Hire a usability expert

[Razasharp]

As much as the team does a great job on vB - for an application to really shine it needs experts in each field. Vb has a great coding team already, so I suggest Jelsoft take on an application design team who are experts in information architecture and usability.

As much as I love vB, there are many things which are not ideal from the perspective of a user. The main goal should always be to make the site as intuitive as possible - if you want people to use it and keep coming back.

If you look at some of the most successful sites - they really have it nailed, and I think this area is one that should not be overlooked, it will make the difference between an average/good system and a great/fantastic one.

Alternatively, it might be worth employing an audience behaviour agency and see if they would be willing to look at how people use forums/social/information websites and what areas could be improved (perhaps in direct relation to vB).

[Simetrical]

I have to agree that most software companies could probably use at least one interface design person, who has the budget to run usability tests. There's not nearly as much usability testing in the world of software as there should be. This is one thing that, for instance, Google really has nailed. But usability tests cost money, of course . . .

[davide101]

I highly agree with all of the above. I think they should do numerous focus groups as the design takes shape. Those focus groups should be made up of people that do NOT use forums regularly. If someone can't register and post in two minutes without getting lost, then there's a problem with the design. As power users, all of us are completely incapable of seeing things from a newbie's perspective.

[David Grove]

In addition to people who don't use forums regularly, the focus groups shouldn't contain any programmers. :)

When doing usability testing, we need to keep two things in mind. We need usability for novice users (as David points out), but we also need usability with the power forum user in mind. I think the two can coexist.

[Nick]

I agree with all points made above. Completely.

[psylenced]

Definitely agree. Compared to other forum software, certain things (especially the user options area) had me confused to learn.

Just as an afterthought. Possibly v4.0 would be ideal to phase this in. Totally new (hopefully) framework, totally new style.. could easily slot in the new UI with that change.

Also another thing although not as important is the admin side of things. Some of the interfaces and flows - such as permissions - could really do with a makeover to make them a whole lot more intuitive.

[Wayne Luke]

I can't speak to hiring practices but a more intuitive user interface is one of the primary goals of vBulletin 4.0



vBulletin 4 is an extensive rewrite of the vBulletin system, aimed at providing a superior experience both for users and administrators, while providing a much faster development cycle for vB4-based features and products though code flexibility and stability.

Users will benefit from a new, intuitive interface designed to provide greater usability and accessibility through a clean, modern design. Administrators will also discover more power from the new semantic XHTML templates, whose layout can be restyled and edited with CSS.


We realize that a lot of things have been tacked on to vBulletin 3.X. Part of the problem of keeping the style as backwards compatible as possible. We do however have 1.5 million posts, almost 1 million support tickets and 1,000s of bug reports as a basis for user experiences and where things can be fixed.

[Reeve of Shinra]

I'm also going to strongly suggest hiring a usabilty expert,... I was talking to one the other day (different title, same function) and when they were telling me about their job, I could easilly see the need for their services on the vb navigation.

[Simetrical]

I can't speak to hiring practices but a more intuitive user interface is one of the primary goals of vBulletin 4.0 . . . We do however have 1.5 million posts, almost 1 million support tickets and 1,000s of bug reports as a basis for user experiences and where things can be fixed.
IMO, this isn't enough (but it may have to do, if the budget isn't there). It will miss lots of usability problems, especially among people who aren't tech-savvy enough to know that they can make suggestions to Jelsoft. People will make all sorts of suggestions that they think will improve usability, but there's no way to know if they're right without systematic testing. Watching people actually try to do unfamiliar things is the only way to properly gauge usability and make a really polished product.

[David Grove]

As much as you and I can try to think things through from a usability perspective, we're going to miss things that are glaringly obvious to non-savvy computer users. I would like to think I could design an intuitive UI but the best thing to do is throw out pre-conceived ideas and, as Simetrical says, simple observe the way people try to do unfamiliar things.

[Razasharp]

I can't speak to hiring practices but a more intuitive user interface is one of the primary goals of vBulletin 4.0

That's great to hear :)


We realize that a lot of things have been tacked on to vBulletin 3.X.

We do appreciate that, and appreciate getting those features. I wasn't really criticising, just highlighting that I think it's an area that should not be overlooked, especially for vB4.


Part of the problem of keeping the style as backwards compatible as possible.

Hopefully this should not be an issue with vB4, as the devs have already said it will have a completely new style.


We do however have 1.5 million posts, almost 1 million support tickets and 1,000s of bug reports as a basis for user experiences and where things can be fixed.

I agree with Simetrical, this is far from ideal. Just as you wouldn't let the masses run a country you should never allow inexperienced people dictate how a site should be designed. Particularly if you are fishing for information that wasn't really given in that context. Just like the many suggestions posted should only really be seen as initial thoughts, and any considered should be discussed further - so that the right solution is found for the overall package. There really should be more dialogue in this respect imo.

I strongly suggest getting professionals in for the job, or if cost is an issue, identify a group of people here who you believe have the experience behind them and can help, perhaps a bit like in my Create a Rate n Reason team (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=284635) thread.

Drupal.org have just announced their redesign partner:


The Drupal Association is pleased to announce the selection of a design partner in its Drupal.org redesign efforts. Through a competitive process, UK-based Mark Boulton Design Ltd. was selected. Their proposal stood out because of their work on Coolspotters and the upcoming Standaard.be (launching Q4 2008), their agile design approach and their highly-experienced project team including Mark Boulton as Creative Director and project lead, Leisa Reichelt as Information Architect & UX Research and Carolyn Wood as Content Strategist.

And I'm quite sure much of that will carry through to Drupal 7, but note what the team has covered: design, information architecture and content strategy.

[nxvc]

Hire me ;-)

[GHOwner]

I can't speak to hiring practices but a more intuitive user interface is one of the primary goals of vBulletin 4.0



We realize that a lot of things have been tacked on to vBulletin 3.X. Part of the problem of keeping the style as backwards compatible as possible. We do however have 1.5 million posts, almost 1 million support tickets and 1,000s of bug reports as a basis for user experiences and where things can be fixed.
I do hope vB4 addresses many of the concerns of the new templates...

There are a lot of non-fluid design changes in the new templates, over the common uses. For example, text that use the shade class. It's great to rework interfaces, but be sure to keep them all together in the framework as well as appeal.

[Eagle Creek]

Can there be given ANY date about when vB 4 will come out?

[Nick]

Can there be given ANY date about when vB 4 will come out?
Most likely sometime between now and the next 100 years.

To be honest, nobody knows any more than that much :)

[petacat]

If I might make a suggestion ... Think "Change the Paradigm" when going to 4.0. Most of Vb 3 is embedded in turn of the century approaches with some web 2.0 stuff tacked on.



Is Vb a developers/administrators tool or a user driven thing?
Is it a box of tools or is it the best designed example of its class?
Should it be undifferentiated? One size fits all or an "out of the box solution" with a separate all singing, all dancing customisable version loaded with legacy support...
Which is more important, technology or "the experience"?
Is this something that you just see and learn or is it something you must do a course on to use, administer or support?

I think Vb is a very good product. The question is whether it will grow into what is needed for the future.

[General Keebler]

Just want to echo that a usability expert would be invaluable. I find myself increasingly grumbling about every task I need to complete in vBulletin, and watch as it becomes more Facebook-like in features and but remains so convoluted in its interface that none of my users have taken up the new features (a single social group and 0 albums, and this is on a very active and very social site). A staff member who has been a supermoderator on our site since 2002 was so confused by the new word-heavy Private Messages dropdown that he had to ask for assistance.

And the tables... oh dear, the tables.

As part of our most recent site update, I found myself completely scrapping the navbar and USER_SHELL and basically starting over on both the verbage and structure.

Also, as a fellow developer, I do appreciate the quality of the product and the time and work involved. You only ever get to hear about the bad parts, I know. ;) I love the features, they've just completely overrun the confines of the interface.

Addressing the issues we're talking about is a start, but a usability expert could let you truly exceed expectations.

[Godly Chaos]

I agree, this is a GREAT point.

Good post.