'SfGadget', Vista Sidebar Gadget
A web developer customer, NettMore Ltd, had produced a Vista Sidebar Gadget that allows a user to tap into their Salesforce account and displays the current situation regarding sales leads and opportunities. I was approached to offer some design input. Never having created a sidebar gadget before, I hastily swotted up through some useful websites:
- http://gallery.live.com/devcenter.aspx
- http://microsoftgadgets.com/
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/
07/08/SideBar/default.aspx
Creating the look and feel
I worked on completing the desktop gadget with a ‘fly-out’ screen and an icon for the gadget directory. Much of my research involved looking at the existing default Vista sidebar gadgets, getting a feel for the Vista style. The main requirement for the gadget, was that it should compliment the look and feel of Salesforce CRM system. This would help promote a visual experience that was familiar to the user. A strong identity is also an advantage when competition for attention occurs on a busy desktop.
Getting to grips with the size of space
The biggest challenge was to fit the relevant information into such a small area. Space needed to be allowed for some form of branding, the actual information the gadget is to convey, and a link back to NettMore’s website. It takes a while to get accustomed to a size to design to, and a fair bit of fiddling and trimming was required before I felt that the measure was correct. Too much information conveyed via a gadget, I feel, starts to dilute the ‘usefulness’. Originally the gadget conveyed weekly and monthly information which seemed a little too much to show directly on the desktop. Basically a user wishes to see up-to-date changes at a glance. Comparing this with a past status can be done through another medium ie the CRM system itself. With this in mind, the information was edited to display just leads and opportunities, the potential being for the user to select which pieces of information could be displayed via the settings panel.
Fly-out screen
The flyout window of the gadget displays more in-depth information relating to the changes - in this instant, it’s the contact details of the opportunities/leads that have arisen.
Once a design had been approved, I created a 64x64 icon which is displayed in the gadget directory.
NettMore Ltd’s gadget can be downloaded at: Windows Live Gallery or read more on NettMore's sidebar gadget.
