Predictable, consistent workflow

[Anonymous]

My biggest beef with Maya for years has been that it works one way for Tool A, and another way for Tool B, and so on.

It is really hard to work in an environment where the program does not have any rules it seems to have established for itself. Perhaps this is from the openss built into Maya from the beginning?

A workflow that is RELLY easy and quick in Softimage is run the tool, and the user is prompted to

pick what they want to have the tool effect.

These "pick sessions" not only have a nearly 100% consistent workflow across Softimage, but also have tool tips in the lower system message area at the bottom of the screen, that tell the user

how the tool works, and if using a different pick order, or mouse button will change the tool.

When I was a new Softiamge user, this was key in my ability to adapt to the system. As I have been teaching 3D for years now, I have found that Maya is hard for new uesers primarily because of the lack of feeling like it works the same way each and every time, each and every tool.

[daniel.tutino]

Hi Perry,

Thank you for your input. If i'm not mistaken, lack of discoverability in Maya for new (and existing) users is the overall theme you're touching on in your post

.

This is feedback that we (the Maya team) are interrested in hearing more of and how it can affect the overall learning experience.  What is your approach for onboarding new student into your curriculum? There are a multiple of tools per workflow in Maya and i'm wondering if there is a particular starting point that you think is more important to unblock for new users.

Thanks again  and please keep the feedback coming,

Daniel

[Anonymous]

Hi Daniel,

Actually, while discovery and new user training (with regards to students) is a part of what I wanted to say, my main point

was directed towards new Maya users coming from anywhere, especially Softimage.

Whether learning Maya after being a user of another DCC, or not, Maya needs to have rules that IT lives by.

Only then will you be able to trust maya to work the way you expect. Part of what makes users of Softimage so happy, is what we often refer to as "workflow", or "simplicity", but really can be boiled down (to a degree) by the fact that Softimage is always doing what we expect based upon our last

time using it. If we are constantly confronted (and I specifically use that word here) by new interaction models, we won't trust Maya, or ourselves, to be able to intuitively solve problems, think our way out of a situation, or expect Maya to just "read our minds".

I was a long time user of Maya before using Softimage, and in the 9 or 10 years I have used Softimage, it has made me forget that the UI is there.

I don't think about it a lot, it doesn't assault me with choice after choice, it doesn't make me have to think before I invoke a tool. Maya makes you think about order of operation BEFORE invoking a tool, as well as picking order.

It is sort of like painting. If we are now speaking of DCC apps like a fine artist would of their paint, but we aknowledge that the DCC app has an advantage over painting, why would we invoke traditional rules on the artist that should not have to apply to a DCC, but must in fine art painting?

If I was to paint something, I would really have to think about what colors I painted over what other colors. The order I did these in, the way the colors mix, all have restraints that a DCC app (shouldn't) have.

Softimage takes away many of those times where I think about something long and hard before I do it. Maya FORCES me to think before I do it,

because I want to avoid error mesages, unexpected outcomes, etc.

Hopefully that helps clarify it.

Thank you for your interest!

Perry

[daniel.tutino]

Thanks Perry for the extra context; it's much appreciated.

Ultimtely this is a shared vision for what we aim to further achieve for Maya usability going forward. Although, this will no doubt take more time to further evolve from where the application is today. A possitive example that I believe show us moving towards that direction is the work done in the Maya 2015 modelling features. Hopefully this is something you'll be able to try out soon and provide us with some additional feedback. 

There is a saying that a colleague of mine in support said long ago that resonates with me to this day and I think fits nicely into the theme of this discussion:

"Are you an artist or do you know Linux?"  

It wasn't stated in any negative way but rather him trying to identify how the user could potentially tackle the problem so he help come up with the right approach to debug the problem  (e.g  creative organic mindset compared to a more technical engineering mindset). There are definetly Maya users in both camps (and in the grey area in between) and it's our goals are keep empowering with the choice to choose either side.   

Thanks again,

Daniel