SOFTWARE DESIGN - USABILITY
Over the years, as new features have been added to firmCHANNEL, ease of use remains a key design goal for every project ensuring users can get up and running with very little training.
Software usability are often overlooked in digital signage management software. New users are inundated with the abundance of icons and functions available which at first glance can be very intimidating before they spend the time to become familiar with the interface and a typical work flow. Over the years, as new features have been added to firmCHANNEL, ease of use remains a key design goal for every project ensuring users can get up and running with very little training.
firmCHANNEL’s web-based interface is accessible from any workstation, tablet, phone, or any other device that can load a modern web browser. No special software or plugins are required.
When it comes to digital signage, the most common day to day functions are uploading content, creating a playback loop and assigning it to your screens. While this may seem straight forward in concept, many digital signage web applications force end users to jump through a number of hoops before the content is displayed on your screens. These can include requiring third party pieces of software to be installed on workstations to even function, such as Adobe products or other web plugins. This limits the end user to only being able to access and manage their system from a workstation where all the components have been installed and configured correctly. firmCHANNEL’s web-based interface is accessible from any workstation, tablet, phone, or any other device that can load a modern web browser. No special software or plugins are required.
"Keeping usability as a fundamental goal in any development project results in a positive user experience, allowing them to intuitively navigate the user interface and use the functionality."
This includes using simple, easy to understand icons and placing navigation in expected locations such as the upper left or right portion of the page’s header. Also, there should be a clear goal or action for each page; for example, managing content. Accomplishing the task should be straight forward and include more than one way to achieve it. This allows users to find the option that best suites them. For example, firmCHANNEL offers a few options for uploading content. The user can drag and drop files into a folder in the Library, they can use the media upload dialog or they upload media directly into a playlist. Users can use whichever method best fits into their workflow.
firmCHANNEL makes the task of managing a digital signage network, large or small, as easy as possible without sacrificing features.
Along with creating an easy to use UI, we also want to ensure our users are well supported and well educated, which is why we offer unlimited support and training as part of our service at no extra cost to the customer. A well thought out user interface not only creates a positive user experience; it also enables users to be more productive.