User Interface Testing: Yamaha TG77 - Suggested Improvement
I have two suggestions related to voice selection on the TG77:
1. Implementation of a "jog wheel" function in order to scroll through the voice names at variables speeds
2. Implementation of a "search" function to locate the voice without having to scroll through the various banks
"Jog Wheel"
Interestingly, the TG77's keyboard-counterpart (the Yamaha SY77) has a rotary wheel control which can be used to scroll through voices. I wonder why the designers didn't do this for the TG77 using the DATA ENTRY slider.
The video below shows the mocked-up jog wheel operation. The DATA ENTRY slider on the TG77 doesn't have a function when the unit is in Voice Display mode, so I feel this would be a logical use for it. I mocked up the interaction by holding down the "+1/YES" button while moving the slider.
Notation:
[Slider /] / 3s [Slider /] / 2s = 2 operations / 5s
Notes:
This interaction raises several interesting questions.
1. How quickly should the slider move through the voices? A rotary knob with detents has an implied mapping: 1 voice per click. The slider has no detents.
2. What happens if the slider is at the top of its range when the user wants to jog through the voices? The answer to this question is related to how we answer #1... This probably is an area that requires some user testing. Unless moving the slider back down a bit will allow access to the full remaining range of voices, this could
be very frustrating to use. The data entry slider on my Studio Logic SL-1100 behaves a bit like this -- and can be frustrating.
Voice Search
In Voice Display Mode, only two of the function buttons are used (F7 and F8). Another button (F6) could be used as a "Search" button. Pressing "F6" would cause a search dialog box to appear. I think dialogs are beyond the scope of this assignment.