Blog 08

When I first entered the "wufoo" website I had to create a login account. From here I noticed that the site did a decent job of inline validation, at least in showing how the username you choose shows up as a URL. However, the site could improve upon its inline validation by showing my check marks after inputting my email and password to make sure that it hasn't already been taken and that it follows the guidelines of the site. Once I created my login account, wufoo made it easy to create my first form. Since I did not already have a form, the site filled the blank space by telling me it recognizes that I have no form and provides a link to easily begin creating one. After messing around with the website some more, wufoo does a pretty good job of handling errors. When creating new fields within a form, wufoo is pretty efficient in filling out the fields with default values, which usually tend to guide the user in the right direction of completing the field to its full potential demonstrating a good grasp of what Hoekman calls poka-yoke devices. One thing I did not like about the website is its modality. Whenever a user completes a field and saves it to his/her form, a window pops up giving the user three options, such as continuing to edit the form, sending an email confirmation, and etc. This aspect of wufoo does not follow Hoekman's advice of ditching anything modal and as I continued to add new fields, this aspect of design became tiresome and redundant. Furthermore, when deleting a field from the form, another modal window appears with only two options for the user to choose from, "Ok" and "Cancel". Another problem when deleting is that wufoo does not provide an "undo" button. Once a user deletes a field, it is gone forever. This does not allow for forward momentum by the user. Wufoo should adopt a similar undo function like that of Google's Gmail. They should eliminate the confirmation message, offer a way of getting the deleted content back, and show the user how to do it. If wufoo changes a few simple ways of doing things, then they will be on their way in designing the obvious.

- Mikhil Patel