Best UX - no UI at all
How many can remember, I have always been obsessed with user interfaces ( UI ). I remember how I enjoyed the beauty of Compaq TabWorks, while playing “The Incredible Machine” and listening to “Tears For Fears — Greatest Hits” on a family computer.
Do not judge me - I listened to Mad World long before the release of Donnie Darko and this terrible rabbit. If you did not recognize any of these references, then perhaps this is because I am very old. As George Costanza said, "It's not about you, but about me."
This is another ancient quote that you may not understand. Well, okay, let's move on.
')
Really, I was fascinated by the UI when I bought my own computer. I joined the coast guard and saved some money during the course of the young fighter (when it was impossible to go to the city because of push-ups and all that). I wanted to buy a Chevy Cavalier (alas, but this is not a joke), but my father suggested instead spending money on a computer, so I purchased my own Compaq with Windows 98 included in Office Depot. In addition, Cavalier does not buy for 800 bucks.
I spent a lot of time changing the themes of Windows 98. I was mesmerized by how windows can overlap and how icons and fonts, button shapes and colors change. I liked the way the windows cast a shadow. Each new topic was better than the previous one!
Oh, the depths of the sea! Oh, majestic fish! THE SPIRIT IS GRINDING.
If I knew what miracles I still have to meet. If I only knew about Windows XP.
Is there love at first sight? No, don't be naive. Love is an extremely difficult part of human behavior, which manifests itself only after a long struggle and torment.
But the impermanent and cruel sister of love — insane passion — exists and almost always arises at first sight. I was completely absorbed in my passion for Windows XP.
These are smooth curves of the Start menu. These are menu animations. I could just watch them for hours. And I did that. Shocking fact - I was not particularly popular in society, so I had enough free time for strange activities, for example, to admire the operating system.
If you remember, Windows XP had extremely large customization options. For almost any part of the operating system, you could change the skin or theme. This spawned a lot of the UI hacker community and third-party tools like Window Blinds , created by the good guys from Stardock. Yes Stardock, we know you. North remembers.
I can talk for a long time about my long, boring and somewhat frightening UI obsession. It is rather strange that I did not become a designer or artist. I can create a decent UI, but you would not hire me to design a website. And if they did, you would be called "my mother."
“Hi, Burke. May I have a website for my yoga club? I need a few buttons and at least three pictures. ”
Oh, thanks, mom. Yes, I can make three pictures.
However, I can build a great UI if I have building blocks. During my career, I managed to work on several excellent UI projects, including the first version of Kendo UI . I love buttons, drop-down lists and dialog boxes with excessive animation. And I can assemble these parts into an app, like Thomas Kinkade . I am a UI collector.
But as a user in recent years, I was sometimes disturbed by one and the same thought: the best user experience is the complete lack of user interface.
The only reason why the UI generally exists is that users need to interact with systems. The interface is an intermediary. It is an abstracted layer of communication and communication with it is prepared in advance. User and UI can communicate, but only within the indicated boundaries of the interface. And therefore such situations arise when the Magnificent UX crashes, as in the recent case with the false notification of Hawaiian residents about the approach of a ballistic missile.
This is the screen from which on Saturday they launched an alarm about the approaching rocket attack. The operator clicked on the link PACOM (CDW) State Only, and had to click on the link DRILL - PACOM (CDW) State Only.
We must predict what the user will think and how the user will react, and all people are different. Systems with good design can bring us closer to an intuitive understanding. I'm still a fan of skevomorphism and “sorry not sorry”. If a four-year-old can take an iPad and figure it out without instructions, then this is a sign of the genius of UX.
That is, even a perfect UI is not quite perfect. The ideal is the complete absence of intermediaries, no layer of translation. From a historical point of view, this was not possible because we could not “talk” with computers.
But now it is possible.
Natural Language Processing ( NLP ) is an area of ​​computer technology that works with the linguistic interaction between people and machines. The most famous examples of NLP are Amazon Echo, Siri, Cortana, and Google. Or "OK ​​Google." Or whatever this thing is called.
I am absolutely sure that the ability to communicate with AI through speech will be a better user interaction than clicking on buttons. In order to present my arguments, I will present three examples of how NLP can completely replace the UI and as a result we will get a much better user experience.
Siri is not a brilliant example of the “improved UX”, but one task that it copes quite well and that I use almost every day is a reminder.
From the user experience point of view, it’s much more convenient to say "Hey, Siri, remind me to write a letter to my mom at nine o'clock in the morning" than to do this ...
No matter how beautiful Reminders is, it never compares to the UX of a simple verbal Siri team.
Here you need to add an exception: "only when it works." Siri often arranges for a lunch break or cuts me off in mid-sentence, creating meaningless reminders with no due date. When NLP is wrong, it is usually wrong. This is incredibly annoying, as anyone using Siri can confirm.
This is a simple example, you might already know about it, or it may quite fairly seem not too impressive; so here’s another example: home automation.
There are several GE Z-Wave switches installed in my house. I connected them all together using the Vera Controller. If you are not very good at house automation, then you just need to know that the switches are connected to the controller and the controller provides an interface to control them, which allows me to turn the lights on and off using the phone.
The Vera light management application is quite convenient. It is imperfect, but its UX is quite decent. For example, if I need to turn on the light in the office, then in the application I will perform the following actions:
As I said, "quite comfortable." Not ideal. Just want to say it happens worse.
To be frank, when I need to turn the light on or off, I don’t want to search for the app and launch it in the phone. This is not very exciting. I want to turn on the light right now. Turning on the light through the phone is a step back in usability compared to, well, for example, the LIGHT SWITCH!
What is great is that I can ask Echo to do this.
For example, I can say to any switch in my house ...
Or in the bedroom, or in the dining room, yes anywhere. Vera has Alexa support, which allows Alexa to communicate directly with the controller, and since Alexa uses NLP, I do not need to say the phrase exactly to make it work. It just works.
There is a slight delay between the time the command is pronounced and Alexa's reaction to it. I think this is the delay needed to transfer data to the server, perform processing, contact my controller, turn off the light, perform processing again in the cloud and return the data to my home.
I must admit that sometimes one or two seconds pass before turning on the light. Yes, I understand the technical reasons, blah blah blah, but I do not care. I want the light to turn on and on right NOW. Like Veruca Salt.
I also have Nest thermostats that can be controlled using Echo and I must say that the ability to adjust the thermostat without getting out of bed is very convenient.
NLP does not have to be limited to spoken phrases. It turns out that interaction with computers through the text is equally important than buttons and sliders.
I'll show it to you on sample C.
Digit is an interesting little service that I learned from an advertisement on Twitter. I have always been curious about who clicks on Twitter ads and now I have the answer.
I would like more people to know about Digit. This service allows you to save money by machine learning by analyzing the costs in each month, so you can not drive yourself into debt.
The most remarkable thing about Digit is that the user does not communicate with him through the application. Everything is done through the text, and I like it.
Digit sends me text messages every day with changes in my bank balance. Here’s what a reminder of my current balance looks like:
Yes, I covered up the data on the status of my account so that you would not be too sad about my life.
If I want to know how much money Digit saved me, I just ask how much money I have left. But since Digit also uses NLP, I can ask how I want. I can even just send "savings" and the system will understand me. This is very similar to communication with a real person.
If I need to transfer part of the money into savings, because I want to buy more Lego, and my wife says that Lego is “I want” and not “necessary”, and that we have to save for the “college” for children, I can just ask Digit to transfer some money. And again, I don't need to memorize the right phrases. I can communicate with Digit until I get the desired result. Even if I’m wrong in the middle of a transaction, Digit can handle it. In essence, I simply fill out a form with the help of text without being immersed in the “form filling” hell.
After talking to Digit text for a while, now I want to have a text interface with all programs. Sometimes it is even better than speaking out loud, especially if you are in a situation where you cannot just say something to a robot, or you are too lazy to say. This happens to me too.
No way. NLP is not a replacement for all user interfaces. For example, I do not want to write a camera to take a photo. Or scroll through the photos in voice. However, this is a new approach to user interface design in an era when this new type of input appeared.
So before you start creating a new form or basket of an online store, ask yourself: do I need this UI at all? There is a high probability that, thanks to NLP and AI / ML , you can do without them.
NLP is much easier to create and develop than you might think. In terms of development tools, we have come a long way. For example, explore the capabilities of the LUIS from Azure project , which provides a GUI tool for creating and teaching NLP models.
It is free and very easy to use.
I recorded a video on creating an AI, which understands when I ask it to turn off the lights, selecting the lighting condition and the location of the room, based on our interaction.
Do not judge me - I listened to Mad World long before the release of Donnie Darko and this terrible rabbit. If you did not recognize any of these references, then perhaps this is because I am very old. As George Costanza said, "It's not about you, but about me."
This is another ancient quote that you may not understand. Well, okay, let's move on.
')
Really, I was fascinated by the UI when I bought my own computer. I joined the coast guard and saved some money during the course of the young fighter (when it was impossible to go to the city because of push-ups and all that). I wanted to buy a Chevy Cavalier (alas, but this is not a joke), but my father suggested instead spending money on a computer, so I purchased my own Compaq with Windows 98 included in Office Depot. In addition, Cavalier does not buy for 800 bucks.
Windows 98
I spent a lot of time changing the themes of Windows 98. I was mesmerized by how windows can overlap and how icons and fonts, button shapes and colors change. I liked the way the windows cast a shadow. Each new topic was better than the previous one!
Oh, the depths of the sea! Oh, majestic fish! THE SPIRIT IS GRINDING.
If I knew what miracles I still have to meet. If I only knew about Windows XP.
Windows xp
Is there love at first sight? No, don't be naive. Love is an extremely difficult part of human behavior, which manifests itself only after a long struggle and torment.
“What is love? Baby don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. No more. ”
—Haddaway, “What Is Love”
But the impermanent and cruel sister of love — insane passion — exists and almost always arises at first sight. I was completely absorbed in my passion for Windows XP.
These are smooth curves of the Start menu. These are menu animations. I could just watch them for hours. And I did that. Shocking fact - I was not particularly popular in society, so I had enough free time for strange activities, for example, to admire the operating system.
If you remember, Windows XP had extremely large customization options. For almost any part of the operating system, you could change the skin or theme. This spawned a lot of the UI hacker community and third-party tools like Window Blinds , created by the good guys from Stardock. Yes Stardock, we know you. North remembers.
I'm in love with UI
I can talk for a long time about my long, boring and somewhat frightening UI obsession. It is rather strange that I did not become a designer or artist. I can create a decent UI, but you would not hire me to design a website. And if they did, you would be called "my mother."
“Hi, Burke. May I have a website for my yoga club? I need a few buttons and at least three pictures. ”
Oh, thanks, mom. Yes, I can make three pictures.
However, I can build a great UI if I have building blocks. During my career, I managed to work on several excellent UI projects, including the first version of Kendo UI . I love buttons, drop-down lists and dialog boxes with excessive animation. And I can assemble these parts into an app, like Thomas Kinkade . I am a UI collector.
But as a user in recent years, I was sometimes disturbed by one and the same thought: the best user experience is the complete lack of user interface.
UI - a necessary evil
The only reason why the UI generally exists is that users need to interact with systems. The interface is an intermediary. It is an abstracted layer of communication and communication with it is prepared in advance. User and UI can communicate, but only within the indicated boundaries of the interface. And therefore such situations arise when the Magnificent UX crashes, as in the recent case with the false notification of Hawaiian residents about the approach of a ballistic missile.
This is the screen from which on Saturday they launched an alarm about the approaching rocket attack. The operator clicked on the link PACOM (CDW) State Only, and had to click on the link DRILL - PACOM (CDW) State Only.
We must predict what the user will think and how the user will react, and all people are different. Systems with good design can bring us closer to an intuitive understanding. I'm still a fan of skevomorphism and “sorry not sorry”. If a four-year-old can take an iPad and figure it out without instructions, then this is a sign of the genius of UX.
That is, even a perfect UI is not quite perfect. The ideal is the complete absence of intermediaries, no layer of translation. From a historical point of view, this was not possible because we could not “talk” with computers.
But now it is possible.
Natural language processing
Natural Language Processing ( NLP ) is an area of ​​computer technology that works with the linguistic interaction between people and machines. The most famous examples of NLP are Amazon Echo, Siri, Cortana, and Google. Or "OK ​​Google." Or whatever this thing is called.
I am absolutely sure that the ability to communicate with AI through speech will be a better user interaction than clicking on buttons. In order to present my arguments, I will present three examples of how NLP can completely replace the UI and as a result we will get a much better user experience.
Sample A: hey Siri, remind me ...
Siri is not a brilliant example of the “improved UX”, but one task that it copes quite well and that I use almost every day is a reminder.
From the user experience point of view, it’s much more convenient to say "Hey, Siri, remind me to write a letter to my mom at nine o'clock in the morning" than to do this ...
Gif
- Open application
- Touch new line
- Enter reminder
- Touch "i"
- Select date
- Touch “Done”
No matter how beautiful Reminders is, it never compares to the UX of a simple verbal Siri team.
Here you need to add an exception: "only when it works." Siri often arranges for a lunch break or cuts me off in mid-sentence, creating meaningless reminders with no due date. When NLP is wrong, it is usually wrong. This is incredibly annoying, as anyone using Siri can confirm.
This is a simple example, you might already know about it, or it may quite fairly seem not too impressive; so here’s another example: home automation.
Sample B: Home Automation
There are several GE Z-Wave switches installed in my house. I connected them all together using the Vera Controller. If you are not very good at house automation, then you just need to know that the switches are connected to the controller and the controller provides an interface to control them, which allows me to turn the lights on and off using the phone.
The Vera light management application is quite convenient. It is imperfect, but its UX is quite decent. For example, if I need to turn on the light in the office, then in the application I will perform the following actions:
Gif
As I said, "quite comfortable." Not ideal. Just want to say it happens worse.
To be frank, when I need to turn the light on or off, I don’t want to search for the app and launch it in the phone. This is not very exciting. I want to turn on the light right now. Turning on the light through the phone is a step back in usability compared to, well, for example, the LIGHT SWITCH!
What is great is that I can ask Echo to do this.
For example, I can say to any switch in my house ...
“Alex, turn on / off the light in the office”
Or in the bedroom, or in the dining room, yes anywhere. Vera has Alexa support, which allows Alexa to communicate directly with the controller, and since Alexa uses NLP, I do not need to say the phrase exactly to make it work. It just works.
There is a slight delay between the time the command is pronounced and Alexa's reaction to it. I think this is the delay needed to transfer data to the server, perform processing, contact my controller, turn off the light, perform processing again in the cloud and return the data to my home.
I must admit that sometimes one or two seconds pass before turning on the light. Yes, I understand the technical reasons, blah blah blah, but I do not care. I want the light to turn on and on right NOW. Like Veruca Salt.
I also have Nest thermostats that can be controlled using Echo and I must say that the ability to adjust the thermostat without getting out of bed is very convenient.
NLP does not have to be limited to spoken phrases. It turns out that interaction with computers through the text is equally important than buttons and sliders.
I'll show it to you on sample C.
Sample C: Digit
Digit is an interesting little service that I learned from an advertisement on Twitter. I have always been curious about who clicks on Twitter ads and now I have the answer.
I would like more people to know about Digit. This service allows you to save money by machine learning by analyzing the costs in each month, so you can not drive yourself into debt.
The most remarkable thing about Digit is that the user does not communicate with him through the application. Everything is done through the text, and I like it.
Digit sends me text messages every day with changes in my bank balance. Here’s what a reminder of my current balance looks like:
Yes, I covered up the data on the status of my account so that you would not be too sad about my life.
If I want to know how much money Digit saved me, I just ask how much money I have left. But since Digit also uses NLP, I can ask how I want. I can even just send "savings" and the system will understand me. This is very similar to communication with a real person.
If I need to transfer part of the money into savings, because I want to buy more Lego, and my wife says that Lego is “I want” and not “necessary”, and that we have to save for the “college” for children, I can just ask Digit to transfer some money. And again, I don't need to memorize the right phrases. I can communicate with Digit until I get the desired result. Even if I’m wrong in the middle of a transaction, Digit can handle it. In essence, I simply fill out a form with the help of text without being immersed in the “form filling” hell.
After talking to Digit text for a while, now I want to have a text interface with all programs. Sometimes it is even better than speaking out loud, especially if you are in a situation where you cannot just say something to a robot, or you are too lazy to say. This happens to me too.
Is the UX we know dead?
No way. NLP is not a replacement for all user interfaces. For example, I do not want to write a camera to take a photo. Or scroll through the photos in voice. However, this is a new approach to user interface design in an era when this new type of input appeared.
So before you start creating a new form or basket of an online store, ask yourself: do I need this UI at all? There is a high probability that, thanks to NLP and AI / ML , you can do without them.
How to start dealing with NLP
NLP is much easier to create and develop than you might think. In terms of development tools, we have come a long way. For example, explore the capabilities of the LUIS from Azure project , which provides a GUI tool for creating and teaching NLP models.
It is free and very easy to use.
I recorded a video on creating an AI, which understands when I ask it to turn off the lights, selecting the lighting condition and the location of the room, based on our interaction.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/348444/
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