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Leveraging Metaphors and Direct Manipulation in Interface Design

Explore the power of metaphors and direct manipulation in interface design, understanding how they enhance user experience. Learn about common pitfalls to avoid and the benefits of dynamic queries. Discover how to create intuitive interfaces by leveraging familiar concepts and direct interactions.

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Leveraging Metaphors and Direct Manipulation in Interface Design

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  1. Metaphors and Direct Manipulation Metaphors Direct manipulation Dynamic queries Slide deck by Saul Greenberg. Permission is granted to use this for non-commercial purposes as long as general credit to Saul Greenberg is clearly maintained. Warning: some material in this deck is used from other sources without permission. Credit to the original source is given if it is known.

  2. Metaphors • Pervade excellent interfaces games (literal world) spreadsheet (actuary sheet)

  3. Forms Control Panels with familiar controls Hierarchical Folders Metaphors

  4. Metaphors in interfaces • Definition • represents a system object as if it were another type of object • disc / network file structure represented as file folders • Purpose • leverages our knowledge of familiar, concrete objects to understand abstract computer and task concepts • Problem • metaphor portrays inaccurate/naive conceptual model of the system A presentation tool is a slide projector

  5. Metaphors in interfaces • Things to watch for • Use metaphors that matches user's conceptual task • desktop metaphor for office workers • paintbrush metaphor for artists... • Given a choice, choose the metaphor close to the way the system works • Ensure emotional tone is appropriate to users • eg file deletion metaphors • trashcan • black hole • paper shredder • pit bull terrier • nuclear disposal unit...

  6. Metaphors in interfaces • Things to watch for • will it restrict what people could actually do? • strict file/folder hierarchy vssystem allows links between directories • will it set unrealistic expectations? • Clipit

  7. Metaphors in interfaces • Common pitfalls • overly literal • unnecessary fidelity • excessive interactions • unnecessary restrictions • overly cute • novelty quickly wears off • mismatched • does not match user’s task and/or thinking

  8. Rooms Xerox PARC

  9. TeamRooms applets shared whiteboard List of rooms List of users chat tool Roseman and Greenberg, U Calgary

  10. TeamRooms • Room metaphor implies: • persistent room artifacts • both synchronous and asynchronous activity • asynchronous communication by sticky notes attached to artifacts • “for free” standard tools • ability to bring in custom tools via (applets) • same place/different place activity • knowing who is around • trivial groupware connectivity • ...

  11. Metaphor misuses Milltronics' Dolphin Plus - a configuration package for industrial level and flow sensors

  12. Direct Manipulation • Direct manipulation • interface behaves as though the interaction was with a real-world object rather than with an abstract system • the feeling of working directly on the task • Central ideas • visibility of the objects of interest • rapid, reversible, incremental actions • manipulation by pointing and moving • immediate and continuous display of results • Almost always based on a metaphor • mapped onto some facet of the real world task semantics

  13. Direct Manipulation Microsoft Solitaire

  14. Direct manipulation • Representation affects what can be directly manipulated Microsoft Schedule+

  15. Contact lists Find “Green” >S. Greenberg >Dept Computer Science >University of Calgary Command systemno direct manipulation Form metaphor:syntactic direct manipulation ICQ

  16. Contact lists Phone booka mix… Microsoft Outlook

  17. A-F T-Z J-S Harleck, P. Guttenburg, A. Greenberg, S. Dept Computer Science University of Calgary Contact lists Rolodex

  18. Contact lists IBM RealPhone

  19. Direct and abstract manipulation • Most good applications mix the two for power

  20. Dynamic queries • Searches and queries by • adjust sliders, buttons, check boxes, and other control widgets • display immediate updates as the control is adjusted • Why? • rapid searching with imprecise queries • people explore data interactions and limits

  21. Home Finder Shneiderman et al University of Maryland http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/spotfire/

  22. HomeBay Dynamic Queries RadarOverview Progressive details on demand 481 Student Project (April, 2000) Rob Pearson, Kashama Willms andJames Chisan

  23. What you now know • Metaphors • leverages our knowledge of the familiar and concrete • Direct manipulation • visibility of the objects of interest • rapid, reversible, incremental actions • manipulation by pointing and moving • immediate and continuous display of results (dynamic queries)

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