Validation and testing of embedded UI performance and user experience now faster.

Crank adds powerful new features to Storyboard that separates back-end logic from the UI to help embedded teams validate design ideas earlier to make improved performance adjustments.

OTTAWA, March 12, 2020 - Crank Software, an innovator in embedded GUI design and development solutions and winner of Best Software at Embedded World 2020, today announced their latest Storyboard release. Built to help product development teams test their project at a much earlier stage in the development cycle and remotely using TCP/IP connections, user experience (UX) driven products are able to get to market faster with improved touchscreen experiences.

Prior to this release, product teams would need to validate UI performance on actual hardware with a process that was complicated and time-consuming if the end-target hardware was not onsite. This would result in sluggish UI performance and a sub-par experience for consumers. With this update, and through the updated Storyboard IO connector, development teams can now apply events to a target device through the back-end using TCP/IP connections to simulate and validate how UIs will perform - make design and performance adjustments - regardless of their location or stage of development.

“It has been a challenge for global teams to simultaneously test how UIs will perform, and then understand where problems occur when the target is off site. Typically they’d create work-arounds to hit deadlines that would sacrifice the design or UX, or result in massive delays as devices were shipped for testing,” said Thomas Fletcher, VP of Research & Development of Crank Software. “Because we have decoupled the need for the UI and back-end logic to be physically deployed onto the target device, testing and validation can now begin far earlier in the development stage.”

Research has shown that an investment in user experiences drives significant ROI. This was proven in a 2014 study where UX-centric companies, including Crank customer and survey participant Coca-Cola, outperformed the S&P index by 228% over a 10-year period from 2003 to 2013¹. Storyboard 6.2’s new design performance insights tool helps further enhance the UX, with its new performance metrics feature. Developers can initiate and then pause design elements, and immediately review metrics on performance and memory consumption for further fine-tuning.

“For most products developed today, the quality of the user experience that the UI provides can be the defining factor for its success or failure ,” said Richard Bister, Managing Director of Embedded Elements, a Crank partner. “With Storyboard, we’re able to gain valuable insight we need to continually improve the UX. Being presented visually makes it easier to identify the UI elements that could impact the performance or user experience when actually deployed.”

In addition to the UI validation workflow-enhancing capabilities, Storyboard’s latest release also introduces several internal improvements that help further reduce the total amount of memory consumed by UIs, making it easier to create and deploy rich user interfaces for memory-constrained MCU devices.

“With Storyboard, we’re able to gain valuable insight we need to continually improve the UX. Being presented visually makes it easier to identify the UI elements that could impact the performance or user experience when actually deployed.”
- Richard Bister, Managing Director of Embedded Elements

 

About Crank Software

Crank Software is a Canadian based innovator in embedded graphics solutions that help accelerate the design and development of the modern UI experience for tomorrow's embedded devices. Supported by a global distributor network, Crank is driving innovation and speed to market for brands wanting to deliver unmatched performance and delightful customer experiences. With close to two decades of domain expertise in embedded graphics applications development, brands like Coca-Cola, John Deere, and GE Appliances, rely on Crank for bridging the gap between vision and exceptional user experiences. To learn more, visit https://www.cranksoftware.com.

To learn more, register for the upcoming Storyboard Release 6.2 Webinar.

---
Crank and Storyboard are trademarks of Crank Software.

---

¹ Source: “DESIGN-DRIVEN COMPANIES OUTPERFORM S&P BY 228% OVER TEN YEARS - THE ‘DMI DESIGN VALUE INDEX”, Design Management Institute, 2014.