Usability feedback: improving discoverability and user guidance

[extrememan-fin]

First of all, thank you for SDRangel. It is a very powerful and technically impressive project, and it is clear that a lot of expertise has gone into its development.

I would like to share some constructive usability feedback from a user experience perspective. The main challenge I encounter is not missing functionality, but the overall discoverability and clarity of the user workflows. SDRangel appears to assume a fairly deep prior understanding of SDR concepts and of its own internal architecture, which makes the initial experience difficult even for technically inclined users.

From a UX point of view, the mental model of how the application is structured is not clearly communicated through the interface. The relationships between devices, channels, demodulators, and features are not immediately obvious, and it is easy to end up in a state where nothing works without any clear indication of what is missing or misconfigured. When something produces no output, the UI often does not provide feedback that would help the user understand why.

Common use cases, such as setting up a basic receiver or decoding a well-known signal type, require many manual steps and prior knowledge. Without guided workflows, presets, or contextual hints, users must rely heavily on external documentation or trial and error. While documentation exists, it is largely disconnected from the UI, so the application itself does not actively help users learn as they use it.

This feedback is meant with appreciation for the project rather than criticism. SDRangel’s flexibility and power are clear strengths, but the current user experience creates a high barrier to entry. Even small improvements in guidance, feedback, and discoverability could significantly improve accessibility without reducing the tool’s advanced capabilities.

Thank you for your work and for taking the time to consider usability-focused feedback.

[Axpelle]

Hello. I've been using SDRA for a couple of years now and would tend to agree that the learning curve is quite steep if one is unfamiliar with SDR technology. However, there is a clear logic in the way the app is structured in discrete modules each of which is assigned to one specific task. Thus each user is able to build an interface that corresponds exactly to his/her needs. In my particular case I have a single window which allows me to monitor ADSB and scan the airband at the same time using two RTLSDR dongles. The end result is like an integrated app designed for this particular purpose only. I suspect the real challenge for the new user is to find himself facing a totally dark screen after the first launch of the app, with no clue as to what to do next to get started. A few well written explanatory notes on the splash page would be helpful. Explanations on how to set the numerous parameters present in each module would also be welcome as they are key to obtaining the best results from SDRA.

[f4exb]

Thanks for your remarks and if you have some concrete suggestions about UX improvements please share them. For now it seems to be generalities.

SDRangel appears to assume a fairly deep prior understanding of SDR concepts...

Many SDR software are quite spectrum centric somehow extending the concept of analog receivers with a dial and a needle augmenting it with spectrum display and waterfall and some visual artifacts like showing the bandwidth of the "VFO". The VFO concept itself is closely related to its analog counterpart. Then this "VFO" also carries all the possible modulation/demodulation options (AM, FM, SSB...) Maybe the concept is easier to grab for those unfamiliar with the SDR concepts but it is clearly not the option chosen with SDRangel and I think Axpelle and the seasoned users have captured the concept. It is admitted that this concept may be difficult for a new user. If you have suggestions on how to make it smoother please share your thoughts but the concept is here to stay. It is somehow more closely related to a project like GNU Radio that indeed requires prior SDR knowledge and probably more critically than with SDRangel.

From a UX point of view, the mental model of how the application is structured is not clearly communicated through the interface...

Please share your thoughts on how to improve this. When I implemented the floating windows and workspaces (v6 to v7) that indeed gives users the power to compose their own UI I thought of having some sort of map that you could pull from the side or at the click of a button that would graphically represent the relation between components which does not graphically appear on screen (and that would make a mess). Eventually this was not developed due to other priorities. If you think that can help I could reconsider.

Common use cases, such as setting up a basic receiver or decoding a well-known signal type, require many manual steps and prior knowledge. Without guided workflows, presets...

Well when you start SDRangel for the first time I think you are prompted with a choice of presets (I vaguely remember a PR was made in this sense but I haven't started SDRangel completely from scratch for a long time). You can also pull this preset dialog at any time from the star icon next to the "W0" label on the top left corner. Also this paragraph in the Wiki: https://github.com/f4exb/sdrangel/wiki/Quick-start#running-the-program will guide you in setting up a basic narrowband FM receiver. Of course setting up a DATV receiver with a Pluto running from the network will require a bit more expertise but is not intended for the beginner anyway.

Remember that you have a lot of resources including a forum where you can seek help from more seasoned users that has been set up by Jon who is the main other contributor to this software at this address: https://www.sdrangel.org/ It turns out that it will be the first link you see when searching for "sdrangel".

Explanations on how to set the numerous parameters present in each module would also be welcome as they are key to obtaining the best results from SDRA.

A click on the question mark icon at the right in the top bar of the component window will route you to the dedicated readme in the Github repository and is usually quite complete detailing the function of each button or graphical element in the component.

[f4exb]

Now the "discussions" are open...