[IxDA Discuss] Thoughts on skinning/customizing enterprise apps?

[James Melzer]

On the other hand, if you have an enterprise app that you know has a
poor interface (let's just say it isn't a priority), allowing your
customers to skin the interface can go a long way to making the app
usable/useful. If it is built as a framework, it can also be used when
extending the app to build new interfaces or to fix global usability
flaws in a global way.

~ James

On 11/2/06, Miguel Gonzalez <maglez at btinternet.com> wrote:
> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted material.]
>
> Don't do it!
>
> That trivial customization that you say is the one that you shouldn't provide. The final user is
> not a graphics designer, if you give him the option to change colours, he will most likely do it
> without a sense of the over all composition, he will choose blue for the background and white for
> the text, will use the site a few times and then won't use it any more.
>
> If you want to allow customization, do it over the content, if the site is about news, give him
> the option to choose world news or local, or sport, etc. but leave the graphics design to
> professionals.
>
> Maglez.
>
>
> --- "Wilson, Russell" <Russell.Wilson at netqos.com> wrote:
>
> > [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted material.]
> >
> > I am often presented with the idea of skinning or
> > providing customizaton for the presentation of our
> > enterprise apps.
> >
> > Any thoughts on the real user benefits/value of this?
> >
> > I ask because I am against doing things "just because we can",
> > and there are many issues to consider - breaking branding and
> > identity, support concerns, etc.
> >
> > If the customization options are trivial (e.g allow users to change
> > the color of window title bars) it would lessen the concerns, but
> > then how beneficial is it really to users?  Is it just another
> > "hey you can also do this" (when in reality they probably never
> > will or don't really care).
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Russ
> >
> >
> > Russell Wilson | Director of Product Design
> > NetQoS, Inc. | 5001 Plaza on the Lake, Austin, TX 78746
> > 512.334.3725 | russell.wilson at netqos.com
> >
> > NetQoS: Performance Experts
> > www.netqos.com
> >
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-- 
James Melzer
http://www.jamesmelzer.com
http://del.icio.us/jamesmelzer