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 10

2. Ch 10 : Design for Intermediates
Designers are usually experts
They view all functions as having equal weight
Marketing want UIs designed for beginners
They sell to beginners
Many have only novice semantic knowledge
Most users are in between—intermediates !
Don’t weld on training wheels
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt

3. Distribution of Users Beginners Experts Intermediates
What does the application do?
What doesn’t it do?
How do I print?
Where do I start?
Experts
Automate?
Shortcuts?
Can I change?
Customize?
Keyboard shortcut?
Dangerous?
Intermediates
Forgot how
Where is it?
Remind me …
Can I undo?
More features?
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt

4. Most Users are Intermediates
Beginners are incompetent—and nobody likes that
They either move up or move on
Experts often move on
Or use it less and become intermediates
Optimize for intermediates
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt

5. Inflecting the Interface
Inflecting means organizing the UI to minimize the most common navigation
Most commonly used functions up front
Less frequently used functions can be on the back shelf
Choose defaults for intermediates
Microwaves : Make the “timed cook option” an easy default
Very valuable functions can be harder to reach
Slide animation features are deeper than font changing
Google mail is default, google drive is further in
Users will make a strong effort if the rewards justify it
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt

6. Progressive Disclosure
Advanced controls are hidden in an expanding pane
PPT – drawing palette – bottom right arrow
Google mail, hover over “Starred” to get other folders
Criteria for organizing :
Frequency of use—how often “typical” users use the functions
Degree of dislocation—how much the screen and UI changes when the choice is made
Degree of risk exposure—functions that are irreversible or dangerous
Remember that advanced users will eventually want shortcuts to some of these functions
And their frequency of use may change
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt

7. Imagine users are very intelligent but very busy
What Beginners Need
Help beginners become intermediates
They want actions, not theory
They want examples, not definitions
Match their mental models to
Reduce errors
Hasten learning
Extra help must disappear for intermediate users
Imagine users are very intelligent but very busy
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt

8. What Experts Need Remember the experts are often more vocal
Beginners listen to experts (even when they should listen to intermediates)
Experts want shortcuts to everything
Experts are often also frequent users
Experts want higher information density
Experts will adopt new features quickly
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt

9. What Intermediates Need
Mostly, they need attention!
Far too many products are designed for beginners or experts, rather than the majority of users
They need :
Fast access to common functions
Reference materials—online help (or the interweb)
Knowledge that advanced functions are available, but not yet necessary
They do not need :
Long explanations
When making tradeoffs, intermediate users should usually have priority
3-Dec-18
© Jeff Offutt