Eclipse client as CMS authoring interface
[this is a translation of the german article about usablility in CM systems]
Responsibles who have to introduce a CMS to a company have a tough job, nowadays. Hundreds of CM Systems are available on the market and the "feature lists" are more or less common for all products. When examining the systems in detail there are enormous differences in the way "how" a CMS covers a certain feature.
Responsibles who have to introduce a CMS to a company have a tough job, nowadays. Hundreds of CM Systems are available on the market and the "feature lists" are more or less common for all products. When examining the systems in detail there are enormous differences in the way "how" a CMS covers a certain feature.
The question how intensively a CMS is used in the company determines in
middle-terms the success of a CMS project. In the end the idea of
content management is that the maintenance of content is not only done
by a few employees but that it is done by as many employees as possible.
Content management systems are ment to enable the operating departments to maintain their content without support of IT specialists. This will then result in a reduction of online publishing time on the one hand and on the other hand this will release the IT departments from routine jobs.
This concept will only be successful when the operating departments are able to handle the CMS, even when an employee only works with the CMS occasionally. Unfortunately the user interfaces of many CM systems are often so complex that intensive training is neccessary to handle them. An author who creates a new document only once a month needs to re-familiarize in the system every single time which will quickly lead to frustration, fear and in the end to rejection of the system.
Therefore, usability of the authoring interface is essential for the long-term success of the CMS project:
Almost every CM system has a browser-based user interface. The reasons are obvious: the browser is available on every computer, no extra client needs to be installed. Updates can be administered centrally. When the objective of a CMS project is that as many employees as possible are to be enabled to maintain content, the browser is the best possible option.
It is often ignored that the browser in general is inappropriate for ergonomic user interfaces. Familiar elements such as tree views, menues, modal dialogs and drag&drop functionalities are missing, the use of the keyboard for controlling tasks is hardly possible and with every click the page must be reloaded form the server and sent to the browser again. From a technical point of view it is a step back to the age of terminals.
This does not mean that it is impossible to create an ergonomic user interface in the browser. But it is much more complex to develop so that many software developing companies try to keep these costs as low as possible.
The alternative to a browser-based user interface
Even assuming that it is possible to create ergonomic user interfaces in the browser they will never be as powerful and at the same time as intuitive as client applications that run directly on the author's computer and that offer the typical Windows control elements. IT departments do not like client applications as described because they have to be installed and maintained on every single author's computer. But there are alternatives that try to combine both concepts: server-sided "intelligence" and client-sided "presentation" without depending on client installation. Such a platform is Eclipse, available at no charge.
Eclipse is an independent programme ? that has to be installed at the client ? but that does not bring its own "application". Similar to a browser that, as "generic programme", interprets and controls HTML applications, Eclipse interprets "Eclipse applications". A Eclipse application is a "plug in" that is not only installed automatically by the server but that can also be updated automatically, time or event-controlled. Thus, the Eclipse client can be understood as "browser for applications" and can be installed on every computer in the company by default as it is normally done with web browsers.
Eclipse client as CMS authoring interface
The picture shows the prototype of the new Eclipse client for the CMS WebGate Anywhere. With this client CMS authors can create and maintain content comfortably and with the control elements they are familiar with. Data exchange between client and server is done via webservices so that one client can access any number of WebGate Anywhere sites. The "site explorer" is highly dynamic and loads the documents needed exactly when they are needed so that even large amounts of documents can be handled. A browser view shows the document accessed and with "inline editing" the author can work directly in the document. On the other side every dialog is a real "Windows dialog" in the familiar look and feel of the operating system ? no matter if it is Windows, Mac OS or Linux. Eclipse can load new versions of the WebGate Anywhere client plug in automatically on start so that IT departments do not have to care.
Content management systems are ment to enable the operating departments to maintain their content without support of IT specialists. This will then result in a reduction of online publishing time on the one hand and on the other hand this will release the IT departments from routine jobs.
This concept will only be successful when the operating departments are able to handle the CMS, even when an employee only works with the CMS occasionally. Unfortunately the user interfaces of many CM systems are often so complex that intensive training is neccessary to handle them. An author who creates a new document only once a month needs to re-familiarize in the system every single time which will quickly lead to frustration, fear and in the end to rejection of the system.
Therefore, usability of the authoring interface is essential for the long-term success of the CMS project:
- How easy can the system be learnt and understood?
- How easy can the system be re-learnt?
- How well are "power users" supported?
- How efficient is the handling:
- How many clicks are necessary to find the target document, to maintain it and to publish it?
- How well is the performance ? especially with large amounts of data?
- How does the system react to faulty insertions?
- Can the author be "successful" in his work with the system?
Almost every CM system has a browser-based user interface. The reasons are obvious: the browser is available on every computer, no extra client needs to be installed. Updates can be administered centrally. When the objective of a CMS project is that as many employees as possible are to be enabled to maintain content, the browser is the best possible option.
It is often ignored that the browser in general is inappropriate for ergonomic user interfaces. Familiar elements such as tree views, menues, modal dialogs and drag&drop functionalities are missing, the use of the keyboard for controlling tasks is hardly possible and with every click the page must be reloaded form the server and sent to the browser again. From a technical point of view it is a step back to the age of terminals.
This does not mean that it is impossible to create an ergonomic user interface in the browser. But it is much more complex to develop so that many software developing companies try to keep these costs as low as possible.
The alternative to a browser-based user interface
Even assuming that it is possible to create ergonomic user interfaces in the browser they will never be as powerful and at the same time as intuitive as client applications that run directly on the author's computer and that offer the typical Windows control elements. IT departments do not like client applications as described because they have to be installed and maintained on every single author's computer. But there are alternatives that try to combine both concepts: server-sided "intelligence" and client-sided "presentation" without depending on client installation. Such a platform is Eclipse, available at no charge.
Eclipse is an independent programme ? that has to be installed at the client ? but that does not bring its own "application". Similar to a browser that, as "generic programme", interprets and controls HTML applications, Eclipse interprets "Eclipse applications". A Eclipse application is a "plug in" that is not only installed automatically by the server but that can also be updated automatically, time or event-controlled. Thus, the Eclipse client can be understood as "browser for applications" and can be installed on every computer in the company by default as it is normally done with web browsers.
Eclipse client as CMS authoring interface
The picture shows the prototype of the new Eclipse client for the CMS WebGate Anywhere. With this client CMS authors can create and maintain content comfortably and with the control elements they are familiar with. Data exchange between client and server is done via webservices so that one client can access any number of WebGate Anywhere sites. The "site explorer" is highly dynamic and loads the documents needed exactly when they are needed so that even large amounts of documents can be handled. A browser view shows the document accessed and with "inline editing" the author can work directly in the document. On the other side every dialog is a real "Windows dialog" in the familiar look and feel of the operating system ? no matter if it is Windows, Mac OS or Linux. Eclipse can load new versions of the WebGate Anywhere client plug in automatically on start so that IT departments do not have to care.