Help Create the Best Content Management Experience

@sottwell
Do you have a lot of MODX tags in the content field? I've always made it a habit to avoid ever putting MODX tags for snippet calls and chunk calls inside the content field by using TVs or other fields to incorporate. It's a valid request though as a more competent user may wish to do just that. I bet the folks working on CKEditor will be able to do that.

@myradon

Revo 2.3 sees some significant changes to the UI and the overwhelm that users feel when coming into the manager. In 3.0 we have the opportunity to do much more as ExtJs will not be a part of the UI and nor will it's structural limitations.

With regard to your statement that we are not users, I disagree. Site builders, developers, designers and etc are equally users whose UX is important as well. I think simplicity and elegance is equally important to those types of users. The challenge is that many are not able to articulate that appreciation or execute beautiful and simple UI/UX as it's not necessarily in their skill set.

I think real user testing is going to be more productive than interviews surrounding UX, however, asking your colleague about what pains them or what things they find clunky or difficult will be helpful to show friction points. Often users come up with solutions that could be incremental or limited in scope when a more large scale change to enable them to do the task entirely differently is in order.

@Jay Gilmore Thanx for sharing the future of MODx GUI.

Okay I've approached some MODx partners. Accept from a freelancer who meanly does work for development agencies they aren't really interested. It's like bothering there customers. I can understand from there point of view; "What's in it for me?!" Even when I contact a client to friendly ask if they are willing to participate in a survey, they could start spitting the problems they are facing with there CMS. I've learned when I was working at a call-center (hated that job) people start blaming the company even when that was totally not justified. So these customers might blame the company/ freelancer. When you make your living of developing a technical solution might be your only deliverable.

So when I add up the numbers; I have to get in contact with end users another way. I don't think forums will be they way because these users will probably solve these problems there selves. I want to get in touch with the CMS-illiterates in the first place.

@Jay about your view on developers as users; To collect the problems they might be facing concerning the GUI of a CMS (deliberately CMS not MODx) are probably even more complex and time consuming job.

EDIT: Nice read about CMS and workflows. http://www.cmsmyth.com/2013/09/the-cms-workflow-myth/#more-3032 [ed. note: jambek2003 last edited this post 11 years, 5 months ago.]

@myradon,

Not sure if you are aware but we have formed a MODx User Experience Working Group to address issues with the manager and I have personally surveyed the forums to at least get some intelligence into the process. We have exited the kickoff phase and are moving into an in-depth product evaluation.

***
For more information or if you have any further input regarding your issues with the MODX Manager please post it here this week.
https://forums.modx.com/thread/88987/modx-manager-ux-working-group
***

Meantime, attached are summaries indicating what we found so far.
(a) Sounding board - the core ideas of concern around the product we gathered so far
(b) User Mandala - a sketch that outlines the user types and tasks at a high level.


Cheers,
Gabriel