1. User Interface Design and Development
Cooper Part II Well-Behaved Products Etiquette, Posture, and Intermediates
Jeff Offutt
SWE 632
User Interface Design and Development
Cooper Ed4, Ch 9

2. Ch 9 : Posture Posture The way the program appears to users Platform
Type of computer
Desktop, web apps, mobile, …
Posture depends heavily on the platform
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt

3. Posture for the Desktop
Sovereign
Only program running, user’s complete attention, full screen
Editors, spreadsheets, games, browsers (usually)
Experienced users—optimize for speed and power
Transient
Invoked when needed, does something, goes away
Scanning a picture, file manager, , music players
Intermittent users—clear instructions, less screen, larger widgets
Avoid dialog boxes and remember state from last use
Daemonic
Services that do not interact with the user
Printer & network drivers, compilers
Try not to bother users unless absolutely necessary
Include configuration panels, but simple and streamlined
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt

4. Some Web-specific usability points …
Posture for the Web
HTML supports a very limited widget set
Javascript can be used to create many more widgets, but that is relatively complicated
This is becoming more common
On the other hand, it takes fewer technical skills to implement a GUI front-end with HTML than with other technologies
Complex, multi-screen transactional applications are just as hard, and perhaps harder, to develop
HTML provides greater separation between engineers, GUI designers, and graphics designers
Some Web-specific usability points …
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt

5. Web App Usability Sovereign Transient Internet-enabled
Make users feel they are in an environment, not web pages
Design as if desktop applications
Emphasize interaction, not navigation
Hide request / response cycle
Transient
Quick occasional access to information or functions (login)
Small, simple, non-intrusive
Internet-enabled
Uses internet, but not from inside a browser
Java applets, tools, music players
Can access disk and have controls HTML does not support
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt

6. Posture for Mobile Devices
Very small screen and keyboard
Help users with the fat finger problem
Avoid huge hierarchical menus that are very confusing
All functions are equally difficult to find
But some are more commonly used
Make it easy to synchronize with full computer
UI designer needs to specify the buttons on the hardware
Function bloat : who uses all that junk?
No pop-up or dialog windows
Avoid dragging
Controls should be large and bright
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt

7. Mobile Postures Standalone (phones) Tablet
Satellite (PDAs, palm pilots, kindle, …)
Allows part of our desktop environment to go mobile
Periodically synchronize with the mother ship (desktop or the web)
Emphasizes viewing and retrieving data
Standalone (phones)
Small, complete “pocket” computers
Full interaction, but small screens, text, and controls
Often mimic desktop applications but with reduced functionality
Tablet
Same restrictions as standalone, but less severe
Mostly only allow sovereign applications (full-screen)
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt

8. Designing for Embedded Systems
Embedded software is integrated into a device that is not primarily for computing
Phones, PDAs, remotes, ATMs, TVs, appliances, cars, planes, …
The input / output devices are often much different
Often much more constrained in abilities
Designing the UI is very different from designing UIs for desktop applications
Don’t think of the product as a computer
Coordinate UI design with hardware design
External environment will affect the UI
Should use many fewer modes
Navigation is harder and should be reduced
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt

9. Posture Summary Don’t design everything like a sovereign
Effective UI designers must know their users
20-Sep-18
© Jeff Offutt