A Graphical User Interface for a Multimedia Environment
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A Graphical User Interface for a Multimedia Environment The HP Visual User Environment, or HP VUE, provides not only a friendly user interface to the HP-UX* operating system but also a framework for the HP MPower system. by Charles V. Fernandez It was inevitable that once the multitasking, multiuser,spelling and mistake or a typing error could mean disaster. ComĆ network capabilities of the UNIX* operating systemmands, were unless memorized, have to be looked up in the docĆ connected with the power of graphics workstationsumentation. that the HP VUE unburdens the user from having to next step would be to civilize the UNIX commandmemorize line interĆ UNIX commands and retype faulty command face with a graphical user interface (GUI). Graphicallines. user To operate an HPĆUX system from HP VUE, a user interfaces are literally changing the face of UNIX systems,directly manipulates the graphical objects that populate the and in doing so, are helping to spread UNIX systemsworkspace. and For example, to move a file from one directory workstations from their historical installed base amongto techĆ another, the user drags the file icon from one file manager nical users into the broader markets offered by commercialview to another and drops it there. To start an application, computing. the HP VUE user doubleĆclicks the application icon. Among these GUIs is the HP Visual User EnvironmentOne of the confusing things for users of an operating system (HP VUE). HP VUE is the first GUI to provideis the that following they are required to develop a threeĆtiered level of features and capabilities for workstations running theconsciousness: HPĆUX one level for the operating system, one for operating system: the application, and a third for their data, the only tier they • PCĆcompatible controls are really interested in. New users have a difficult time disĆ • 3D visual appearance tinguishing where one level stops and the other starts. ComĆ • A graphical user interface to the system's particularmand line environments routinely demand that a user who functionalities while hiding the peculiarities of the systemwants to access data must switch from a data focus, rememĆ from the end user ber which application works with that data (and possibly • Multiple levels of integration for inĆhouse and ISVwhere that application is located), and negotiate how to start (independent software vendor) applications. the application. Only after successfully starting the applicaĆ tion can the user return to the desired data focus. As the framework for HP MPower, HP VUE provides the structure into which multimedia components can beHP VUE, on the other hand, because it associates applicaĆ integrated. tions with data using an action and fileĆtyping function, enĆ ables users to remain focused on their data, and the operatĆ HP VUE provides a consistent set of controls withing which system to and application tiers remain hidden by the user operate a workstation. While UNIX system commands conĆ interface. To access data in the HP VUE environment, users tain a lot of functionality, this functionality is oftendoubleĆclick cryptic, the data icon. The application starts automatiĆ hard to understand, and difficult to remember, especially for cally and loads the selected data file, leaving the user free to occasional users. Additionally, UNIX system commandsfocus and on work, not the mechanics of getting to work. their options are often inconsistent (some commands provide output, others don't, and what–o option an means dependsThe HP VUE 3.0 Design Process on the command, not the functionality of the option).Getting HP HP VUE to its current state has been an evolutionary VUE changes all this. HP VUE uses a simple setprocess. of graphical The process began in the midĆ1980s when HP controls, consistent with the Common User Access (CUA)adopted the X Window System as the strategic graphical model followed by Microsoft, IBM Corp., and many otherlayer for workstations. This evolution continued through the PC manufacturers. The CUA model is based on pushbuttons,development of the 3D window manager,hpwm, its submittal scroll bars, and menus. and acceptance by the Open Software Foundation (OSF) as an industry standard, the proliferation of OSF/Motif, the A user familiar with similar controls such as Microsoft development of HP VUE 2.0, and finally, HP VUE 3.0. Windows can sit down at a workstation with an HP VUE user interface and immediately take control becauseDuring the the design process of HP VUE 2.0 it became apparĆ skills required to operate a PC GUI are the sameent as that the designing skills a user interface without user input would needed to operate an HP VUE workstation. be a recipe for disaster. For the development of HP VUE 3.0, a more formalized approach to user input was established. This To operate a UNIX system from the command line, a user has approach goes by the acronym QFD, for Quality Function to type commands and command options at the keyboard. A 20April 1994 HewlettĆPackard Journal Deployment.1 It was adopted for the development of HP VUE 3.0 to help ensure that: • Customer input was systematically collected (a) • Customer input was quantified to define and prioritize product requirements • Customer input was factored into the design process • Product design was affected by the input as opposed to the input being interpreted to fit the design. The QFD for HP VUE 3.0 was a multistep process. Keeping in mind that the primary target market for HP VUEHP MPower consists of workstation users, we established a target designSlide-Up market for HP VUE 3.0 in the areas of factory floor operations,Panel scientific research, industrial and architectural design, inforĆ mation engineering (knowledge workers), design engineerĆ ing, education, CASE (computerĆaided software engineering), and system administration. These design markets were given relative weights to facilitate the prioritization of their inputs. For example, input from scientific research with a weight of 5% wasn't nearly as influential as input from a knowledge worker with a weight of 35%. Within these areas,HP potential VUE users were categorized on a UNIX knowledgeabilityspectrum Panel that included categories for protected users, naive users,(b) moderate users, and sophisticated users. Correlations were noted between these user types and our target designFig. 1. marĆ (a) The boxy" look of the HP VUE 2.0 front panel and ket. Over 30 companies were visited and asked to(b) input the new into and improved membrane look of the HP VUE 3.0 front the HP VUE 3.0 QFD process. panel including the HP MPower slideĆup subpanel on the left. The result was a weighted list in priority order ofAnother what pizzazz cusĆ and functional feature of the new front tomers wanted. Performance figured high on the† list.panel Pizzazz is the inclusion of slideĆup subpanels. These panels was also important. Of less importance were multipleslide fonts up seemingly from behind the front panel when their and workspace manager button labels. This list essentiallycontrol is pressed. The slideĆup subpanels enable developers formed a prioritized functional specification wish listto for make the more controls readily available without taking up HP VUE 3.0 product. more space. They also provide a convenient place to locate the multimedia components of HP MPower. The slideĆup The Workspace Manager subpanels can be torn off and posted to the workspace like HP VUE 3.0 workspace manager has a new looka that control differĆ panel. entiates it from HP VUE 2.0. This new look is part pizzazz and part pragmatism. The pizzazz is that the squareThe button File Manager look of the 2.0 front panel is replaced by a membrane"The file manager look is a good example of how QFD and usabilĆ in which the bevels demarking the buttons are removedity studies and can refine a product. HP VUE 2.0 packed a lot of the icons that form the button labels appear insetfunctionality into the into the file manager. Virtually all system file frontĆpanel membrane. management was available through the file manager's GUI. Fig. 1 illustrates the familiar boxy" look of the HPThis VUE is a 2.0 good thing. However, what the 2.0 file manager front panel and the new and improved membranedidn't look of do, the and what QFD and usability studies made apparent, HP VUE 3.0 front panel. Notice also the slideĆupwas subpanels that all that functionality wasn't readily accessible. available with the HP VUE 3.0 front panel. The tallThe subpanel best example of this is the process of renaming a file. on the left is the HP MPower media panel. HPTo VUE rename 3.0, as a file in HP VUE 2.0, the user had to do the mentioned earlier, provides the framework for HP MPower.following: • Aside from supplying an easily recognizable visual distincĆSelect the file to be renamed • tion between the two versions of HP VUE, the membranePull down theFile menu • look makes the front panel easier to configure. ToSelect placeRename a from the menu • button in the old front panel required users to countWait for the theRename dialog box to appear • length and width of a button in pixels and thenClick add the pixelsRename text entry field in the dialog box • for the bevels. This proved to be a timeĆconsumingType and the new file name • errorĆprone activity and certainly not userĆfriendly. TheClick theOK button. membrane look eliminates the need for users to countAs a pixels. result of feedback from QFD and the usability studies, They simply specify the button, and the front panelthe magically HP VUE 3.0 file renaming process involves the following grows itself to fit the new button. steps: • Click on the file name to change † Pizzazz refers to those features in a product that might create customer excitement (e.g., • Type the new name garbage can icons that open when trash is tossed in or button icons that look and behave • like real pushbuttons).