1. Chapter 16: User Interface Design
Stephanie
7 May 2008

2. Objectives
Understand the importance of User Interface design & design process, functionality, & evaluation
Remember:
People have limited short-term memory
Stress = User Errors
Physical capabilities
Graphics vs. text
So we consider:
User Familiarity, Consistency, Min. Surprise, Recoverability, User Guidance & Diversity

3. 16.1: Design Issues User Interaction
Direct Manipulation, Menu, Form, Command, Natural Language
Presenting information to the user
Not just information, but updated info, text vs. graphics
Depends on application & audience
Error Messages
Context – make it relevant
Experience
Skill Level
Style –positive, active voice, NOT insulting/funny
Culture

4. 16.2: The UI Design Process Core Activities: User Analysis
System Prototyping
Interface Evaluation

5. 16.3: User Analysis Task Analysis Interviewing & Questionnaires
Tasks start to finish, relation to other tasks
Interviewing & Questionnaires
Ethnography
Look at how different people work together on tasks
Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA)
Breaking down high-level tasks into sub-tasks
Interview users
Task analysis of individuals
E.g. Traffic Control

6. 16.4: User Interface Prototyping
Paper prototype early
Web site: jpeg’s or photoshop image
It’s Iterative!

7. 16.5: Interface Evaluation
Systematic evaluation is expensive
Less expensive
questionnaires, observation, video ‘snapshots’, code monitoring of system use
Usability:
Learnability
Speed of Operation
Robustness
Recoverability
Adaptability

8. Our Projects
If we had more time, we’d make requirements or include design elements
Other learning:
Even if you go through all the work of making a good piece of software
The UI can make or break it