Designing UserInterface for LOB App in Silverlight

Question

Hi,

I'd like to know what's now modern and trendy at designing user interface in business apps? My old Windows apps used modal windows very often. For instance there's a list/datagrid of invoices. User wants to add a new invoice, then empty invoice form modal window popups, then user can select an existing customer in another modal form, and if she doesn't find a customer then another window with add new customer form popups. So there's too many popups/modals for me. And modals don't fit well in MVVM pattern.

Is it possible to make it more friendly for user?

The important fact would be that user can have a few invoice forms open at the moment. But I also know that MDI style isn't recommended any longer.

Answer 1

I would first focus on what is usable and easily understood by your end user. Trends come and go, but good UI is timeless.

Understand your users. Understand how they use your application. Discover the things they are unhappy with and find out how they would improve them. Assess your overall goal and implement the changes you need to get their.

If you're looking for specific examples though, we need more specific information and a more direct question.