INTERFACE DESIGN DMS 546/446 DESIGNING INTERFACES - JENIFER TIDWELL CHAPTER 1

A MEANS TO AN END WHAT ARE THEY REALLY AFTER? USERS AND CLIENTS TYPICALLY SPEAK TO YOU IN TERMS OF DESIRED FEATURES AND SOLUTIONS NOT IN TERMS OF NEEDS AND PROBLEMS KEEP ASKING THEM “WHY” TO UNCOVER THE NEEDS AND PROBLEMS ASK EVEN WHEN THE HAVE CLEAR DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

THE BASICS OF USER RESEARCH: DIRECT OBSERVATION CASE STUDIES SURVEYS PERSONAS

USERS' MOTIVATION TO LEARN HOW MUCH EFFORT ARE YOUR USERS WILLING TO SPEND TO LEARN THE INTERFACE?

USERS' MOTIVATION TO LEARN SOME INTERFACES ARE DESIGNED FOR INTERMEDIATE TO EXPERT USERS: PHOTOSHOP DREAMWEAVER SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION TOOLS

USERS' MOTIVATION TO LEARN SOME INTERFACES ARE DESIGNED FOR OCCASIONAL (OR ONCE-ONLY) USERS: KIOSK AT MUSEUM KIOSK FOR FLIGHT CHECK-IN WINDOWS OR MAC OS CONTROLS FOR SETTING DESKTOP BACKGROUNDS INSTALLATION WIZARDS AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINES PURCHASE PAGES FOR ONLINE STORES

USERS' MOTIVATION TO LEARN Q: WHAT ARE THE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN DESIGNING FOR OCCASIONAL/NOVICE USER AND INTERMEDIATE/EXPERT USERS?

USERS' MOTIVATION TO LEARN MANY APPLICATIONS FALL SOMEWHERE BETWEEN: MICROSOFT OFFICE CLIENTS WEB BROWSERS

THE PATTERNS SAFE EXPLORATION INSTANT GRATIFICATION SATISFICING CHANGES IN MIDSTREAM DEFERRED CHOICES INCREMENTAL CONSTRUCTION HABITUATION SPATIAL MEMORY PROSPECTIVE MEMORY STREAMLINED REPETITION KEYBOARD ONLY OTHER PEOPLE'S ADVICE

WATCHING FOR USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS SAFE EXPLORATION INSTANT GRATIFICATION SATISFICING CHANGES IN MIDSTREAM DEFERRED CHOICES INCREMENTAL CONSTRUCTION HABITUATION SPATIAL MEMORY PROSPECTIVE MEMORY STREAMLINED REPETITION KEYBOARD ONLY OTHER PEOPLE'S ADVICE

USER BEHAVIOR PATTElRNS... SAFE EXPLORATION Good software allows people to try something unfamiliar, back out, and try something else, all without stress.

USER BEHAVIOR PATTElRNS... SAFE EXPLORATION Good software allows people to try something unfamiliar, back out, and try something else, all without stress. not get lost be able to undo changes understand consequence such as extra fees

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... INSTANT GRATIFICATION People like to see immediate results.

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... INSTANT GRATIFICATION People like to see immediate results. if you can predict what they will likely want to do, make that task very easy ie give them a blank canvas and palette don't start them out with registration pages, long sets of instructions, etc

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... SATISFICING (SATISFYING + SUFFICING)‏ PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT “GOOD ENOUGH” RATHER THAN “BEST” IF LEARNING ALL THE ALTERNATIVES MIGHT COST TIME OR EFFORT.

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... SATISFICING (SATISFYING + SUFFICING)‏ PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT “GOOD ENOUGH” RATHER THAN “BEST” IF LEARNING ALL THE ALTERNATIVES MIGHT COST TIME OR EFFORT. MAKE LABELS/MENUS/BUTTONS SHORT, PALINLY WRDED & QUICK TO READ USE LAYOUT TO COMMUNCIATE MEANING (COLOR AND SHAPE)‏ BE ABLE TO RETURN IF A WRONG CHOICE IS MADE (SAFE EXPLORATION)‏

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... CHANGES IN MIDSTREAM USERS WILL WANT TO CHANGE WHAT THEY'RE DOING OR STOP AND RESUME LATER

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... CHANGES IN MIDSTREAM USERS WILL WANT TO CHANGE WHAT THEY'RE DOING OR STOP AND RESUME LATER GIVE THEM NAVIGATION OPTIONS (EXCEPT WHEN THERE'S A REASON NOT TO – IE TASK WIZARD)‏ ALLOW THEM TO PUT ASIDE ONE TASK AND WORK ON ANOTHER (IE MULTIPLE OPEN PROJECTS)‏ ALLOW THEM TO STOP A PROCESS AND RETURN TO IT

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... DEFERRED CHOICES LET USER GET STARTED WITH A BARE MINIMUM OF SET-UP (THEY CAN RETURN TO THE SET-UP LATER IF NECESSARY)‏

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... DEFERRED CHOICES LET USER GET STARTED WITH A BARE MINIMUM OF SET-UP (THEY CAN RETURN TO THE SET-UP LATER IF NECESSARY)‏ SHOULD BE ABLE TO CREATE A BARE-BONES PROFILE, ADD IMAGES, ETC LATER SHOULD BE ABLE TO OPEN A PROJECT WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE FINAL FORM OF IT WILL BE (IN MUSIC, FOR EXAMPLE, TEMPO, KEY ETC)‏

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... INCREMENTAL CONSTRUCTION PEOPLE WANT TO EVALUATE THEIR PROJECT AS THEY WORK ON IT – THEY WANT LITTLE OR NO TIME BETWEEN MAKING CHANGES AND SEEING THE RESULTS

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... INCREMENTAL CONSTRUCTION PEOPLE WANT TO EVALUATE THEIR PROJECT AS THEY WORK ON IT – THEY WANT LITTLE OR NO DELAY BETWEEN MAKING CHANGES AND SEEING THE RESULTS RENDERING IN FINAL CUT PRO AND APPLYING AUDIO FILTERS IN AUDACITY ARE EXAMPLES OF SITUATIONS WHERE INCREMENTAL CONSTRUCTION IS IMPEDED

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... INCREMENTAL CONSTRUCTION PEOPLE WANT TO EVALUATE THEIR PROJECT AS THEY WORK ON IT – THEY WANT LITTLE OR NO DELAY BETWEEN MAKING CHANGES AND SEEING THE RESULTS MAINTAIN USER'S FLOW: MAKE IT EASY TO BUILD SMALL PIECES ONE AT AT TIME DYNAMIC FEEDBACK – SHOW WHAT THE WHOLE THING LOOKS LIKE WHILE THE USER WORKS LITTLE OR NO DELAY BETWEEN MAKING CHANGES AND SEEING THE RESULTS

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... HABITUATION USER DEVELOPS EFFICIENT HABITS

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... HABITUATION USER DEVELOPS EFFICIENT HABITS CONSISTENCY WITHIN APPLICATION AND CONSISTENCY ACROSS APPLICATIONS DO NOT CHANGE THE FUNCTIONS OF KEYSTROKES OR GESTURES IN DIFFERENT MODES TOO MANY CONFIRMATION BOXES CAN PUT USER IN THE HABIT OF ALWAYS HITTING “OK”

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... SPATIAL MEMORY USERS LEARN AN INTERFACE BY REMEMBERING WHERE ON THE SCREEN A BUTTON OR FILE IS

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... SPATIAL MEMORY USERS LEARN AN INTERFACE BY REMEMBERING WHERE ON THE SCREEN A BUTTON OR FILE IS LET PEOPLE MAKE THEIR OWN PLACEMENTS (ICONS ON DESKTOP)‏ PUT DIALOG BUTTONS IN PREDICATBALE PLACES CONSISTENCY WITHIN AND ACROSS APPLICATIONS THE TOPS AND BOTTOMS OF MENUS ARE MORE NOTICED AND REMEMBERED

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... PROSPECTIVE MEMORY PEOPLE LIKE TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE REMINDERS TO THEMSELVES

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... PROSPECTIVE MEMORY PEOPLE LIKE TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE REMINDERS TO THEMSELVES ALLOW FLEXIBILITY IN NAMING, FOLDERS, ETC DON'T HAVE SYSTEM ORGANIZE OR DELETE FILES WITHOUT ASKING THE USER

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... STREAMLINED REPETITION USERS OFTEN NEED TO REPEAT THE SAME TASKS – MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO DO SO WITH JUST A FEW CLICKS OF COMMANDS

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... STREAMLINED REPETITION USERS OFTEN NEED TO REPEAT THE SAME TASKS – MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO DO SO WITH JUST A FEW CLICKS OF COMMANDS SEARCH & REPLACE COPY & PASTE MACROS - PHOTOSHOP “ACTIONS” (LET'S YOU RECORD A SEQUENCE AND APPLY IT AGAIN AND AGAIN)‏ DIRECT OBSERVATION OF USERS WILL TELL YOU WHAT TASKS THEY ARE REPEATING OFTEN

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... KEYBOARD ONLY USERS MAY BE MORE EFFICIENT USING THE KEYBOARD ONLY OR HAVE DISABILITIES THAT MAKE USING THE MOUSE DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... KEYBOARD ONLY USERS MAY BE MORE EFFICIENT USING THE KEYBOARD ONLY OR HAVE DISABILITIES THAT MAKE USING THE MOUSE DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE DEFINE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS – CTRL-S, ETC. SELECTION FROM LISTS USING ARROW KEYS AND MODIFIERS ENABLING TAB TRAVERSAL “DEFAULT BUTTON” - SUBMIT OR DONE TRIGGERED BY THE RETURN KEY THESE SHOULD BE DEFINED TO FOLLOW THE CONVENTIONS OF THE PLATFORM

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... OTHER PEOPLE'S ADVICE INTEGRATE OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES/ADVICE INTO THE INTERFACE

USER BEHAVIOR PATTERNS... OTHER PEOPLE'S ADVICE INTEGRATE OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES/ADVICE INTO THE INTERFACE BULLETIN BOARD ONLINE USER FORUM USER'S SHARE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES USER'S SHARE TEMPLATES OR CODE “CUSTOMERS WHO BOUGHT THIS BOOK ALSO BOUGHT...” SEARCH RESULTS DETERMINED BY PAST SEARCHES