Don t Ask Questions If You Don t Really Need the Answers

One of the reasons a typical setup program has so many unnecessary screens is that they spend too much time asking unnecessary questions. These unnecessary questions often relate to getting information that the setup program should already have, getting information that the setup program should be able to figure out by itself, or providing setup options that the user doesn't need.

The accuracy of this assessment became especially clear to me recently when I upgraded my computer to Windows 98. Along with the Windows 98 upgrade CD-ROM, I received a Microsoft Windows 98 Upgrade Guide from Dell Computer Corporation. While these instructions are specific to Dell, I'm sure other computer manufacturers have similar upgrade instructions. I believe these instructions provide a remarkable indication of the complexity of setup programs. For example, in the "Running the Windows 98 Setup Program" section, the first 10 of 19 steps (with the commentary and other miscellaneous text removed) read roughly as follows:

    Turn on your system.

    Insert the Microsoft Windows 98 Upgrade CD into the CD-ROM drive.

    Click Yes.

    Click Continue.

    Click the I Accept The Agreement button, and then click Next>.

    Enter the product key, and then click Next>.

    Click the Yes (Recommended) button, and then click Next>.

    Modify the network information as necessary, and then click Next>.

    Change the location setting as necessary, and then click Next>.

    Click Next>.

    And so on…

The remainder of the booklet contains similar instructions for upgrading the various system drivers for Windows 98. Do you find these instructions interesting? I find them fascinating. Why? Because the only real accomplishment of these instructions is to remove all choice from the user. None of the instructions in this 19-page booklet read like, "If you want this objective, click this; otherwise, click that." Rather, they just say "Click this." You could argue that this is a good sign, indicating that the default selections are always correct, which simplifies the installation process. But you could also argue that many of the selections are completely unnecessary. Apparently Dell, which has to pay for technical support for such upgrades, doesn't think they are necessary. But what I find really interesting is the fact that this booklet exists at all. The fact that Dell believes that such a booklet is necessary indicates that these setup programs have failed. Dell decided it was better to provide detailed documentation than to have users deal with the setup programs directly. This is a bad sign about the usability of these setup programs. Users should not need to have instructions like these.

TIP
Avoid presenting unnecessary setup options.

Now take another look at the alternative setup user interface that I proposed earlier. If software using this setup program were shipped by Dell, the upgrade guide would read:

    Click Install.

    Enough said.



Developing User Interfaces for Microsoft Windows
Developing User Interfaces for Microsoft Windows
ISBN: 0735605866
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 334

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