How do Graphical User Interfaces Affect the Usability and Power of PM Software?
GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE (GUI)
The Graphic User Interface has been available for quite some time, with the best known platform being Apple's Macintosh system. Despite acknowledged advantages of the GUI for certain users (especially novices) and for certain applications (such as CAD and other diagramming operations), the character-based user interface has been, at least up to now, the predominant mode for microcomputer and mainframe operating systems. But during the past year, the GUI appears to have come of age. We are now seeing the maturing of several industry standard (open) GUI systems (for which multiple developers are writing application software) and the introduction of several application products that have been written directly in an application-specific GUI language.
Project management is one of several application areas that stands to benefit from the adoption of the GUI. Several products have been developed or enhanced to take advantage of the GUI approach, and most project management software vendors are currently working on GUI releases. It may well be possible that we are on the brink of a quantum leap in the usability and power of project management software and, with this, an increase in the number of users and applications for such software.
BACKGROUND
About three years ago, it was predicted that microcomputer-based software for project management would reach a level of popularity that would place it just behind word processing, spreadsheet, and database managers in sales volume. While sales of project management software have continued to grow, at about 15 percent per year, they have failed to even remotely move into the sphere of the top categories.
We can surmise several conditions that contributed to the shortfall of PM software from the projected growth. One is just that the potential user base for project management software in nowhere in the range of the other application areas. Certainly, more and more people are recognizing that they are involved in “project” work. Nevertheless, many of these “converts” are still not convinced that the process needs to be put on a computer, or would benefit significantly from that action.
Another significant condition is the unique nature of the project management software application area. In all of the other product areas mentioned above, the software user is expected to already be cognizant of the general technology of the application itself. Word processing software will be used by people who already know how to write. Automated spreadsheets will be employed by people who have previously used ledger sheets for row and column data. Automated database users are already fully conversant with the concepts of records and fields, sorts and selects, etc.
On the other hand, many new users of project management software may also be new to the project planning and tracking concepts upon which these products are based.
Hence, the users are faced with the double challenge of learning to apply a new tool to a new discipline. This puts an extra premium on the usability aspects of such products. While there are certainly other reasons to explain the limited growth of project management software sales, it is the usability issues that are most likely to be affected by the implementation of GUI-based software.
Software usability can be subdivided into two primary components: ease-of-use and ease-of-learning. The latter, is primarily a function of the product power, which is also comprised of two components: functionality and flexibility. For the most part, we can say that the effort required to learn a product will increase proportionally with the functionality of the product, and perhaps even exponentially with the increase of product flexibility. Certainly, as the user is given more and more choices, the knowledge required to make those choices, and to operate the software, is amplified.
Ease-of-use, while also somewhat contingent on the product functionality and flexibility, can be significantly influenced by the user interface. It was certainly this ease-of-use issue that drove the development of the Macintosh GUI system. Now, it appears, the Macintosh approach is being widely emulated on other platforms.
The Graphical User Interface (GUI), the generic term for such operating modes as the Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, OS/2 Presentation Manager, HP New Wave, Sun Open Look, DEC Windows, and others, is rapidly gaining acceptance as the preferred way for users to communicate with software.
There are several characteristics of GUIs that may be especially attractive to developers and users of project management software. For the user, the GUI may provide significant improvements in ease-of-use, and associated increases in ease-of-learning, functionality, and flexibility. For the project management software developer, the GUI may ease the pressure of balancing the product usability with the product power, but there could be offsetting penalties.
WHY USE A GUI?
There are three primary attributes of the GUI environment that can be attractive to various users. However, users and vendors are widely split on which of these attributes are key to acceptance of the GUI-based project management software package.
The typical attributes of the GUI-based system are:
1. The use of a pointing device, such as a mouse; and the use of this device to point and pick from a menu or list, or to “click” (select or de-select) items in a dialog box. The most apparent advantage of this attribute is less typing. Perhaps more important is a learning advantage that comes from having the user options displayed in the menus and scroll bars. The menus, lists, and dialog boxes, usually associated with the mouse approach may provide a clearer indication of the choices available to the user than other inputting techniques.
2. The viewing of project schedule outputs in graphical formats. Typically, project management software users will wish to seethe project data in both tabular (spreadsheet) formats and graphically (Gantts, PERTs, histograms, cost curves, etc.). The character-based systems are normally limited to a resolution of 80 characters across by 25 lines. The typical VGA-based GUI display will have a resolution of 640 by 400. Hence, the pixel-based GUIs can provide a vastly superior presentation of the graphic formats. In addition, some GUI-based systems also offer user control of font types and sizing, which can help to improve textual presentations, as well.
3. The ability to input tasks node-by-node and to link (denote precedence) the tasks with the pointing device. This attribute is generally considered an advantage by new users with small projects. This is one of the disputed advantages.
One camp feels that, as the project size increases and the user becomes more comfortable with the process of defining the project, it maybe more efficient to enter such data from lists or templates. Therefore, the onscreen linking capability generally becomes less important, and perhaps, even a handicap.
However, others feel that drawing the project task nodes on the screen and linking them is really what they have always been doing, but on the back of an envelop. While the arguments are interesting (and prove that project management software users are a varied lot), it is important to note that the GUI need not lock the user into a single method of inputting. Usually, the GUI-based software will provide several input options, such as graphically, task form, table, and importing from external files. Each method has its advantages, at various times.
DEFINING THE GUI
If you were to ask ten people to define a GUI, you are likely to get at least ten opinions. As noted above, to most, a GUI will imply a bit-mapped display which uses a mouse-type pointing system. However, there are variations in how the GUI protocol has been implemented by project management software vendors, and some hybrid systems do exist.
On the Macintosh platform, all applications utilize the GUI. (See the October issue of PM NETwork for a discussion of project management software for the Macintosh.)
On the PC, at present, only a few products are completely GUI-based, although most vendors are preparing GUI-based versions. The two leading full-GUI products are currently Scitor's Project Scheduler 5 (PS5), and Microsoft's Project for Windows (WinProj). PS5 uses its own GUI system, whereas WinProj runs in Microsoft Windows.
Among the earliest PC products for project management to embrace the GUI approach were QWIKNET Professional (PSDI), and ViewPoint (Computer Aided Management). These are character-based systems that use pointing devices, movable/sizable windows, and point and pick menus. ViewPoint has developed a Windows-based graphics module, but the basic planning package is still character-based.
Some products have added GUI inputting features to their character-based systems. Most notable is Primavera's PENGUIN. Open Plan also has a mouse-driven graphic input mode, but it is character based.
Several of the PC project management software packages can display the project graphics in a pixel mode. This permits previewing of graphical output before sending it to the printer or plotter. In some instances, the user is given the option of annotating the graphic, or even modifying it. However, this capability is not what most people define as a GUI.
GUIS ON MAINFRAME PLATFORMS
The GUI protocol has been firmly established on the Macintosh platform and is making significant inroads on the PC, on both the DOS and OS/2 operating systems. Similar trends are showing up in the Unix and DEC environments via the OSF/Motif and X-Windows standards (Open Look, DEC Windows, etc.). As we move into the mainframe environment (DEC and IBM), we are seeing the availability of project management software that has improved graphics capabilities. But, for the most part, these capabilities involve the exploitation of the bit-mapped display capability to view data that has already been input into the system, rather than an enhanced data entry and edit mode.
SELECTING A GUI-BASED SYSTEM
The selection of project management software, for any application, must consider the nature of the projects being managed and how they are managed in your organization. If you are to consider a GUI-based system, you will also want to consider the impact of such systems on your hardware and operating systems. For PC applications, most character-based systems can operate on a fairly rudimentary system; say an AT, with 640k of RAM and a CGA monitor.
The newer GUI systems will generally perform best on a 386 system, with at least 2MB of RAM and VGA graphics. As this configuration is becoming the default hardware base for 1991, most organizations are finding that they will not have to upgrade their systems specifically for the GUI-based project management software. But this must be evaluated as part of the selection process.
Another decision involves whether the specific GUI application is based on its own GUI protocol, running under DOS or OS/2, or whether it runs under an industry standard protocol, such as Windows. If the project management software is the only GUI application, you can freely choose the best product for the application. However, if you have other GUI applications, such as word processing, spreadsheet, etc., you may wish to consider a GUI protocol that supports multiple applications. All other things being equal (they rarely are), there are training and connectivity benefits associated with having a common GUI operating system, such as Windows (or Macintosh).
CONCLUSIONS
1. GUIs are growing in popularity and availability. Most software developers are either looking into or actively developing GUI-based products, especially for microcomputer and workstation-based platforms.
2. GUIs while primarily attractive to the novice user, can also be fully appreciated by the power users. The most demanding users want both usability and power. Some are of the opinion that the power available in high-end software cannot be fully realized unless the user interface is more intuitive and visual.
3. On the surface, it would appear that the inherent gain in ease-of-use with GUI-based systems would allow software designers to provide more functionality and flexibility without creating a “monster.” However, the increased overhead of most GUIs (higher demand on RAM and slower operation) may offset these potential gains. The newer operating systems, such as OS/2 Presentation Manager, will provide developers with more room, but will require users to upgrade their systems.
4. Industry standard GUIs, such as Macintosh and Windows, offer greater consistency across applications. Such “open interfaces)' therefore, will minimize the learning curve, especially for people who have more than one product that uses the same GUI. Application-specific GUIs, on the other hand, release the developer from the confines of the general-purpose GUI. This can result in a more efficient product design.
5. Large project applications will, in most cases, be better served by a “batch” input capability. But, there is no reason why a good product cannot provide that capability in addition to task-oriented graphical modeling input modes. Even proponents of high-end systems suggest that such systems should essentially mimic the way that the project manager would work outside of the computer environment.
Looking at the trends in both vendor developments and user preferences, we can be certain that the GUI will become the default approach to more user-friendly computing in a very short time. While many variations of GUIs and applications will exist, the most pervasive benefit will be an improved learning curve and, hence, better access to computer power by the more casual computer user.
Harvey A. Levine, president, Project Knowledge Group (35 Barney Road, Clifton Park, NY 12065) has been a Practitioner of project management for over twenty-four years with General Electric Company and is a past chairman of PMI. Mr. Levine has been adjunct professor of Project Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y., and is the author of the book Project Management Using Microcomputers, as well as several articles.