by Philip Benjamin George
Introduction
TeamViewer is a cross-platform application that
lets users connect remotely to machines, host and attend presentations and
meetings, share files and make audio and video calls. The application is
available across multiple desktop platforms such as Windows, Mac, Linux,
ChromeOS and mobile platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows Phone and
BlackBerry. It has a wide range of use-cases such as Remote Support i.e.
helping people by providing technical support, Unattended Access which is automatic
remote connection to machines without manual intervention and conference call
functionality. Features of TeamViewer are that it provides high security using
RSA and AES encryption, high performance, no configuration required and an easy
to understand user interface. Overall, it is a very powerful tool for home as
well as business users [1].
Though TeamViewer has many advantages, it suffers from certain usability
issues. This blog presents a few usability issues that I encountered with the
application. Though these issues are not too serious, they need to be fixed, so
users can have a better experience, which will ultimately result in attracting
more users.
Product
and Platform Information
Software version: TeamViewer
11.0.56083
Operating System: Windows 10 Home
Edition
Usability
Issues
Below are few usability issues that I encountered when
using the TeamViewer application on Windows.
1. Computers
& Contacts window separate from main window
The interface of TeamViewer
application has two windows, the primary window with main functionality and a
smaller secondary window placed next to it that shows computers and contact
information of the user. The presence of two windows for the same application could
confuse many new users, as they may not be aware as to why two windows are
required. The main purpose of the secondary window is for user login, to
present a view of available computers and contacts, adding new contacts and
groups, nearby contacts and devices. This window could easily be integrated
into the main window to avoid user confusion.
 |
| Fig.1 Primary and Secondary windows of TeamViewer |
Recommendation
The application could integrate the
secondary window to the main window and provide options like expandable side
window for contacts and computers, split secondary window option for separating
windows based on user preference.
2. Starts
presentation/Video calls without inviting or adding participants
TeamViewer
provides options to start presentations or video calls with contacts and nearby
users and computers. When users select the presentation or video call option, they
are automatically taken to the presentation/video call screen without prompt
and without letting users to invite participants. This may take users by
surprise, as they first expect to add/invite participants to the meeting instead
of being forced into the meeting with no participants, and then selecting them
from the presentation/video call screen. All the options for the meeting have to
be set from this screen, which could be irritating to users.
 |
| Fig.2 Presentation screen with only presenter |
Recommendation
It is
recommended to present users with a separate screen to add or invite
participants to a presentation or video call. This screen should also present
users with meeting options, rather than making users select these options on
the presentation screen.
3. No
Explicit Exit session/meeting button present
When a
user is in a presentation or meeting and wishes to exit, there is no explicit
Exit Meeting or session button provided for this purpose. Users have to click
the close button present on the TeamViewer dialog, which is not so prominent in
the view, to quit the session. There is also no indication that this close
button would end the session or whether it would terminate TeamViewer
application itself.
 |
| Fig. 3 Presentation screen with no explicit Exit session button |
Recommendation
The application
should have an explicit Exit session button in presentation window for users to
quit session.
4. Notification
of Status could be more prominent
Status notifications
in TeamViewer are given as colored bubbles in the left corner of the
application along with a notification message. Status messages such as Ready to
Connect, Abort and Waiting for authentication are shown with colors like green,
red and orange respectively. The issue here is the placement of these status
messages, especially to users that are new to the application. Any change in
status reflected in the lower left corner of application window, may not be
noticed by novice users.
 |
| Fig. 4 Status notification in TeamViewer |
Recommendation
The application could notify users
by displaying status changes closer to the central area of the application. The
idea should be to place these status messages somewhere the user will easily
notice them. There could be a non-modal or progress dialog box appearing to
show the status.
5. Password
option icon hidden and misleading
Users can
change the password of their TeamViewer application by selecting the icon close
to the password field in the main window. This icon is hidden and only appears
when the mouse is scrolled over it. This icon (similar to the refresh icon) indirectly
implies to generate a password i.e. set password automatically with random
characters. This could mislead users, as selecting this icon shows a set of
password options, rather than auto-generating passwords. Selecting this icon
gives users the option to generate a random or custom password, and copy the password
to the clipboard.
 |
| Fig. 5 Password options button in TeamViewer |
Recommendation
It is recommended that the icon be made visible and be changed to
indicate password options instead of a refresh icon that may mislead users.
Conclusion
Overall, my experience with TeamViewer has been very
good. Though it does have a few minor issues in the usability perspective, it
is quite a powerful tool that does what is expected of it. I found it to be an
extremely user friendly application, that I would highly recommend to home and
business users.
[1] TeamViewer, URL: http://www.teamviewer.com/en/
References:
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