How is a Web Application Different from an Installed Application ?
ManagingEnergy is a Web Application with certain natural differences from traditional Installed Applications residing on local computers or networks.
General Appearance
A traditional Installed Application looks exactly the same for every user. The user interface for a Web Application adapts to device differences (e.g.; screen size and resolution), the web browser and version being used, and aspects of the user's account such permissions. ManagingEnergy screens can also be customized for branding, font selections, and colors, so they also look a bit different from one delivery partner to the next.
Navigation
A Web Application is delivered through your browser as a series of web pages. You interact with the web pages to request information from the central database or send information to it through a secure internet connection. The connection between the web page and the database is loose in the sense that you can interact significantly with a page without the database being aware of your actions. Data changes are only sent to the database by a PostBack event, which is initiated by a pressing Update Record, Done, or similar. This differs from an Installed Application with a tight connection to the database. In that environment, data is updated every time a user moves from one field to another.
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To ensure that new data is always saved, it is important that users navigate the system in the intended way, using the buttons in the interface, rather than jumping back with the browser Back button. ManagingEnergy usually lets users know when data changes are ready to be posted to the database, so proper navigation becomes natural very quickly.
Evolution
Web Applications like ManagingEnergy are essentially sophisticated web sites. Like other web sites, they lose relevance if they are not improved over time as the needs of users change. Because the ManagingEnergy service deals with fast-moving markets and subject matter, new features are added regularly in response to use suggestions.
This means that the user experience is improving over time, to make the system easier and more useful to building owners and service providers.
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