But this post isn't about those migration problems, I'll be covering them as I tear my hair out at work, much like my migrations to Visual Studio 2005.
From this GUI developer's point of view I'll cover my thought process:
- "Does my UI work under this upgraded platform?"
Ignoring the platform issues, does the user interface work on the new platform. This means does it render without causing corruption and does it crash? It's a simple case of running the executable. - "Does it look good?"
Now the user interface is usable, does it look integrated with the rest of the system? This means checking custom draw items work and match the system theme. Once you've made sure you have made no glaring errors the program is probably usable on the new platform. - "Does it look consistent with other programs on that platform?"
Now this is where the realy hard work start. Some platforms actually provide user interface (HCI) guidelines that are worth the virtual paper they are written on like the Apple ones, some are not like Vista. My next post will cover this point in greater detail. - "Has the migration made our user's lives better or easier?"
Has the shiny new look cheered our user's lives up? Has it made the user's lives easier, say for instance the new common controls provide even more functionality as standard? - "What can be added incrementally?"
Are there new features available to the developers that can be added in an incremental fashion, either phasing out old items or introducing new paradigms. This will also be the implementation of features seen as extras by the HCI guidelines. - "Can you separate yourself from the crowd?"
This is the lowest priority item. Are there things you can do that look good, but also serve to separate you from the rest of the crowd (but please keep them within the HCI guidelines, PLEASE!)
