Tour of About Face Section 2: Designing Behavior and Form Cooper & Reimann AJ Brush Richard Anderson

Adminstrivia No class next Tuesday 5/6 Due Tuesday 5/6 Programming Assignment 4 Thursday 5/8 Group Assignment 4 – Interviews with Users Groups present results of user study with paper prototype

Chapter 8: Software Posture A software’s posture is how it presents itself to the user. Sovereign PowerPoint, Word Optimize for full screen use Users of sovereign applications are perpetual intermediates Transient Windows volume control Clear, simple, and to the point Single window and view

Software Posture Daemonic Print Driver Do not normally interact with user How to give feedback? (Status icons) Auxiliary Windows taskbar, clock, performance manager Continuously present in supporting role

Chapter 9: Orchestration & Flow Flow: concentrate wholeheartedly on the action  No matter how cool your interface is, less of it would be better.  Getting users in the flow: Follow mental models Direct, don’t discuss Keep tools close at hand Provide modeless feedback (Peripheral info)

Orchestration & Flow  Design for the probable case, provide for the possible case  Ask forgiveness, not permission Avoid blank slate  Asking questions isn’t the same as providing choices  Hide the ejector seat levers

Chapter 10: Eliminating Excise Excise tasks are necessary but don’t get us to our goal Open the garage door, window resizing, error messages, confirmation dialogs  Eliminating excise makes the user more effective  Don’t weld on training wheels  Don’t stop the proceedings with idiocy

Chapter 10: Eliminating Excise  Never make the user ask permission  Allow input wherever you have output Nice list of traps on pg. 142

Chapter 11: Navigation & Inflection Organize interface to minimize typical navigation  Users will make commensurate effort if the rewards justify it  Organize controls and displays by:  Frequency of use  Degree of dislocation (ejector levers)  Degree of exposure (irreversible actions)

Chapter 12: Understanding Undo Undo/Redo

Chapter 13:Rethinking Files and Save  Disks & files don’t help users achieve their goals Saving changes dialog is weird when you think about it. Break with the mental model Files are in memory & on disk

Chapter 14: Making software Considerate  Software should behave like a considerate human (pg 184)  Considerate software takes an interest  Considerate software is deferential  Considerate software is forthcoming  Considerate software uses common sense  Considerate software anticipates needs  Considerate software is conscientious  Considerate software doesn’t burden you with its personal problems

Considerate software keeps you informed Considerate software is perceptive Considerate software is self-confident Considerate software doesn’t ask a lot of questions Considerate software takes responsibility Considerate software knows when to bend the rules.

Chapter 15: Making software smart  If it’s worth the user entering, it’s worth the program remembering  Choices and defaults  File locations ...