Arthur Fink Page 1 Notes on Designing User Interfaces for OpenEdge GUI for.NET Arthur Fink Arthur Fink Consulting © 2008 by Arthur Fink

Arthur Fink Page 2 My promise  You'll learn guidelines for visual design of modern user-friendly OpenEdge applications  combining rich full-featured controls  into simple easy to use applications.  Not a “paint by numbers” toolkit !

Arthur Fink Page 3 Moving to.NET is a re-write  Opportunity to rework whole concept  Not a one-to one screen replacement  Make sure UI gets better – not worse!

Arthur Fink Page 4 A “old” program that was easy to use

Arthur Fink Page 5 Only got harder to learn

Arthur Fink Page 6 And the paid version even harder

Arthur Fink Page 7 Our process  Careful observation of user tasks and goals  Real user role in design and testing  Consistent and clear visual standards  Careful selection, styling and use of all.NET controls and other components.

Arthur Fink Page 8 Designing user interfaces that work

Arthur Fink Page 9 Which knob controls lower left burner?

Arthur Fink Page 10 Small changes can make a big difference

Arthur Fink Page 11 Fear of change – and blindness to the gain

Arthur Fink Page 12 Listen to users

Arthur Fink Page 13 Automation anthropologist at work

Arthur Fink Page 14 REAL client is the user.  What does the user need?  Not what does client think user wants.  User need to be part of design process.  How can user be in control during operations?

Arthur Fink Page 15 Users need simplicity  Easy to learn  Easy to use  Easy to enter data  Hard to “mess up”

Arthur Fink Page 16 Keep it simple,  No extra data or control  Not everything visible at once  Rarely used features rarely visible  User in control – can drill down

Arthur Fink Page 17 Clear labels

Arthur Fink Page 18 Which way to room 1512?

Arthur Fink Page 19 Offer a clear message users need to hear!

Arthur Fink Page 20 Don’t hide your controls ,,

Arthur Fink Page 21 Don’t hide your controls ,,

Arthur Fink Page 22 Don’t just mark the hazard; eliminate it!

Arthur Fink Page 23 Not "Error" messages – positive hints

Arthur Fink Page 24 Instead of this rebuke

Arthur Fink Page 25 Encouraging feedback – sounds and sights  Saving project.....  Saving project....…  Saving project  Saving project  Saving project  Saving project

Arthur Fink Page 26 Consistency IS for us  One way to do things  Common view from screens, paper forms, reports  Same terminology  Ideally the same code is behind each

Arthur Fink Page 27 Optimize for the common cases  Simplify the most common input case.  Unusual cases may take more key strokes.

Arthur Fink Page 28 Allow mouse OR keyboard (when possible)  Hand movement mouse to / from keyboard takes time  (Exception to “one way to do things” rule)

Arthur Fink Page 29 Microsoft Health Common User Interface

Arthur Fink Page 30 A medicine list (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 31 Prescription (Rx) form (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 32 Rx form – filled in (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 33 Standards for consistency (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 34 Visual standards (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 35 Visual standards applied (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 36 Display order for medications (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 37 Distinguishing similar data (from MHCUI)

Arthur Fink Page 38 Choosing the right control  Not necessarily the fanciest  Learning curve vs. power user features

Arthur Fink Page 39 The right control  Accepts simple direct input  Offer clear unambiguous display  Does require computation or conversion  Doesn’t have many un-used options.

Arthur Fink Page 40 The right control (continued)  Can’t be replaced by something simpler.  Invites easy use (clear affordance)  Is easy to use; hard to mis-use  Has unobtrusive but clear operation

Arthur Fink Page 41 The right control (continued)  Doesn’t make user “think” at all  Has common visual style with other controls  Is visually attractive, and easily readable  Is often familiar to user (from Word, Excel, etc.)

Arthur Fink Page 42 Using the controls right (or not!)

Arthur Fink Page 43 Using the controls right (or not!)

Arthur Fink Page 44 This window looks clear

Arthur Fink Page 45 A confusing window

Arthur Fink Page 46 The confusion here can be dangerous

Arthur Fink Page 47 Progress (OpenEdge) has the tools...

Arthur Fink Page 48 More Progress (OpenEdge)...

Arthur Fink Page 49 A system that really works  Allow quick, easy, accurate data input  Provides prompt and helpful feedback  Lets the user feel in control  Isn’t hurt by user “mistakes”

Arthur Fink Page 50 A few more guidelines  Don’t interrupt users, or tell them that something worked.  Don’t provide information users can’t use.  Provide “undo” for any destructive action.  Design the interface before starting to code!

Arthur Fink Page 51 Time for your questions, your concerns ? ? ?