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Ribbon UI - is it really THAT good?

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mahesh2k:
Ribbon interface is more confusing for people like me and moreover each word processor has it's own placement issues. On the other hand standard file|menu type of toolbar at the top has less clutter than ribbon interface.

ewemoa:
I also find the Ribbon UI to be confusing -- in the few places I've seen it, I felt there was too much to sort through at once.  What I didn't know until today is that an appropriate double-click will minimize it :)

jgpaiva:
FWIW I haven't seen any serious scientific study to support the contention that a ribbon interface (at least as has been implemented by Microsoft) is more effective or productive than the classic drop-down menu system.
-40hz (November 29, 2011, 06:51 AM)
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I remember when they were designing the new interface, Microsoft did a series of extensive tests which have shown that the ribbon is easier to use. I know there was a very long video (2h or something like that) showing how they tested it and why they settled for this interface.

Because that's all it really is at this point - a 'look.'
-40hz (November 29, 2011, 06:51 AM)
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IMO you are seriously undervaluing how important the user interface is. Apple has repeatedly shown how important the look and feel of stuff (software and hardware) is for people.

What users do appreciate, however, is a well designed interface. And there's nothing to show them a ribbon is superior. So I don't think the absence of a ribbon is any disincentive for your customers. I have yet to hear any reviewer recommend not buying an app just because it didn't have one.
-40hz (November 29, 2011, 06:51 AM)
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That I surely agree with you. IMO what you must decide is if the ribbon is good for you, as it isn't good for every type of app. I think Ath's links should be very helpful with that, at least I found them very interesting.

Also, but this is only personal taste, please avoid at all costs non-stantard interfaces :) (and I hate what MS has done with the title bar of windows in office :/ )

Darwin:
Speaking strictly as an end-user, after four years with the ribbon, I like it. Using apps that do use the older style interface, like SoftMaker's Office 2010/2012, seems awkward and the UI cluttered. As others have noted, this is more about UI design: do it well and it doesn't matter whether you have the ribbon or not.

FWIW, I've used some 3rd party apps that went with the ribbon and hated the experience. I think MS have done the ribbon well, but then, the older UI in Office 2003 was fine, too. 40hz may be onto something with this comment:

And in the case of MSOffice, I'm firmly convinced the decision to do one was primarily a marketing move. Something along the lines of: "If you can't make it better, at least make it look radically different!"
-40hz (November 29, 2011, 06:51 AM)
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40hz:
author=jgpaiva link=topic=28892.msg269565#msg269565 date=1322573716]

IMO you are seriously undervaluing how important the user interface is. Apple has repeatedly shown how important the look and feel of stuff (software and hardware) is for people.

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Not at all. Interface design is an obsession of mine. Something I've put a huge amount of personal research and study into. (Having a GF with a graduate degree in cognitive psych as a resource doesn't hurt either.  :mrgreen:)

What I'm saying is not to let yourself get too distracted by one company's approach to interface design such that it blinds you to doing something better or more intelligent.

It also pays to remember that Microsoft has long been thrashing around to come up with a look to rival Apple's. So the ribbon design is far more motivated by marketing decisions than it ever was for productivity concerns.

Regarding Microsoft's study, I've seen the video you mentioned and read all the write-ups. I'm not impressed. It started with a bias in favor of the need for a completely new interface and went from there. Hardly good science.

There was also an article that somebody (not Microsoft) did about a year later where they took the classic menus and 'fixed' them to remove many of the complaints and inconsistencies. IIRC the people they tested it on were even more productive than they were with the ribbon despite the fact this study used the same methodology and criteria Microsoft used to justify their new interface. Go figure.  ;D

I think what emerges is that Microsoft, on its own, decided a completely new interface was needed and went about creating one. What they came up with might be arguably "better." But only as long as you ignore data that contradicts the notion the ribbon is vastly superior and preferable to any other alternative.

Anytime I see a publicly realeased  "study" or white paper coming out of a corporation's R&D department I have to remind myself it's being released to support a decision already made. Because all the really breakthrough stuff sure as hell sports a "Company Private" stamp - and is likely locked up at night!

And Microsoft is not above fudging a study or twisting results to support their contentions and inject some FUD into the discussion. They've done it before. They'll do it again if they think they have to.

So have many other businesses and those with vested interests.

I'm not going to get in a roll about Apple. Suffice to say Apple is not so much about design or technical excellence (both are a given if you want to survive in this business and Apple holds no monopoly there) as it is about "belonging" and boosting your self-esteem by owning and using an Apple product.

If you look beyond the hype and really look at Apple's "insanely great" designs you'll find equal amounts of brilliance and just plain wrong thinking. Apple isn't as smart as they think they are. Their real talent is not being afraid to introduce something, have it do an epic fail, then go out and do it again. I've been with them since the Macintosh SE running System 6.0.4 and Finder so I've got a lot to base my opinion on.

Having a loving, blindly forgiving, and monied userbase let's them get away with it. But what the heck. It's a cult so who cares?  :D

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Note: I regularly use Windows, OSX, various flavors of Linux, and BSD. I use just about every major interface from the command line - all the way up to that latest "disaster waiting to happen" called Gnome3 - with stops in between for Aero, Apple, and annoyance. And I'm writing this post on my iPhone! (Not recommended btw.) I mention this only to show I have no strong personal biases for any interface as long as it works enough to let me get something done with it.   ;D

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