability is hard and hey, you actually built something, which can be a goal in and of itself, but: please go read a b

Please don't take the this the wrong way, usability is hard and hey, you actually built something, which can be a goal in and of itself, but: please go read a book on usability. Designed for Use by Lukas Mathis [1] is a great introduction. The first few things that stood out for me: • It's my first time seeing the page, I want to know what it is. I definitely don't want to load a config. The default config should be the first thing the user sees, as it does a reasonable job of explaining the concepts. • The button for adding a card is tiny and far away for where the cards get added. • The menu being hidden by default means its items are not at all discoverable. It could still be collapsible, but open by default if you want users to actually use it. • Pressing ESC in the initial modal ends up in an irreversibly (without refresh) broken state. • The only way to save appears to be exporting a JSON file. You should look into LocalStorage or IndexedDB as a way to autosave so the user doesn't lose their content by inadvertently closing the tab, navigating or refreshing. • Deleting a column is instant and irreversible. You should have confirmation, or, even better, undo. I'm guessing you've built this to fulfil a personal niche, so kudos for getting it built. God knows I never finish anything I build for myself. [1] http://pragprog.com/book/lmuse/designed-for-use http://pragprog.com/book/lmuse/designed-for-use (or if you google hard enough there are ahem totally legit free PDFs)

zupa-hu 13y ago
thx for the book advice :)
codez 13y ago
Don't worry I won't take it the wrong way. I am looking for criticism, suggestions and feedback. This was a personal project and a tool I kinda build for myself but then people showed some interest in it and made little suggestions here and there but it has never had a wider audience which is why it's here. I will certainly look into that book for an xmas gift for myself :) 1. if I load the default config as standard, do you think that that is enough? or should there be some modal still introducing it in some way? 2. how would you tackle this? I have it in the menu as well but I wanted the ability to add a card to a particular column without using dropdowns etc. hence the icon on the column. 3. another user has suggested scrapping the menu altogether and I think this is something I will do and move to icons in the header. 4.Wow, thanks for pointing that out. This may be a bug with twitter bootstrap then as I am using their modal as I didn't want to spend time writing my own for a first iteration. 5.Cool, I will take a look at them, I haven't been too sure on save options. The initial idea was that developers wanted to save something they could then send to a PM who could load the same thing make changes and maybe send back. 6. There is a confirmation if the column is not empty, you should be asked if you wish to do so and that all cards will be lost. Yeah it was built as a personal thing, I was using post it notes a lot and then I changed desk and had no post it notes or I would lost a post it with a load of things on, simple things like hex colors for some css or ring this person and it kinda went from there. I really appreciate the feedback so thank you very much for your time to give me it and thanks for the link to the book to, I will certainly look at checking that out. Thanks again!
- alistairjcbrown 13y ago
  As many other have said, this looks similar to Trello. It may be worth looking into how they have their UI set up. Noticeable differences - In trello, the button which will action something is located close to where you would expect the result. eg. The new card functionality is at the bottom of the column, the new column functionality is in the top right. Further "more advanced" functionality is hidden in drop down menus for which the indicator appears on hover.
  - codez 13y ago
    hey alistairjcbrown! Thanks for the feedback!, it's much appreciated. I am certainly going to take a look into this, many people have mentioned trello. Thanks again!
    - mercer 13y ago
      I use quite a few web apps and desktop apps in this space, and have experimented with many more. I find Trello one of the most amazing apps I've used, both in it's general design and in the little details. Especially the little details. My expectations of web apps are generally not so high, so when, for example, trello remembers my input when I accidentally close something, it's a surprise. The most recent discovery I made was that when you hover over a card and press the copy keyboard shortcut, it copies the card. Something I don't use much, but comes in handy every once in a while. I think studying Trello's functionality would be great inspiration to improve your tool!
      - codez 13y ago
        hey mercer! Thanks for your insight, I will certainly look into taking on board a lot of peoples ideas and insights. Thanks again!
- untothebreach 13y ago
  > 5.Cool, I will take a look at them, I haven't been too sure on save options. The initial idea was that developers wanted to save something they could then send to a PM who could load the same thing make changes and maybe send back. To me (and I am no usability expert so, ya know, 'grain of salt' and all that), this sounds more like an "Export" operation than a "Save" operation. I agree with the parent that localStorage or IndexedDB would be good, and combining one of them with auto-save would be even better. Perhaps the 'Save' button in the menu could then be changed to 'Export' or something? EDIT: Also, the use of localStorage could make this 'todo' from the README partly obsolete: > online persistence if there was demand. this does however mean accounts which isn't cool but maybe the notion of guest accounts and persistent accounts whereby multiple boards could be saved. LocalStorage wouldn't enable a user to get their boards from anywhere, but could help, as the parent says, with the 'oops i closed my browser' case.

zupa-hu 13y ago

thx for the book advice :)

codez 13y ago

Don't worry I won't take it the wrong way. I am looking for criticism, suggestions and feedback. This was a personal project and a tool I kinda build for myself but then people showed some interest in it and made little suggestions here and there but it has never had a wider audience which is why it's here. I will certainly look into that book for an xmas gift for myself :) 1. if I load the default config as standard, do you think that that is enough? or should there be some modal still introducing it in some way? 2. how would you tackle this? I have it in the menu as well but I wanted the ability to add a card to a particular column without using dropdowns etc. hence the icon on the column. 3. another user has suggested scrapping the menu altogether and I think this is something I will do and move to icons in the header. 4.Wow, thanks for pointing that out. This may be a bug with twitter bootstrap then as I am using their modal as I didn't want to spend time writing my own for a first iteration. 5.Cool, I will take a look at them, I haven't been too sure on save options. The initial idea was that developers wanted to save something they could then send to a PM who could load the same thing make changes and maybe send back. 6. There is a confirmation if the column is not empty, you should be asked if you wish to do so and that all cards will be lost. Yeah it was built as a personal thing, I was using post it notes a lot and then I changed desk and had no post it notes or I would lost a post it with a load of things on, simple things like hex colors for some css or ring this person and it kinda went from there. I really appreciate the feedback so thank you very much for your time to give me it and thanks for the link to the book to, I will certainly look at checking that out. Thanks again!

alistairjcbrown 13y ago
As many other have said, this looks similar to Trello. It may be worth looking into how they have their UI set up. Noticeable differences - In trello, the button which will action something is located close to where you would expect the result. eg. The new card functionality is at the bottom of the column, the new column functionality is in the top right. Further "more advanced" functionality is hidden in drop down menus for which the indicator appears on hover.
- codez 13y ago
  hey alistairjcbrown! Thanks for the feedback!, it's much appreciated. I am certainly going to take a look into this, many people have mentioned trello. Thanks again!
  - mercer 13y ago
    I use quite a few web apps and desktop apps in this space, and have experimented with many more. I find Trello one of the most amazing apps I've used, both in it's general design and in the little details. Especially the little details. My expectations of web apps are generally not so high, so when, for example, trello remembers my input when I accidentally close something, it's a surprise. The most recent discovery I made was that when you hover over a card and press the copy keyboard shortcut, it copies the card. Something I don't use much, but comes in handy every once in a while. I think studying Trello's functionality would be great inspiration to improve your tool!
    - codez 13y ago
      hey mercer! Thanks for your insight, I will certainly look into taking on board a lot of peoples ideas and insights. Thanks again!
untothebreach 13y ago
> 5.Cool, I will take a look at them, I haven't been too sure on save options. The initial idea was that developers wanted to save something they could then send to a PM who could load the same thing make changes and maybe send back. To me (and I am no usability expert so, ya know, 'grain of salt' and all that), this sounds more like an "Export" operation than a "Save" operation. I agree with the parent that localStorage or IndexedDB would be good, and combining one of them with auto-save would be even better. Perhaps the 'Save' button in the menu could then be changed to 'Export' or something? EDIT: Also, the use of localStorage could make this 'todo' from the README partly obsolete: > online persistence if there was demand. this does however mean accounts which isn't cool but maybe the notion of guest accounts and persistent accounts whereby multiple boards could be saved. LocalStorage wouldn't enable a user to get their boards from anywhere, but could help, as the parent says, with the 'oops i closed my browser' case.