The FLEx Anti-Manual

I am ever more learning that software is the product of our ability to manage projects and communicate both as a team and with our constituents (which are sometimes our end-users). This is not an Anti-FLEx manual, but rather an Anti-Manual about FLEx. It is a Why are things the way they are! and a This would be much easier if... . This manual is not about riding someone’s failures, or about needless critiquing, it is about recording my learning process as a user of FLEx, it is about recording use cases and how the User Interface (UI) and User Experince (UX) created through FLEx's use hinder or enhance the FLEx user's workflow. FLEx is one of those one-of-a-kind bits of software which comes to us who work in linguistics as a bit of a miracle. It is a good miracle that I am able to use this software to the extent I can. I have longed to use the software for 10 years, and now that I am finally using it every day I find many moments where I am frustrated as a user. This anti-manual is a record of my learning experience in using the software as much as it is a hopeful critique of UX on this software.

The provocation

The impetus for this text has been my 2016 start in using FLEx on Linux (Wasta) as a primary data management tool for textually encoded data related to Hausa Language Learning and related to the investigation and analysis of ut-Ma'in. A west Kanji language of Northwest Nigeria. Previously, my wife had worked alone on ut-Ma'in. She started her work on the language in 2003 and has been using FLEx on Windows since that time.

In 2010 and 2011, I was previliged to work in Mexico on a language documentation project wich also tried to use FLEx. In that project we had several OS X users, and several Windows users. We never were able to get the entire workgroup to consistently use FLEx for mostly a series of technological reasons. There is a separate chapter dedicated to this background experience.

Later in 2011 Becky and I had an opportunity to present at a FLEx workshop (learning to use FLEx with your language) at the University of Saba in Malaysia. I made several observations based on new learners there in that environment. There is a separate chapter on that experience.

In my introduction to FLEx I have the distinct privilege of working with Becky Paterson who has long used FLEx, and taught its use as part of teaching the Field Methods course at the University of North Dakota.

Computer usege background

I think it is useful to say something about my computer using habits and history so that any reader might get a grasp of where I am coming from as a computer user or a UX analysit.

I have worked extensively on OS X since OS X 10.4. My favorite has been 10.6.8 and (at the time of this writing) use 10.9.x - 10.12.x on a variety of machines. As a 6 year old in 1987 I was introduced to the Apple SE. My computing experience did not really involve Windows until highschool where I was introduced to Windows 3.1. In College I used Windows ME and Windows XP. I own a Laptop operating Windows 7, but I rarely use it and rather let my wife use it. Ironically, we bought the machine just to run SIL software -- primarily FLEx. And while FLEx may be free, the idea that one needs to buy a computer to use a particular piece of software is a bit ironic. I started experimenting with Ubunutu Linux about 2013. I ran a server (as a file server and a webserver), and I also ran linux on my Mac in a virtual machine.

Now in 2016, my wife and I have jumped full swing into using Wasta Linux (based off of Ubuntu 16.04) as our main computing platform while doing linguistic field work.

For the most part we have found there to be some quirks in our transition but we have found the jump doable, and I even actually like wasta/ubuntu enough to possibly make the jump permanent.

UX analysit experience

My introduction to UX was first through the Web. Through college I frequented a variety of websites, and then started self learning HTML 3.2 and 4.0 and then xHtml, and then shtml. then finally I said enough is enough and I moved to WordPress in late 2005 or early 2006. Along the way I tried a variety of php/MySQL based apps like Drupal and Gallery2 and various php forums based software. I was an early adopter of Facebook, and MySpace -- though I never really liked MySpace. So that is to say that say that the social web has been a big part of my web useage. When I first started working for SIL International most of our web based technology was based on database converstion to static HTML pages, or .asp served pages, or static HTML pages editied by hand. UI design and interaction on these pages were not something that even tried to keep up with developments in CSS or the move from web 1.0 to web 2.0. I started to seek out the people and teams responsible for SIL International's web presence. I found that there were able people who were great with page layout and color from print media backgrounds, and people who did know how to code in various capacities. Yet the thing that was missing from the story was connecting to web-based audiences in interactive ways and then connecting those audiences to existing SIL International services.

This is where I entered the UX story. As an organization sometimes our business processes are ill-defined, and sometimes the processes are historically entrenched in a paper-based workflow. Sometimes, business managers have little interest in acquiring more customers (serving more people in non-profit lingo). So the argument for good UX sometimes falls on deaf ears, because there is no perceived business need for it. In the commercial world this is a big business opportunity and many companies fail because they can not connect to their customers though a meaningful UX. SIL International does not feel this pressure because it feels like there is no one else in it's market place.

Eventually I was able to work with the team which revamped sil.org in 2012-2013. We used Drupal 7. My contribution was bringing to the project managers a coherent idea of what interactive features needed to look like on the site. I feel we never really got to where I felt our audience needed to go, but we certainly made the website more editable by corporate communications (a move from hand edited template HTML to Drupal 7 is a big jump and worth celebrating).

Since 2013 I have been working with several business units within SIL manage digital assests and information in ways which benefit their business practices and workflows.

In all of this I have seen great ideas come and go, because of various management goals and the ebb and flow of those management goals. In the volunteer/non-profit world the implementation of these ideas are also highly dependent on the availability of skill sets to the project manager (be that through committed volunteers or through money to hire particular skill sets).

Why do I do UX?

As I work with various projets to create a good UX, I constantly looking at how people on different web projects talk about user experience making a difference. In 2013, I was visiting the Noun Project. There were some things I didn’t like about the website, so, I tried to give them some feedback. I found out that my ideas had already been suggested and that they were under review by the management and implementation team. A+ to the management team of the Noun Project – not for being perfect, but for communicating through imperfection and being concerned enough with users to add a feedback loop and for listening to user suggestions. The Noun Project has the edge on being Wikipedia for icons. However, it is the project and organizational commitment to User Experience and User Interaction which will make them succeed. As I look at what they are doing, I noticed this quote by their co-founder:

I find working on The Noun Project inspiring because I know what we’re doing is making a difference. I constantly get emails from teachers, designers, architects…and it’s never about how much they just “like” the service. People who use The Noun Project fall in love with it, and that’s when you know you’ve built something worthwhile. –
Sofya, Cofounder

At the end of the day, I want people to fall in love with the things I help build. And when I find a product I want to fall in love with, I want to help make it better so that other's lives are also improved.