Issue: How should the Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen for the Schedule appear to the user?
Discussion: While I could display one contest date at a time, it appears I can do everything on one screen. I believe being able to do it all on one screen would be an advantage, so that is what I’ll aim for.
When using one screen, I’ll need the Add menu option to allow the user to add a new date to the list of contest dates. The list of contest dates will be within a scrolling window. While it would have been nice to have a range of dates, then selectively indicate some as not used, that seems impractical now. So, only actual contest dates will be allowed in the list. There has to be a Delete option available as well. The lane assignments section will also be in a scrolling window, and will display the assignments for the selected contest date. I feel it can be set up in edit mode all the time, rather than have the user click a button to edit the lane assignments.
To add a new date, the user enters it into the text box below the list, then clicks the add button. If that entry already exists in the list, then nothing happens, otherwise it is added to the selection list. To delete a date, the user highlights the item and clicks the Delete button. There may be a need for a confirmation dialog box for deletions.
There should be an alternate method to enter a date, such as a button which would open up a calendar dialog, allowing the user to select a date. This would be consistant with entering dates on other edit screens.
Conclusion: Here is what I envision the Schedule screen to look like:
|
||||||
Here is what I envision the Select Contest screen to look like:
|
Here is the Add Contest dialog:
|