Chapter No 4
Design Rule : Principles that Support
Usability
Design Rule : Principles that Support Usability
What is Design rule?
• Increase the usability of the system/product e.g., principles, standards,
guidelines.
• Designing for maximum usability is the goal of interactive systems design.
• offer a way of understanding usability in a more general sense,
• Design rules in the form of standards and guidelines provide direction for
design,
• The essential characteristics of good design are often summarized through
'golden rules' or heuristics.
• Design patterns provide a potentially generative approach to capturing
and reusing design knowledge.
Principles that Support Usability
• principles that would appear in support consistency
The consistency, it can take many forms,
• Familarity the extent to which a user’s knowledge and experience
in other real world or computer based domains can be applied
while interacting new system.
• Familiarity has to be with user first impression of system.
• The generalizability(making predictions based on past
observations) of an interactive system supports this activity,
leading to a more complete predictive model of the system for the
user.
• We can apply generalization to situations in which the user wants
to apply knowledge that helps achieve one particular goal to
another situation where the goal is in some way similar.
In addition, · we could interpret some other principles as contributors to
consistency : -
• Affordance - consistency with understood intrinsic(property that a thing
has within itself and not dependent on external factors) properties of an
object, so a soft button on the screen should allow us to always 'push' on
it to select some action :
• Predictability is a user-centered concept It is not enough for the
behavior of the computer system to be determined completely from its
state, as the user must be able to take advantage of the determinism
• Substitutivity - consistent permission from system to allow use of
equivalent values for input and output.
• Commensurate effort - consistency of effort with respect to doing and
undoing tasks.
• Response time stability - consistency of system response for similar
actions.
• Consistency can be relative to the form of input/output
expressions relative to the user's conceptual model of the
system
• Consistency can be with respect to social or cultural
conventions
Learnability, Predictability ,Generalizability and Consistency.
• Learnability concerns the features of the interactive syStem that
allow novice users to understand how to use it initially and then how to attain
a maximal level of performance.
• The generalizability(making predictions based on past observations) of
an interactive system supports this activity, leading to a more complete
predictive model of the system for the user.
• We can apply generalization to situations in which the user wants to apply
knowledge that helps achieve one particular goal to another situation
where the goal is in some way similar.
• Synthesizability : Support for the user to assess the effect of past
operations on the current state
• Consistency relates to the likeness in behavior arising from
similar situations or similar task objectives
• It is transfer of control for execution of tasks between system
and user
What is task migratability ?
• It is transfer of control for execution of tasks between system and
user.
• It should possible for user to transfer user or system to pass the
control of task.
• a task that is internal to one can become internal to the other or
shared between the two partners
• EX,Spell Checking
It is equipped with a dictionary, you are perfectly able to check
your spelling by reading through the entire paper and correcting
mistakes as you spot them.
• It is perfectly suited to automation, but it is not
desirable to leave task completely to discretion
of computer as most computerized dictionaries
do not handle proper names correctly
• That spell check would be the help full.
• ln safety-critical applications, task migratability can decrease the
likelihood of an accident. For example, on the flight deck of an
aircraft, there are so many control tasks that must be performed
that a pilot would be overwhelmed if he had to perform them all.
Usability goals of Internet Explorer
• Goals are needed that help to ensure usability :
• Ascertain users' needs
• Ensure proper reliability
• Promote appropriate standardization, integration, consistency and
portability
• Complete projects on schedule and within budget
• Offer a graphical interface to the document, controlled by the
mouse.
• Allows users to view and navigate web pages on the Internet.
Internet Explorer is the most widely used browser in the
world.
• Nonstandard behaviors include support for vertical text,
support for a variety of image effects and page transitions and
support for embedding EQT fonts in webpages
• The favicon feature allows web pages to specify a 16 x 16
pixel image for use in bookmarks.
Design Standards and Design
• Definition of usability. Discuss that in context of Microsoft office
products
• Usability : The effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with
which specified users achieve specified goals in particular
environments.
• Effectiveness: The accuracy and completeness with which
specified users can achieve specified goals in particular
environments.
• Efficiency : The resources expended in relation to the accuracy
and completeness of goals achieved.
• Satisfaction : The comfort and acceptability of the work system
to its users and other people affected by its use.
Navigation Design and Screen Design
• The authority of a standard (or guideline, for that matter) can only be
a
determined from its use in practice.
– Some software products become de facto standards long before any
formal standards document is published, for example, the X windowing
system).
– Usability test of Microsoft word :
• Task 1 : Create New Document
• Task 2 : Save Document under Custom Title
• Task 3 : Choose Custom Font
• Task 4: Paragraph Formatting
• Task 5 : Creating Table of Contents
• Task 6: Add Page Numbers
• Task 7 : Upload/Format Image
Shneiderman's eight golden rules of
interface design
• Strive for Consistency
Consistent sequences of actions should be Required in similar situations;
identical terminology should be used in prompts, menus and help screens; and
consistent commands should be employed throughout.
• Enable frequent users to use shortcut
• As the frequency of use increases, so do the user’s desires reduce the
number of interactions and increase the pace of interaction. Abbreviations, hidden
commands and macro facilities are very helpful to an expert user.
• Offer informative feedback : For every operator action, there should be some
system feedback. For frequent and minor actions, the response can be modest,
while for infrequent and major actions, the response should be more substantial.
• Design dialog to yield closure : Sequences of actions should be organized into
groups with a beginning, middle and end. The informative feedback at the
completion of a group of actions gives the operators the satisfaction of
accomplishment, a sense of relief, the signal to drop contingency plans and options
from their minds and an indication that the way is clear to prepare for the next
group of actions.
• Offer simple error. handling : As much as possible, design the system -so the user
cannot make a serious error. If an error is made, the system should be able to detect
the error and offer simple, comprehensible mechanisms for handling the error.
• Permit easy reversal of actions : This feature relieves anxiety, since the user knows
that errors can be undone; it thus encourages exploration of unfamiliar options. The
units of reversibility may be a single action, a data entry or a complete group of
actions.
• Support internal focus of control : Experienced operators strongly desire the sense
that they are in charge of the system and that the system responds to their actions.
Design the system to make users the initiators of actions rather than the responders.
• Reduce short-term memory load : The limitation of human information processing
in short-tem1• 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.
4.3 What is Interaction Design ?
• What is design?-goals with constraints
• Interaction design is the practice of designing interactive
digital products, environments, systems and services.
• The golden rule of design are as follows :
• Understand your materials
Ex Steel chair and Wooden chair.
• For Human-Computer Interaction the obvious
materials are the human and the computer. That is we
must :
• Understand computers platforms
• Understand people error.
Interaction Design Process
• Requirements : What is wanted ? The first stage is
establishing what exactly is needed. Done by using
Interviewing the people, videotaping and looking at documents.
• Analysis : The results of observation and interview need
to be ordered in some way to bring out key issues and
communicate with later stages of design.
• Design : There are numerous rules, guidelines and design
principles that can be used to help Iteration and prototyping.
• need to evaluate a design to see how well it is working and
where there can be improvements.
• Iterations and prototyping : Need to design the skeleton of
design
• Implementation and deployment :
This will involve writing code, perhaps making hardware,
writing documentation and manuals everything that goes into a
real system that can be given to others.
Stages in Design
• Concept design : Every possible approaches are sketched out. The validity of each
sketches is verified following the usability requirements and the goals agreed. At
the end, the best approach is selected.
• Interaction Design: ln this step, structure of the UI must done , be set by naming
interaction flows. Method : e.g. Affinity diagramming, each action can be written
on a Post-It note and organized in clusters. The Post·-lt· notes are then rearranged
to simplify user tasks.
• Screen Design:
Creating rough designs of screens structure. These layouts are linked
together and usability test is performed with a user.
• Testing: A user is asked to follow realistic scenario/tasks on the sketched
out prototype.
Process on interaction design with respect
1)Basic Activities 2)Characteristics
• Interaction Design involves 4 basic Activities
1. Identifying needs and establishing
requirements.
2. Developing alternative designs that meet those
requirements.
3. Building interactive versions of the designs so
that they can be communicated and assessed.
4. Evaluating what is being built throughout the
process.
These are permeated with three principles
• Involve users early in the design process and
evaluation of the artifact.
• Define Quantifiable and measurable usability
criteria.
• Iteration is inevitable.
Characteristics
• It changes the situations by shaping and deploying artifacts.
• It explores possible futures.
• lt frames the problem in parallel with possible solutions.
• ‘It requires thinking through "sketching" and other
"tangible ' representations"
• ‘It addresses instrumental, technical, aesthetic and
ethical aspects throughout the process.
User Focus, Scenarios
• UCD
1. that focuses specifically on making systems or
applications easy to use.
2. involve end users in the development process
of the product or system
• Usability
1. measure of the quality of a user's experience
2. Usable systems are easy to learn , efficient to
use, not error prone and satisfactory in use.
– With close user involvement, products are more likely to meet
users' expectations and requirements. This leads to increased sales
and lower costs incurred by customer services.
– Systems designers tailor products for people in specific contexts and
with specific tasks, thereby reducing the chances of situations with
a high risk of human error arising. UCD leads to safer products.
– Putting designers in close contact with users means a deeper
sense of empathy emerges. This_is essential in creating ethical
designs that respect privacy and the quality of life.
– By focusing on all users of a product, designers can recognize the
diversity of cultures and human values through UCD - a step in the
right direction towards creating sustainable businesses.
User Focus
• is a never ending process
• designer should consider the human factors
that characterize users.
• vary with age, gender, physical and cognitive
abilities, personality, education, cultural or
ethnic background and goals.
• system designer should recognize this diversity
• Designers must characterize users and situations as
precisely and completely as possible.
– Over time many people are affected directly or indirectly
by a system and·these people are called stakeholders.
– Tracing the tenuous links between people could go
on forever and user need to draw boundaries as to whom
you should consider. This depends very much on the
nature of the systems being designed.
• It would be easy if you are main user-you
assume your- own interests and abilities.
• People may also be able to tell you about how things really happen not
just how the organization says they should happen for that we need to
encourage the peoples.
• A professional in any field is very practiced and can do things in the
domain. An academic in the same field may not be able to do things,
• it is important to watch what people do as done in an informal manner or
using developed methods such as ethnography or contextual enquiry as
hear what they say
– Another way to find out what people are doing is to look at the
• artifacts they are using and creating.
Scenarios
• Scenarios are the core of any usability test as you have
to correctly cornmunnicate your participants, what you
want them to do during the test.
• Well crafted task scenario helps you focus on designing
around the real needs of the user and removes
artificiality from the test.
•
• As you can see, above scenario makes the task much more
realistic
Design Process as we have provided user only a scenario which
4
requires users to complete 3 different tasks-
• Signup/login on the app
• Search for flight as per the schedule
• Book the flight
• A good scenario -
– Short but enough information to perform the task
– Use user's language, not the product's
– Simple and clear
– Should address your tasks and concerns