RIA – Beyond Look & Feel
RIA or Rich Internet Applications, also known as Rich Interactive Applications are applications which offer rich and interactive user experience thus making it easier for the users to use the application without much guidance and need to read manuals.
Various technologies have evolved under the umbrella of RIA and have different features and capabilities to offer. The most prominent ones being Flex (from Adobe) and Silverlight (from Microsoft)
These technologies are being used extensively for incorporating interactivity in applications but their true potential is yet to be realized.
Verve Systems has understood the importance of understanding and keeping in mind that technology is to be utilized and not overused for functionality. Verve’s approach is to work upon the Cost vs. Usability trade-off. These problems can be solved by following initiatives and changes in approach:
• Give equal weightage to usability as to functionally. It’s crucial to consider aspects like target users, usability of the solution, non-functional needs, available infrastructure etc.
• Plan usability and user interface in proportion to functionality. Too much of interactivity with very less functionality may irritate the user
• Plan participatory designs to ensure that the users participate equally to share their views on usability of the application. If users are pleased, objective is met.
• Technical design and architecture should be made very carefully to ensure right mix of content, richness and performance. E.g. New architecture styles like MV-VM aid significantly in achieving rich user experience with considerably higher performance.
Also to note that RIA is being used more as a tool for Rich UI in smaller applications and Websites to demonstrate creativity in terms of look and feel. Very few companies have actually utilized RIA with the right mix of technologies to leverage the interactivity and usability factor of it.
Using RIA in BI and other business Solutions is rarely thought of because of various myths. Verve has addressed these myths by utilizing their expertise in RIA and experience of developing business solutions for medium and large enterprises. Here are a few of them:
1. RIA will make the application slow: Of course RIA needs more resource, and with right mix of technology and supporting architecture, there is no question of slowness. Architecture practices like MV-VM and usage of appropriate frameworks while integrating RIA with other Business Logic technologies ensures the right mix of interactivity and performance.
2. How will RIA help in BI and business apps: Business applications help in critical decision making, which needs multiple levels and types of projections, data sampling, arrangement of models etc. RIA promises availability of ample data in presentation layer itself thus offering fast manipulation and sampling of data into various models followed by their immediate visualization. This helps in quickly analysing and comparing numerous scenarios, which is not possible in conventional methods.
3. There are stability issues with RIA technologies: This is now a thing of past. Any new technology will have issues unless it settles down by getting a feel of its practical usage. Major RIA technologies like Flex and Silverlight are quite stable and consistent in their practical usage and offer even more ease of implementation compared to other conventional methods.
With its experience of delivering numerous business solutions, Verve has realized that any solution cannot be perfect in first shot; it evolves over a period of time with progressive iterations based on users’ feedback. It’s extremely important to understand the solution from users’ point of view because ultimately, they are the ones who decide whether the solution is success or failure. So going with this philosophy may at times demand to keep aside our intelligence to provide ease of access and understand what users actually want.
