In the notes on bottom we reference some usability guidelines, principles and he
ID: 3795241 • Letter: I
Question
In the notes on bottom we reference some usability guidelines, principles and heuristics from experts in human-computer interaction. Can you add to or expand upon these guidelines [it should be at least 1 to 2 page with explantion and detail (and not just the point)] and also Based on your own experience or research, discuss dos and don’ts for developing user interfaces.
Shneiderman’s 8 Golden Rules
1. Strive for consistency
2. Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
3. Offer informative feedback
4. Design dialog to yield closure
5. Offer simple error handling
6. Permit easy reversal of actions
7. Support internal locus of control
8. Reduce short-term memory load
Nielsen’s Heuristics
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
10. Help and documentation
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
Explanation / Answer
Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design
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To improve the usability of an application it is important to have a well designed interface.
1 Strive for consistency.
* Consistency plays an important role by helping users become familiar with the digital landscape of your product
so they can achieve their goals more easily.
* Strive for consistency by utilizing familiar icons, colors, menu hierarchy, call-to-actions, and user flows
when designing similar situations and sequence of actions.
* Consistent sequences of actions should be required in similar situations.
* In strive for consistency identical terminology should be used in prompts, menus, and help screens;
and consistent commands should be employed throughout.
2. Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
* Recognize the needs of diverse users and design for plasticity, facilitating transformation of content.
* Abbreviations, function keys, hidden commands, and macro facilities are very helpful to an expert user.
* As the frequency of use increases, so do the user's desires to reduce the number of interactions and to increase the pace of interaction.
* With increased use comes the demand for quicker methods of completing tasks.
* Adding features for novices, such as explanations, and features for experts,
such as shortcuts and faster pacing, enriches the interface design and improves perceived quality.
* For example, both Windows and Mac provide users with keyboard shortcuts for copying and pasting,
because of that the user becomes more experienced, they can navigate and operate the user interface more quickly and effortlessly.
3.Offer informative feedback
* For every user action, there should be an interface feedback.
* The user should know where they are at and what is going on at all times.
For every action there should be appropriate, human-readable feedback within a reasonable amount of time.
* For frequent and minor actions, the response can be modest, while for infrequent and major actions,
the response should be more substantial.
* Visual presentation of the objects of interest provides a convenient environment for showing changes explicitly.
* A good example of applying this would be to indicate to the user where they are at in
the process when working through a multi-page questionnaire.
4.Design dialog to yield closure
* It is nothing but a feedback to the users for the action which we did,don’t keep your users guessing.
Tell them what their action has led them to.
* The informative feedback at the completion of a group of actions gives the operators the satisfaction of accomplishment
* Sequences of actions should be organized into groups with a beginning, middle, and end.
* For example, e-commerce websites move users from selecting products to the checkout,
ending with a clear confirmation page that completes the transaction.
* For example, users would appreciate a “Thank You” message and a proof of purchase receipt when they’ve completed an online purchase.
5. Offer simple error handling
* If users make an error, the interface should offer simple, constructive, and specific instructions for recovery.
For example, users should not have to retype an entire name-address form
if they enter an invalid zip code but rather should be guided to repair only the faulty part
* Systems should be designed to be as fool-proof as possible, but when unavoidable errors occur,
ensure users are provided with simple, intuitive step-by-step instructions to solve the problem as quickly and painlessly as possible.
* if an error is made, the system should be able to detect the error and offer simple, comprehensible mechanisms for handling the error.
* As much as possible, design the system so the user cannot make a serious error.
6.Permit easy reversal of actions
* As much as possible, actions should be reversible.
* Designers should aim to offer users obvious ways to reverse their actions.
* This feature relieves anxiety, since the user knows that errors can be undone; it thus encourages exploration of unfamiliar options.
* These reversals should be permitted at various points whether it occurs after a single action, a data entry or a whole sequence of actions.
* The units of reversibility may be a single action, a data entry, or a complete group of actions.
7. Support internal locus of control
* Experienced users strongly desire the sense that they are in charge of the interface and that the interface responds to their actions.
* Give users the sense that they are in full control of events occurring in the digital space.
* Design the system to make users the initiators of actions rather than the responders.
* Earn their trust as you design the system to behave as they expect.
* They don’t want surprises or changes in familiar behavior, and they are annoyed by tedious data-entry sequences,
difficulty in obtaining necessary information, and inability to produce their desired result.
8. Reduce short-term memory load
* Humans limited capacity for information processing in short-term memory requires that designers avoid
interfaces in which users must remember information from one display and then use that information on another display.
* Human attention is limited and we are only capable of maintaining around five items in our short-term memory at one time.
* The limitation of human information processing in short-term memory requires that displays be kept simple,
multiple page displays be consolidated, window-motion frequency be reduced, and sufficient training time be
allotted for codes, mnemonics, and sequences of actions.
* Recognizing something is always easier than recall because recognition involves perceiving
cues that help us reach into our vast memory and allowing relevant information to surface.
1.Visibility of system status
It is the process of the system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
2.Match between system and the real world
It is nothing but the system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms.
Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.
3. User control and freedom
When Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without
having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.
4.Consistency and standards
It is the method of standard which Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.
5.Error prevention
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place.
Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
6. Recognition rather than recall
Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
Accelerators -- unseen by the novice user -- may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.
9.Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.
10.Help and documentation
Help and documentation helps the users in a better way to gothrough.Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation,
it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user's task,
list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.
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