Company Profile : Felix Kollmann is the creator of a lot of Microsoft Windows Home Server extensions/add-ins and has over ten years experience in programming including more then three years of delivering user experience in WinForms applications and the web.
Company URL : http://www.fkollmann.de
Product Version used : 2009.3
Operating System : Windows Home Server (based on SBS 2003)
Database Platform : none
Number of developers involved : 1
Development Time : 6 months
Challenges and Objectives : Codename "Umbrella" is a end-user extension/add-in for the Microsoft Home Server which requires an easy and intuitive user experience (UX) for the user. Usually there are two ways to deliver this experience by either using the default controls which are often quite powerful but simple in design. The alternative is to create custom controls which can easily be used to provide a good user experience but often lack the required functionality. Although Microsoft created a bunch of reusable custom controls specific for the Windows Home Server I never was satisfied in design time capabilities.
Solution : After deciding to make a new approach in usability I started to look for third-party which will be able to meet the user experience design I had in mind for the project. I did some prototyping using the evaluation version of both the Telerik WinForms. During this I had to rebuilt the existing user experience and create additional experiences matching the Windows Home Server design to deliver a consistent and familiar UX. The biggest challenge was to get the visual design correctly where using the built-in theme designer of Telerik was of great help.
Results : During this project using Telerik controls both saved time and enabled me to deliver an advanced user experience. I really like the built-in theme designer which allowed easy customization of the design which usually takes a lot of time in end-user focussed projects. Being able to define styles even on single states (hovered, down, up, ...) allowed to create a very specific look and a nice way to get the slightest details right.
It had a lot of fun to work with Telerik controls to see the predictability, precision and speed in which a great user experience was created and saved me a lot of time and frustration. The Telerik controls are definitely one of the best controls out there (and I tried and worked with a lot of different third-party controls).