The document discusses Project Renaissance, which aimed to improve the user interface of OpenOffice Impress through iterative design. The goals were to understand users and help them accomplish tasks through an enjoyable interface. It analyzed the large number of existing interface elements and tracked usage. The project sought to reduce complexity, emphasize key functionality, and apply principles like direct manipulation and progressive disclosure. An interdisciplinary team collaborated using Agile methods to iteratively design and develop new interface features over multiple releases, with the goal of creating simple yet powerful software.

2. <Insert Picture Here>
Project Renaissance – Improving Impress through Iterative Design
and Development
Andreas Bartel, Christian Lippka

3. Mission Statement
“Create a User Interface so that OpenOffice.org becomes the
users' choice not only out of need but also out of desire”

4. Goal Statement
“ ... to know and to understand our users as they are, and to help
them accomplish what they want to, by providing efficient access
to valuable functionality through a desirable user interface.”

5. What's in for me
• The plan
• The execution
• The outcome

6. <Insert Picture Here>
Project Renaissance
Impress

7. “Where is my bike?”
Or how do I find one particular element among a set of many?

8. Let's talk numbers – UI Elements
Total Number of UI elements = 595
8 30
Toolbar Buttons
Menu Items
Toolbars
214
Panels
343

9. Let's talk numbers – Usage Tracking
Total Number of Tracked UI events = 4475
142
Used 80% of the
time
Used 20% of the
time
4333

10. Lindwell, Holden, Buttler
Universal Principles of Design
“Signal-To-Noise Ratio: The ratio of
relevant to irrelevant information in a
display. The highest possible signal-to-
noise ratio is desirable in design.”

11. Signal-to-Noise Ratio in the Impress UI
Total Number of Tracked UI events = 4475
142
Signal
Noise
0.0328
4333

12. Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Minimizing Maximazing
• Minimizing noise means removing unnecessary • Maximizing information means clearly communicating
elements, and minimizing the expression of necessary information with minimal degradation.
elements. • Signal degradation occurs when information is
• It is important to understand that every unnecessary presented inefficiently: unclear writing, inappropriate
data item, graphic, line, or symbol steals attention graphs, or ambiguous icons and labels.
away from relevant elements. • Emphasizing key aspects of the information can also
• Every element in the design should be expressed to reduce signal degradation.
the extent necessary, but not beyond the extent
necessary. Excess is noise.

13. John Maeda
The Laws Of Simplicity
“The simplest way to achieve
simplicity is through thoughtful
reduction.”

14. <Insert Picture Here>
And that's how it's done

15. Reduce Complexity in Impress
Improve Interaction Design of Important Tools
• What are the key elements of a presentation app?
– Slides
– Elements on slides
– Different views and organizations of slides
• What are the most important things users do with
slides?
– Create, manipulate and organize slides
– Assign and change layouts
– Navigate through slides
– Present slides

16. Design Principles
Direct Visual Manipulation Progressive Disclosure
• Emphasize visual representation • Swiss Army Knife Metaphor
• Expose only those elements that are
• Emphasize visual manipulation
relevant in a given context
• Emphasize visual feedback • Hide tools that are not requested
• Emphasize discoverability • But make hidden tools easily available

17. Albert Einstein
Physicist
“Make everything as simple as
possible, but not simpler.”

18. <Insert Picture Here>
Execute Like Crazy

19. How Software is Usually Created – In Theory
User Development Quality
Experience Assurance

20. How Software is Really Created I
User Development Quality
Experience Assurance

21. How Software is Really Created II
User Development Quality
Experience Assurance

22. How Software is Really Really Created III
Development Quality User
Assurance Experience

23. “A close look at design history
reveals that the lone genius is
more myth than fact.”
Marty Neumeier, The Designful Company

24. The Renaissance iTeam for Impress
• Christian Lippka – Dev
• André Fischer – Dev
• Wolfram Garten – QA
• Christoph Lukasiak – QA
• Uwe Fischer – Documentation
• Frank Loehmann – UX
• Andreas Bartel – UX & iTeam Lead

25. Change How We Work
Change of collaboration using Agile elements that worked for us
1 Value frequent communication 6 Don't be afraid of failure
2 Value everyone's feedback 7 Avoid design by committee
3 Value working software 8 Everyone should feel responsible
4 Value frequent iteration 9 Only one is accountable
5 Value everyone's mastery 10 Just have fun

26. “Don't tell me how great you
are. Be great!”
Eric Reiss, UX Camp Europe, Berlin 2010

27. Project Renaissance Impress – Child Work Spaces
Renaissance 1 Renaissance 2 Renaissance 3
• Navigation through slides • New toolbar drop-down control • Redesigned status bar
• Visual design of slides • Assign layout • Redesigned view switching
• Visual feedback for multiselection • Change layout • New sidebar control
• Visual feedback during D&D • Reset layout • Improved organization of tabs
• Quickly start presentation • New placeholders for objects
• Quickly hide and show slides
• Quickly duplicate slides

28. Demonstration of Work in
Progress.

29. FREQUENTLY. ASKED. QUESTIONS.

30. Many Thanks for the
incredible last 10 years!
Andreas Bartel, User Experience
Christian Lippka, Development