Friday, January 6, 2012
Service Design - Is the Next Big Thing...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Heuristic Checklist – Usability Guidelines
These are ten general principles for user interface design. They are called "heuristics" because they are more in the nature of rules of thumb than specific usability guidelines.
Visibility of system status
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
Match between system and the real world
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.
User control and freedom
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.
Consistency and standards
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Help and documentation
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Putting People First - The UX Framework V3.0
The goal of this article is to build intuitive user interfaces that are straightforward and concise.
The User Xperience practice would also measure the 5 human factors central to evaluate the user experience like
Time to learn – How long does it take for typical users to learn relevant task?
Speed of Performance – How long does it take to perform relevant benchmarks?
Rate of errors – How many and what kinds of errors are made during benchmark tasks?
Retention over time – Frequency of use and ease of learning help make for better user retention
Subjective satisfaction - Allow for user feedback
Friday, July 17, 2009
Multi-Modal Windows
Basically, we are looking for windows of opportunity to make our life simpler and better.
With Multi-modal windows and integrated interaction the communication messages would be clear and fast making the process end quickly