Question from the SAS Web Report Studio Usability team...

[Jenn2]

Hello Everyone,
We are working on future versions of Web Report Studio (WRS) and we need some information from our users regarding screen resolution.

1. Do you access WRS with a laptop computer(s)? If so, what is the screen size and resolution? If you have more than one laptop to access WRS, please list the screen size and resolution for all of them.

2. Do you access WRS with a desktop computer(s)? If so, what is the screen size and resolution? If you have more than one laptop to access WRS, please list the screen size and resolution for all of them.

We want to make sure we understand how our users see the application with different screen sizes and resolutions. Many thanks for your help here.
Jen

[f_rederik]

Desktops;
22" 1680 x 1050,
17" 1280 x 1024

The 17" display is also deployed as standard through the organisation where we have about 10 users that (can) access WRS...

[Jenn2]

Thank you f_rederik.

[f_rederik]

Oh and from my netbook at home - 12" @ 1366 x 768. Which of course is a bit of a challenge for most analytical work other than internet surfing 😉

[Technolero]

Our organization just completed a complete refresh. While both laptops and desktops were deployed, travel is relatively limited so the vast majority of Web Report views are via external flat panel monitors. The flat panel monitors are all 22" and IT configures them to run at 1680 x 1050 pixels. What we are trying to get a handle on is how many end users change the display settings. You know there are still some users who will set it back on 800 x 600 pixels if they can!

[Jenn2]

Technolero,
Can you tell me why some users may prefer to set their resolution to 800 X600 if they could? Is there some benefit to doing that?

Thanks for helping me out here,
Jenn2

[Technolero]

Typically the staff with older sets of eyes prefer everything, especially text, BIGGER!

[Jenn2]

Technolero,
This is just a tangential question related to your last comment...Are there any parts of the application that are difficult to read or see for older adults? For example, are the icons difficult to distinguish for older adults? Can they locate bolded font easily? Can you provide me with some examples?

I am very interested in your perspective.
Jenn2

[Technolero]

There are a number of users (couldn't give you an actual percentage) in the various organizations I have worked in that set their resolutions at 800x600 or 1024x768, no matter what the monitor size, CRT or LCD, or resolution capability. It isn't just an age issue, because I have dealt with users in their 30s that do this. It also doesn't seem to be correlated to users wearing corrective lenses or not. With those things said, it appears to be a preference, not necessarily a need.

I think these people have no problem with icons or bold text. I think they want every day text and labels a bit larger. Sans-serif fonts probably help them as well.

Again, this has just been from my observations. I have not interviewed any of these users about why they seem to prefer the lower resolutions. They do pose a problem for application development though - we always want to be able to get more form items or output on the screen!

[JDMTX]

My users utilize web report studio on 24" flat screens with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200.

At my company, laptops and associated hardware are leased on a 24 month cycle and desktops and associated equipment are leased on a 36 month cycle which results in a manageable refresh of technology throughout the organization. To that end, set a ballpark figure for the next release of WRS and then look at what the hardware manufacturers are looking to deploy from a display and video card perspective during the same target window. You can then subtract back two to three years and arrive at a profile for the typical display technology that will be in use by users of WRS. The downside of this calculation are road warrior employee who are pushing for a smaller travel footprint and thus has their eye on displays for laptops that are in the 10 to 13 inch range. We revisit this same question ever 12 to 18 months related to internal web development.