3461 Characteristics of Good Interfaces
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3461
Characteristics of Good Interfaces
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Outline
Four characteristics of a good user interface: Consistency Use of hierarchy and grouping Explicitly shows states and state changes Avoids overload
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Consistency
Interface components and layout should be consistent within and across applications
Consistency refers to… Presence and absence of features Physical location of features Appearance of features (widgets, text, icons) Method of accessing features
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Presence and Absence of FeaturesWord:
Customize keyboard
Power Point:
Can’t customize keyboard
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Recently usedfile list
Word
Presence and Absence of Features (2)
Not available
StatView
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Power Point:
Word:
Last entryin list
First entryin list
Physical Location of Features
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Windows:
Windows is searchingfor a file
Windows is searchingfor a file
Appearance of Features
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Consistent (i.e., same) size within a group is aesthetically pleasing
Appearance of Features (2)
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Method of Accessing FeaturesWord:
From INSERT menu:
From VIEW menu:
Two ways to insert page numbers!Are they the same?
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Method of Accessing Features (2)
Application on the desktop:launch by double click
Application on the toolbar:launch by single click
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Outline
Four characteristics of a good user interface: Consistency Use of hierarchy and grouping Explicitly shows states and state changes Avoids overload
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Hierarchy and Grouping
Make relationships obvious Provide “headings” to categorize groups of
related items Use
Horizontal separators Borders Labeled borders Alignment
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Hierarchy isambiguous
ICQ:
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Good sense ofhierarchy and groupings via labeled borders
Yamaha OPL Sound Driver:
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Outline
Four characteristics of a good user interface: Consistency Use of hierarchy and grouping Explicitly shows states and state changes Avoids overload
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States and State Changes
The user must Know the state of the system at all times Be informed of state changes
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Caps Lock State
If would be nice if Caps Lock were indicated!
Caps Lock
What if Caps Lock is on?
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Click here
Eudora:StateChanges
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Click here
Notes:1. Compromise:
Bad: position changesGood: all entries appear
2. Animation helps
Eudora:
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State Uncertainty
Cable modem…
POWER CABLE PC TEST RD TD
Receive Data(from where?)
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What is “Receive Data”?
Cable Modem
My PC
Network Server
Receive data
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Outline
Four characteristics of a good user interface: Consistency Use of hierarchy and grouping Explicitly shows states and state changes Avoids overload
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Overload
From Miller’s famous essay…
Refers to the number of items a human can reasonably process at once
Miller, G. A. (1956, March). The magical number seven plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. The Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97.
The magical number seven plus or minus two!
Reference:
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Too much to digest without groupings
Eudora:
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Colour Overload!
The following people are "offline"
Painted in red to indicate"offline" (but we alreadyknow that!)
ICQ:
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Why is this blue?
Why is this purple?
Why is this yellow?
ICQ:
Colour Overload! (2)
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Good use ofcolour
Eudora:
Colour Overload! (3)
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Color Design Guideline
Color is good for distinguishing things, but not necessarily for coding things.(People have trouble remembering the association of colors to meanings.)
Design your interface in black and white. Add color for emphasis when your design is complete.
Always honor the system color settings. Keep in mind that 5% of males have some degree
of color blindness.
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Coffee Maker on/off SwitchOn or off? On or off?
Discussion:On the left, the switch appears similar to a North American wall switch in the up, or on, position, whereas the reverse observation applies for the picture on the right. However, the label 0 appears above the label 1. So, some confusion exists. The top part of the switch is immediately beside the label 0; so, perhaps pushing the top part of the switch is associated with the label 0. Also, the use of the colour red may be misleading. Does red mean on or off? When colour is used, sometimes red/green pairs exist, typically with green implying on and red implying off.
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No Confirmation
Click here to “save Windows location” (for next ftp login)
Then what?
Are the changes saved?
WS-Ftp:
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What Do I Do Now?
Where?
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Thank you
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