Building Documentation into the Interface  

As documentation is more and more built directly into the interface, and as technical communicators move into interface design and usability, it is important to have a theoretical framework within which to make decisions about what kind of information will be conveyed at any moment. We can build on basic principles of cognitive psychology to help us make these decisions. We start from a question: Why should users be aware of the difference between interface and documentation when all they want is to get something done?

Quesenbery, Whitney. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>User Interface>Help

Building Documentation Into the Interface: A Cognitive Theory  

As documentation is more and more built directly into the interface, and as technical communicators move into areas of interface design and usability, it is important to have a theoretical framework within which to make decisions about what kind of information should be conveyed at any moment.

Quesenbery, Whitney. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Documentation>User Interface>Cognitive Psychology

Building the Front End: Craft Intelligent and Intuitive Front Ends for Ajax Applications

With Ajax still one of the industry's hottest buzzwords, more and more applications are being built with Ajax technologies. However, it's not always easy to build a good application. This article focuses on how to build intuitive, easy-to-use Ajax-driven applications.

McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Ajax

The Bull's-Eye: A Framework for Web Application User Interface Design Guidelines

A multi-leveled framework for user interface design guidelines of Web applications is presented. User interface design guidelines tend to provide information that is either too general, so that it is difficult to apply to a specific case, or too specific, so that a wide range of products is not supported. The framework presented is unique in that it provides a bridge between the two extremes. It has been dubbed the "Bull's-Eye' due to its five layers, represented as concentric circles. The center of the Bull's-Eye is the Component layer, followed by Page Templates, Page Flows, Interface Models and Patterns, and Overarching Features and Principles. To support this approach,requirements were gathered from user interface designers,product managers, UI developers, and product developers. Also, usability testing of the guidelines occurred on several levels, from broad guideline tests to more specific product tests. The guidelines and lessons learned are intended to serve as examples for others seeking to design families of Web applications or Web sites.

Beier, Betsy and Misha W. Vaughan. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Interface

Buxom Girls and Boys in Baseball Hats: Adolescent Avatars in Graphical Chat Spaces  

This paper explores the types of avatars adolescents use in graphical chat spaces and how gender is represented in these avatars. Content analysis found that adolescents predominately utilize publicly available avatars depicting drawn images of Caucasian human forms. Specifically it was found that females adopt postures that indicate subordination to others, while males display psychological withdrawal from the actions around them. The influence of gaming and fantasy is seen in male avatar selection.

Scheidt, Lois Ann. Indiana University (2004). Articles>User Interface>Collaboration>Gender

Canonical Abstract Prototypes for Abstract Visual and Interaction Design  

Abstract user interface prototypes offer designers a form of representation for specification and exploration of visual and interaction design ideas that is intermediate between abstract task models and realistic or representational prototypes. Canonical Abstract Prototypes are an extension to usage-centered design that provides a formal vocabulary for expressing visual and interaction designs without concern for details of appearance and behavior. A standardized abstract design vocabulary facilitates comparison of designs, eases recognition and simplifies description of common design patterns, and lays the foundations for better software tools. This paper covers recent refinements in the modeling notation and the set of Canonical Abstract Components. New applications of abstract prototypes to design patterns are discussed, and variations in software tools support are outlined.

Constantine, Larry L. Constantine and Lockwood (2003). Articles>User Interface>Interaction Design>Visual Rhetoric

A Car for All - or Mobility for All? Part I

Population aging and environmental concern are two important factors that will effect the design of vehicles in the future. In response to the potential conflict between them, the authors propose a shift in focus from individual vehicles to transport services, from '€˜A Car for All'€™ to '€˜Mobility for All'€™, and offer strategies, scenarios and case studies of how this might be achieved. New service and vehicle typologies are introduced and discussed, and an area of future research and development is identified.

Coleman, Roger and Dale Harrow. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Usability>User Interface

The Church of Usability

Jared Spool goes out of his way to position himself as anything but a user-interface designer. Yet through his company, User Interface Engineering (UIE), he is a frequent keynote speaker on effective Web design, produces a monthly publication reviewing Web sites for effectiveness, and runs a series of workshops of effective Web design. Founded in 1988, UIE is an independent research, training, and consulting firm specializing in user-interface design and product usability issues. It has grown into one of the United States' leading usability research practices, conducting more than 400 usability tests each year on software and Web sites.

Spool, Jared M. Builder.com (2001). Articles>Usability>User Interface

Co-Design, China, and the Commercialization of the Mobile User Interface

The mobile user interface is becoming a key differentiator for mobile telephony devices and services. The increased focus on usable, emotive, and branded user interfaces is the result of three key drivers.

Williams, David M.L. uiGarden (2006). Articles>User Interface>Ubiquitous Computing>China

The Composite Intelligence of Virtual Assistants

Five levels of software intelligence can, in my opinion, make the dream of virtual assistants a reality. Collectively, they make up the concept of composite intelligence, which comprises various software components--each gifted with some moderate degree of intelligence.

Ostinelli, Roberto. UXmatters (2007). Articles>User Interface>User Experience>EPSS

Console Accessibility

This white paper is intended to show how the console Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) can be used to programmatically access information about the console and applications running under the console in Windows XP.

Microsoft (2001). Articles>User Interface>Accessibility>Microsoft Windows

Context-Sensitive Help: What Programmers and Technical Authors Need to Know

Context-sensitive Help is assistance that is appropriate to where the user is in the software application, and what they are trying to do. Carol Johnston's article describes what programmers and technical authors need to know about Context-sensitive Help.

Johnston, Carol. Cherryleaf (2003). Articles>User Interface>Help>Documentation

Creating a Digital World: Data As Design Material

The common wisdom is that we now live in the age of information; the freedom and access we have to data is unprecedented in history; and the efficiency and convenience of online commerce, research, and communication has already transformed our lives for the better. While this is true, of course, our excitement should be tempered by a few realizations.

Follett, Jonathan. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Information Design>User Interface>User Experience

Cultural User Interfaces, A Silver Lining in Cultural Diversity

Many software applications marketed outside the country of origin are internationalised and/or localised. In this article, I propose a strategy to localise the software by creating a Cultural User Interface (CUI) for each of the target cultures. A CUI is a user interface that is intuitive to a particular culture.

Yeo, Alvin. SIGCHI Bulletin (1996). Articles>User Interface>Localization

The Dark Side of Prototyping

Are there any downsides of prototyping? Not really. But as with everything else in life, you might stumble and hurt yourself if you don’t watch your step. This article points out some of the banana skins to steer clear of.

Olsen, Henrik. GUUUI (2007). Articles>User Interface>Methods

The Death of File Systems

The file system has been a trusted part of most computers for many years, and will likely continue as such in operating systems for many more. However, several emerging trends in user interfaces indicate that the basic file-system model is inadequate to fully satisfy the needs of new users, despite the flexibility of the underlying code and data structures.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1996). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>User Interface

Defining an Effective Electronic Performance Support System

Most businesses have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of information employees require to perform tasks. Traditional approaches to training such as paper documentation, instructor-led training, or computer-based training (CBT) may have been effective in the past, but are not suitable to respond to the rapid changes in time, cost, and delivery of information today’s marketplace requires. At Unisys Corporation we have piloted an electronic performance support system that provides self-instruction for our clients at their point of need.

Racine, Sam J., Kristen E. Kralick and Sathya Yesuraja. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>User Interface>Usability>EPSS

Descubriendo el Conocimiento

La Minería de Datos (Data Mining) es un término del que se hablado bastante en los últimos años. Sin embargo es sólo una parte de algo mucho más interesante: el Descubrimiento de Conocimientos o Knowledge Discovery. 

Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2002). (Spanish) Articles>Information Design>User Interface

Designing Better HTML Authoring Tools

A collection of proposed new tools and features for adding structure to the Web.

Hoffman, Michael. Hypertext Navigation. Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Software

Review: Designing Interfaces

Over the past few years, I have come to appreciate the power patterns have as a shorthand that lets software engineers communicate their design intentions. Being able to discuss an Observer or Factory pattern with other engineers quickly moves the design discussion to more substantive concerns.

Frishberg, Leo. UXmatters (2006). Articles>Reviews>User Interface

Designing Intersection Flows

When forms give users the option to continue in two or more alternative directions, such as registering as a new customer or signing in as a returning one, unfortunate users will take the wrong turn if it isn't unmistakably obvious which way they should go. In this article, we'll take a look at a few intersection flows that have caused users problems.

Olsen, Henrik. GUUUI (2005). Articles>User Interface>User Centered Design>Workflow

Designing Minimalist Principles Into User Interfaces  

Designing a user interface using minimalist principles for guided exploration can reduce the amount of paper and text necessary to document the system. Graphics in the interface can help the user grasp the concepts of the system, while dialog boxes, status information, and error messages can aid in recognition of success and recovery from errors. Online help can then be used as a backup for users if they get stuck. Reducing text and paper can reduce translation and printing costs, making this process very attractive.

Elser, Arthur G. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>User Interface>Usability>Minimalism

Develop an Ajax-Based File Upload Portlet Using DWR

File upload is a basic function of today's Web portals. In this article, authors Xiaobo Yang and Rob Allan describe how to develop an Ajax-based file upload JSR 168-compliant portlet using DWR (Direct Web Remoting). DWR is an ideal Ajax framework for Java developers that dynamically generates JavaScript based on server-side deployed Java classes. You will learn how you can use DWR to retrieve file upload progress from the portal server.

Yang, Xiabo and Robert Allan. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Ajax

Developing Interface Standards: Compliance From a Corporate Perspective  

This paper discusses the role of an information developer in defining application interface standards and ensuring compliance across all applications. An interface, such as an application screen or system-generated report, should be consistent to enhance ease-of-processing for the end users.

Davis, Sondra K. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>User Interface>Standards