MESDA Annual Conference 2002 Software Development Track

1. MESDA Annual Conference 2002Software Development Track Put the User Back in UI Design MESDA Conference 2002

2. Presenter • Arthur Fink, Arthur Fink Consulting<arthur@arthurfink.com> MESDA Conference 2002

3. Putting the User into Graphic User Interface Or On Being User-Friendly Arthur Fink Owner,Arthur Fink Consulting

4. Who is Arthur Fink? • Developer working with Progress (triumph of stealth marketing) …… “technical” person • Consultant, interested in how people interact with systems ....… “systems” person • Son of graphic designer … “visual” person Arthur Fink Consulting 10 New Island Avenue Peaks Island, Maine 04108 (207) 776-5722 arthur@arthurfink.com

5. About this talk • Based upon my course, “Designing and Refining Graphic User Interfaces” • Designing = Refining • Not about these ...

6. (from www.baddesigns.com)

8. (from www.baddesigns.com)

9. Design for usability

10. (from www.baddesigns.com)

36. Characteristics of a GUI(Graphic User Interface) • One window “anchors” the system • Buttons replace many menu items • Action choices are plainly visible • Don’t need or want hierarchical menus • Lots of freedom for user to move around • Users do more work; less navigating

37. What’s Better About GUI? • Not just that it uses graphics! • Vocabulary only a small set of mouse actions, or other constructs • Keyboard only for data entry -- not for commands or navigation • User interaction can mirror user’s view of the world (do it their way!)

38. What are we seeking? • Usability • Interface should be “transparent” • Objects on screen work “naturally” • Minimum of “gotcha’s” • User can focus on the real task! • Simple screens guide the user • Icons, colors, etc give appealing feel

39. What are we seeking? (continued) • Standardization • User already knows how to work it • Moves easily across platforms • Many interface objects already built • Modules are re-usable • Closely follows Microsoft examples • Coordinated systems and paper flow

40. Refining the Interface • Clear modality • Visual cues • Default buttons • Dimming inactive objects • Metaphors (copying a household object) • Icons • Colors • Fonts • Sensible design

41. Default buttons • Identified by darker outline • Windows traps the ‘enter’ key, and translates it into choose of the default button

42. Dimming inactive objects Keeping them visible may be less busy and confusing than frequently viewing and hiding

43. Modality

44. Metaphors

45. Are metaphors helpful? Do they... • Help or hinder product learning? • Suggest an outmoded way of thinking? • Mislead the user in other ways? • Make the user more comfortable? • Give implicit instructions to the user? • Add another thing that needs to be learned?

46. What’s wrong with metaphors? "Metaphors offer a tiny boost in learnability to first-time users, but at a tremendous cost. By representing old technologies, most metaphors firmly nail our conceptual feet to the ground, forever limiting the power of our software. They have a host of other problems as well, including the simple facts that there aren't enough metaphors to go around, they don't scale well, and the ability of users to recognize them is questionable.” Alan Cooper About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design

47. Icons • Graphic cues, for common tasks • Can provide character and style • An international interface, if well chosen • Often over-used • Can add to user’s learning curve • Easier to learn if accompanied by text • “Tool Tip” help makes them more useful

48. Icons alone can be very confusing

49. Icons alone can be very confusing • But icons with text can help user learn

50. Color • Common colors suggest a relationship • Use color coding consistently • Don’t depend upon color recognition • Many people are color blind for blue-green • Loud colors can be unsettling