When you turn the steering wheel of your car, you expect the wheels to turn with it, right? Well, we feel the same way about AtTask; when we click on a task to be complete, we expect it to mark complete.

“I think JT Thompson is going above and beyond,” said colleague Scott Brady, software engineer at AtTask. “Before joining AtTask, JT was one of the original developers at SmugMug, the popular photo sharing site.  JT’s been with AtTask for less than a year, but has already made a big impact on the quality of our user interface.  He’s also great to work with; his witty sense of humor and “can do” attitude are contagious to everyone around him.”

Let me introduce you to JT Thompson, whom I had the pleasure to learn from. He has a real knack for UI development.

Kristyn: What’s the importance of the user interface?

JT: User interface (UI) is a lot more important than you may realize. A bad UI will discourage people from using your software, while a good UI will make it easy for everyone. For example, the less navigation on a webpage, the better the UI. Our UI developers work day in and day out to guarantee that AtTask is not only simple to use, but makes sense.

Kristyn: How do you know if there is a problem?

JT: To ensure that the UI functions properly, automated java script reports are run, as well as numerous surveys and tests conducted with real people.

Kristyn: How do UI and UX (user experience) correlate?

JT: The UI consists of two components, input and output. The input allows users to manipulate the system, while the output allows the systems to indicate the effects of the user’s manipulation. User interface and user experience (UX) go hand-in-hand. The lofty task of UI and UX designers is to make design become reality.

AtTask dedicates a lot of resources to UI development; we like to make sure that when you want the wheels to turn, they turn.  We hope you enjoy the results of JT’s (and the rest of his team’s) work!