Renaissance:Why New

Current Situation

As you all know, some OpenOffice.org users complain that the graphical user interface GUI) is cumbersome and outdated. The office suite has expanded to include so much functionality, that now the toolbars and menus are too full and likewise some dialogs have become too complex. Thus, some novice users may be overwhelmed, or expert users may feel they can not accomplish their tasks as efficiently as possible. In addition, the look and feel of the GUI has not changed much since the 90s, so it no longer communicates modern innovation or inspires joy of use.

Recently, our major competitor started to focus on usability-based differentiation in the areas of usage efficiency and a visually more appealing GUI. If OpenOffice.org does not also improve in these areas, it will be hard to motivate discerning users to switch to OOo. We want to increase the adoption of OOo and the growth of the our user base in market segments where users particularly value a fresh look & feel as well as efficient use of easy-to-access functionality.

What has to Change?

OpenOffice.org needs to provide an User interface that OpenOffice.org becomes the users' choice not only out of need but also out of desire.