How handle many sliders in the same page?

Question

Context: a page where users, using sliders, can set different values to get personalized results.

The page contains about 16 parameters that can be modified with the corresponding sliders. At the edit of a single parameter value, users can see part of the results in the box on the right in real time (see image). When all the sliders have been changed according to the users' needs, users can get all the results clicking the button "Get all results" (results will be displayed in another page).

How can I make more simple the sliders list and avoid frightened users?

Answer 1

There is no objective answer to this. Some apps legitimately have many sliders, while other with far fewer sliders have too many.

Here's one with many sliders, but they are a valid choice

The problem comes in when designers get slider happy and just throw sliders in when they aren't necessary or appropriate. There isn't a set number that is too many, just try keep controls to as little as you need to achieve maximum usability®

One of the strategies that I like is to show the most frequently needed sliders, and have an "advanced" tab or a "show advanced settings" button / link which then reveals the less used sliders. That way novice users aren't overwhelmed, but advanced users still have access to advanced functions.

Answer 2

You could split your set of sliders into smaller sets under cathegories.

A structured list means fewer elements, just like it's easier to memorize a sequence of letters that makes sense (e.g. "happy") than the same number of letters without any particular structure (e.g. "bpbdq").