What should a “wizard” style interface on the iPad look like?

Question

I'm working on my company's iPhone App and now I'm looking into the logistics involved with getting it to be an iPad native App as well (Universal App).

Without going into too much detail, the App guides the user through performing a task, sort of like a wizard, and the result is submitted at the end. On the iPhone I'm using a NavigationController, pushing each ViewController onto the stack, then when the result is submitted I pop back several ViewControllers until I'm back at the beginning. Simple.

I've had a work-issued iPad for about a day now but I'm noticing the prevailing metaphor seems to be the split-view due to the added screen real estate. So as an example, whereas on the iPhone the Settings App shows a list of sections to change and then selecting one drills down to it, which replaces the list on the screen, on the iPad the Settings App shows that list on the left side of the screen, it never leaves, and the right side of the screen shows the selected section.

My question is - does this sort of navigation make sense for a step-by-step wizard-type App? The nature of the task doesn't necessarily preclude the concept of "jumping around" but the final ViewController has to submit the results and I'm concerned that this might confuse people (that the data entered in previous "sections" of the split view is now gone because they've submitted it).

What should a "wizard" style interface on the iPad look like, and does anyone have some examples they like?

Thanks. Also, I'm not sure which of the SE sites this is most appropriate for so if it belongs on Apple.SE or SO please let me know.

Answer 1

Apple doesn't provide any built-in UI for this type of flow, probably because they generally discourage Wizards. So, there is no official guidance on what a wizard should look like on the iPad.

First, consider whether you really need a wizard, or if you can do it some other way. Does your process have to be completed on a step-by-step basis?

If you must have a wizard, make sure that you show all of the steps and where the user is within those steps. Consider looking at resources on multi-page forms. Personally I would display the steps along the top of the screen or on the left side.

Regarding split view: in my opinion don't use it. The split view is designed for hierarchical navigation. You will confuse your users. Build something custom.