Sept 2015 Update: We have since migrated the application almost fully over to HTML. This includes the Budget tab and the Home tab and in fact the surrounding application container itself. Only a few areas of Flex remain, and are mostly administrator-centric rather than end user facing.
Last October, we announced our plans to gradually transition the Allocadia user interface from Flex to HTML to accomplish two goals: Modernize the user interface technology to today’s Web standards and take steps towards a new contemporary look and feel.
We’ve released the result of the migration incrementally and have intentionally done our work quietly, piece by piece, so we wouldn’t disrupt the user experience. We’ve made a lot of progress on this transition since October — we’re approximately 75% complete. Keep an eye on our product release notes for the latest application areas to move to HTML.
Here’s what we’ve completed so far:
- Analytics.
- My Account.
- Details Panel.
- Actuals Panel.
- Roll-up Panel.
- PO Panel.
- Import History.
- Schedule Management.
- Settings Areas:
- Analytics.
- Tags.
- Permissions.
- Preferences.
Our upcoming Release 54 is going to be a biggie: It will include an HTML version of the entire Budget tab, the centerpiece of the Allocadia financial management feature where users view and edit budgets.
Along the way, the transition to HTML and some polishing of the user interface functionality has enabled some seemingly small, but important productivity improvements for our users:
- Use of the browser “find” feature to search for text.
- More ability to highlight, copy and paste text.
- The ability to move between cells using keyboard functions — such as tab, arrows and more.
- The ability to use the browser’s “back” button to go to the previous Allocadia screen — as well as bookmark specific locations and screens.
- Faster screen load times in several areas, in particular with large data sets.
All these small changes can make a big difference in a user’s experience, especially for those who spend a lot of time using Allocadia.
We’re also ambitious in the area of user interface aesthetics — but largely plan to save bigger changes until after the migration is complete. However, we couldn’t wait to start introducing improvements and you can see these reflected in our latest Release 53 update.
In our previous interface, the status bar was clunky and it blocked the whole screen while showing progress on an update. Now, the status bar works in the background, so users can keep working without waiting for an update to complete.
We’ve also updated our forms to make data entry a cleaner process. Before, a page with a lot of inputs looked heavy, with a long line of drop-down menus. Now, you automatically see the value for each input, and you only see the editor element when you hover over that value.
Before:
After:
Our transition from Flex to HTML also reflects our commitment to being mobile-ready. This effort is laying the groundwork for a future initiative that will make Allocadia first functional, and later optimized on mobile devices.
I’d love to hear your feedback on how our transition to HTML has changed your experience as an Allocadia user and any ideas for making it even better. Tell me what you think on Twitter.
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