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This document addresses the cosmetic appearance of SouthWare only. To help you understand how to evaluate an accounting
software product's Look & Feel, please refer to this document:
http://www.accountingsoftwareadvisor.com/topics/lookfeel.htm.
(We recommend that you read this document first, before proceeding
below.)
SouthWare's
Look & Feel
Likes:
I like the fact that the line items are numbered - this makes for faster
navigation once you memorize the important numbers. I like that the data
fields have a white background so that the data fields jump off the screen
more easily. I like the buttons at the top of the page and the pull down
menus. I also like the buttons at the bottom of the page which make it
easier to scroll through the data records. Although not shown here,
SouthWare does a fairly good job of using tabbed dialog boxes throughout
the system, which I believe is the best way to organize a sophisticated
accounting system. Dislikes:
The first column lines up nicely, but the second and third columns do not
- this causes the user's eye to dart all over the screen in search of the
desired data. This slows down the user and given large volumes of
transaction - this can cost the company plenty. (consider that if an order
screen takes 2 extra seconds every time you enter and order, and your
company processes 36,000 orders a year, this will costs the user 20 extra
hours a year. Now multiply that amount by each inefficient screen and the
numbers start to add up.) I would like to see VCR buttons added to this
screen (including next record, fast forward, and end of record buttons).
The green box in the upper right corner looks like it is fighting some
icon overlap issues - I am not sure why but I think this could be cleaned
up a little bit. A few other fields appear to fight this same problem -
check out the Int? data field located in the middle of the screen. My
biggest complaint about the look and feel of SouthWare is that the font
used in the data fields is a little too small, and more difficult to read.
There should also be a status field that displays the current period open
in the system, as well as the user name logged onto the system.
Keep in mind that these comments are just my opinion. As mentioned
elsewhere, SouthWare has retained their older screen designs in order to
provide compatibility with it's customers legacy hardware and green screen
monitors. In March 2003, SouthWare released SouthWare Excellence Series
9.0 which features new and improved screens. We will feature these screens
here as soon as we have access to them. |
