Comments on: Article: Deconstructing Web Applications: An Interview with Hagan Rivers http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/10/16/article-deconstructing-web-applications-an-interview-with-hagan-rivers/ UIE\'s latest insights on the world of design Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:55:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Anup http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/10/16/article-deconstructing-web-applications-an-interview-with-hagan-rivers/#comment-30553 Anup Thu, 19 Oct 2006 09:01:07 +0000 http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/?p=368#comment-30553 I think the article was interesting and made good points. I think the problem for many developers in a number of countries will be how to make web *applications* accessible, because AJAX (as that is what a lot of web-based apps imply) is powerful but screen readers and other assistive technology struggle with it. In some countries this implies employment law as well as disability discrimination may kick in, if the app prevents someone doing their job. With desktop apps, they typically have different hooks that assistive technology can make use of to help make the app accessible (the developer still needs to do work of course!) Accessible web apps is not just about making a site work when AJAX or JavaScript is not available, because many people using screen readers, for example, will use browsers that have JavaScript enabled. Flash (Flex) has made some advances in accessibility which may be worth considering for web apps -- needs to be considered carefully -- search engines won't index very well, book marks will be a problem. If it is an internal web app then this could be a useful option. One thing developers can do is see if their apps do not, for example, only allow drag and drop as the way to complete a task (which is kinda basic usability anyway). These kind of things may help but requires more research. I think the article was interesting and made good points. I think the problem for many developers in a number of countries will be how to make web *applications* accessible, because AJAX (as that is what a lot of web-based apps imply) is powerful but screen readers and other assistive technology struggle with it.

In some countries this implies employment law as well as disability discrimination may kick in, if the app prevents someone doing their job.

With desktop apps, they typically have different hooks that assistive technology can make use of to help make the app accessible (the developer still needs to do work of course!)

Accessible web apps is not just about making a site work when AJAX or JavaScript is not available, because many people using screen readers, for example, will use browsers that have JavaScript enabled.

Flash (Flex) has made some advances in accessibility which may be worth considering for web apps — needs to be considered carefully — search engines won’t index very well, book marks will be a problem. If it is an internal web app then this could be a useful option.

One thing developers can do is see if their apps do not, for example, only allow drag and drop as the way to complete a task (which is kinda basic usability anyway). These kind of things may help but requires more research.

]]> By: pauric http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/10/16/article-deconstructing-web-applications-an-interview-with-hagan-rivers/#comment-30237 pauric Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:55:45 +0000 http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/?p=368#comment-30237 Excellent read! Can you suggest any books on this subject? "The way they (sales force) handle toolbars, tables, and editing is all the same no matter where you are in the application." I've found that interaction consistency is much more important in web-app design compared to web-site. I feel the user is much more focused on goals in the app arena and is sensitive to discrepancies in flow. "I don't think the page metaphor limits web applications at all. The page metaphor makes most people think of simplistic, page by page application design." An interesting article on the Kathy Sierra's blog: http://tinyurl.com/y2vrv4 talks about constraints aiding design. The page paradigm helped me organise my UI in to features/actions/content across a menu, tab row and main panel. In turn this forced me to think carefully about my menu and kept the overall interface clean. One only needs to look at something like Lotus Notes to see how too much choice for a developer/designer can be a bad thing. Finally, a thought that is pops up throughout the article and something I could not agree more with; we are given a lot of freedom at the presentation layer. However, I would go further than stating we should not look to replicate desktop app interaction paradigms, I create all my designs in Omnigraffle with little regard for how a developer could render it in html/css. More often than not I receive something close to the candidate design. Great article - thanks Excellent read! Can you suggest any books on this subject?

“The way they (sales force) handle toolbars, tables, and editing is all the same no matter where you are in the application.”

I’ve found that interaction consistency is much more important in web-app design compared to web-site. I feel the user is much more focused on goals in the app arena and is sensitive to discrepancies in flow.

“I don’t think the page metaphor limits web applications at all. The page metaphor makes most people think of simplistic, page by page application design.”

An interesting article on the Kathy Sierra’s blog: http://tinyurl.com/y2vrv4 talks about constraints aiding design. The page paradigm helped me organise my UI in to features/actions/content across a menu, tab row and main panel. In turn this forced me to think carefully about my menu and kept the overall interface clean. One only needs to look at something like Lotus Notes to see how too much choice for a developer/designer can be a bad thing.

Finally, a thought that is pops up throughout the article and something I could not agree more with; we are given a lot of freedom at the presentation layer. However, I would go further than stating we should not look to replicate desktop app interaction paradigms, I create all my designs in Omnigraffle with little regard for how a developer could render it in html/css. More often than not I receive something close to the candidate design.

Great article - thanks

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