Competitive Analysis. Client MSC Apex Software UX Team Defenders of UX 2nd Presentation Date

Transcription

1 Competitive Analysis Client MSC Apex Software UX Team Defenders of UX 2nd Presentation Date

2 Presentation Overview INTRODUCTION USABILITY TEST COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

3 Introduction Background MSC Apex has a new tool for removing nonstandard shapes called the Custom Defeature Tool Problem The Custom Defeature Tool was never tested for usability Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the usability of the Custom Defeature Tool, and develop a solution to improve the user experience

4 Introduction Methodology We previously conducted a Contextual Inquiry and Cognitive Walkthrough to discover and define the problem For this submission, we wanted to continue uncovering issues We selected the following methodologies: Usability Test To learn the usability of the Custom Defeature Tool Competitive Analysis To reveal areas of opportunity for the Custom Defeature Tool

5 Competitive Analysis To Reveal Areas of Opportunity

6 Methodology

7 Methodology We looked at direct competitors and influencers. We opted not to review indirect competitors because there is a significant overlap in the capabilities of the various computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and finite element analysis (FEA) programs across this specialized 3D software domain. Direct Competitors Company Software Rationale Ansys Autodesk Dassault Systems Altair Ansys R18.0 (Student version) Fusion 360 Ultimate (Student Version) Solidworks (Student Version) Hyperworks/ Hypermesh (Student Version) Inspired by the defeature tool in parallel meshing product offered by ANSYS to minimize time for mesh generation Newer to market with a fast-growing market share Cloud-based software with offline capabilities Includes CAD, CAE, and simulation in one platform and is heavily utilized by product designers and 3D printing companies Leading software with significant market saturation for CAD/CAE that has been around for more than 20 years Hyperworks is an industry leader in CAE with geometry clean-up capabilities

8 Methodology Influencers Company Software Rationale Unity Technologies Unity (Full Version) A leading game development engine that excels at 3D animation and has experienced significant market saturation and growth since launch Autodesk Maya (Student Version) An industry leader in 3D modeling and animation for the game and film industries

9 Methodology The goal was to understand the software and identify available tools We looked at the following categories, and summarized the results (see following slides): Categories Year Founded Number of Users Intended Markets Cloud Bases vs.local Software Type Architectural Overview Software Purpose: For Who or What? Design Rationale Usability: Understandability Usability: Documentation Usability: Learnability, Basic Function, Advanced Functions, Getting Started Guides, Basic Instructions, Reference Guide Contains Defeaturing Tool? Heuristic Evaluation In-App Support Customer Feedback Channels Other Help Channels Competitive Advantage Software Interface Heuristic Evaluation Customer Review Pros Customer Review Cons Market Share

10 Direct Competitors

11 ANSYS: SpaceClaim Software Type: CAD Description: A general-purpose product. Used for modeling, editing, and fixing 3D models to improve meshing for engineering simulation analysis Pros Well-organized groupings of tools and process Mimics Microsoft tab-and-ribbon architecture Imports geometry a variety of other CAD programs Easy access to help documentation and Youtube channel Handles 3D solid geometry, surface or shell parts, and lines Customer Reviews: Swiss Army knife of design suite Cons Defeaturing requires a combination of tools and multiple steps Customer Reviews: N/A

12 ANSYS: SpaceClaim Notable UX items Instructions and status built into workspace Minimized use of color Quick reference guide PDF Quick Reference Guide PDF

13 Autodesk Fusion 360 Software Type: CAD, CAE, CAM Description: Used in product design, 3D printing, prototyping environment providing the ability to share files with others that do not have Fusion 360 installed A cloud-based system with the ability to work offline Pros Cons Has many guides, videos, feedback channels, and a robust user community Direct import of CAD from specific manufacturer databases Well-organized interface with distinct tool categories, and utilizes a combination of icon and text-based menus Orbital navigation has a position labeled box Customer Reviews: All-in-one software - design, edit geometry, and simulate Can share files with people that do not have CAD Defeaturing is essentially select-and-delete Customer Reviews: Does not handle complex files well Simulations are not as advanced as some users need

14 Autodesk Fusion 360 Notable UX items Radial marking menu via right click Layers palette only has essential info Maximizes working space Minimized use of color

15 Dassault Systems Solidworks Software Type: CAD, CAE, CAM Description: Industry-standard software with a large presence in the educational market space Pros Defeaturing tools More advanced tools than most CAE Organized with appropriate clusters of functions Minimized coloration of geometry and models Large user community of users Enhancement requests portal Mix of icon and text-based menus in a tabbed navigation Customer Reviews: Easy to learn Feature changes cascade to rest of the model Cons Main menu is a hidden is not intuitive The software requires Windows OS and only runs on local machines Customer Reviews: Icons are not always clear Some of the useful functions are hidden Initial cost Advanced geometries are difficult to make

16 Dassault Systems Solidworks Defeaturing Step-by-step defeaturing wizard (4-steps) Arrows in palette for steps New users could become bit lost on how to use it Users can use existing list of components, or add to it, when defeaturing Once processed, the screen displays an defeatured part preview in a second window, and can be saved as a separate file Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

17 Altair Hyperworks Software Type: CAE Description: Part of a suite of products designed to handle geometry cleanup that can hinder mesh quality Locally installed application with cloud-based features Pros Specific tools for defeaturing Advanced tools capable of supporting complex sub-system generation and assembly The interface is Minimal and icon-driven Customizable Made of information panels Customer Reviews: Can export to different solvers like Ansys and Abaqus Cons Some of the icons are difficult to understand Not straight-forward or intuitive But lacks video tutorials and relies on cumbersome documentation Customer Reviews: Mesh controls are not stored

18 Altair Hyperworks Defeaturing Opens in a panel with multi-step process Need a working-knowledge of the software to perform task Shows all choices at once, with no directions Makes it challenging for beginners to understand what is happening Step 1: Select feature type Step 2: Choose where to search Step 3: adjust tolerances and commit

19 Influencers

20 Unity Technologies Software Type: Game engine Description: Used for 3D object animation, and usually for video games Requires a local install that supports 27 operating systems, but also uses cloud-based file storage and rendering assistance if desired Pros Large user community (~1.3 million) Lots of tutorials Interface uses text-driven menus with real-world language and direct access to help for menu items Clear feedback on user actions Leader in multi-platform gaming compatibility Customer Reviews: Integrates with a wide variety of 3D modeling software Constantly updated with the latest features Cons Geometry cleanup is done prior to import Customer Reviews: Coding errors are hard to understand Too many buttons and options on the screen Timeline is not efficient Has performance issues

21 Unity Technologies Notable UX Workspace is clean and simple Minimal use of color in interface Strategic use of color to indicate active objects and functions Outlines only selected items

22 Autodesk Maya Software Type: 3D modeler Description: Widely used in film, television, game development, and architecture to model 3D objects Can be installed on a several major operating systems Pros Well-organized tools with icon colors and text menus Customizable workspace Selection color indicates mode Geometry cleanup is done through intuitive meshing tools Excellent learning support and a robust user community Customer Reviews: Easy customization of menus interface is easy to learn Cons N/A Customer Reviews: Compatibility issues with older Maya files and other Autodesk software Easy to cause errors and difficult to fix

23 Autodesk Maya Notable UX Tool sets are color-coded with consistent icon style and logical groupings Quickly switch selection methods, and also shows number of faces selected Radial marking menu via right click Same as Fusion 360 Strong usability with good feedback on user actions and errors Restrained use of color on interface elements

24 Market Share

25 CAD Market Share Currently about 15 main players in the global CAE market SolidWorks and Fusion 360 are leaders Many smaller players beginning to crowd the market The market for CAE will increase as simulations are needed Ways to stand out: Good user experience Increased compatibility Powerful simulation tools

26 Recommendations

27 Recommendations MSC Apex Strengths Customer Support User feedback channel for feature requests Good customer support Consistent updates to software Flexibility Import and export files from other industry software Geometry Editing Geometry manipulation on 3D solids, surfaces, and lines Defeaturing Fast mesh generation Mesh manipulation through mid surfacing Interface Collapsible palettes Rollover tutorial

28 Recommendations MSC Apex Opportunities Flexibility Explore use of the cloud for cross-platform compatibility, especially for 3D-printing (Fusion 360, Hyperworks, Unity) Create a more robust user community (Fusion 360, Maya, SolidWorks, Unity) Interface Improve learnability (Fusion 360, Maya, SolidWorks, SpaceClaim, Unity) Customizable workspace (Fusion 360, Maya) Improve organization functions and tools (Fusion 360, Maya, SolidWorks, SpaceClaim, Unity) Visual Design Optimize use of color in the interface (Fusion 360, Maya, Space,Claim, Unity) Improve icons recognition (Fusion 360, Maya, SpaceClaim) Improve user-action feedback (Fusion 360, Maya, SpaceClaim, Unity) Content Design Improve tool labels real-world language (Fusion 360, Maya, SolidWorks, SpaceClaim, Unity) Clarity of defeature steps (Hyperworks, SolidWorks) More text menus (Fusion 360, Hyperworks, Solidworks, SpaceClaim, Unity)