Remote Control Anarchy

The six remote controls required for a simple home theater illustrate the problems caused by complexity and inconsistency in user interfaces.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Design>User Interface>Usability

The Sanctity of Elements, or Why You Shouldn't Be Double-Clicking in a TEXTAREA

All-too-frequently an external client or an internal manager or co-worker demands interface changes. They usurp the design process -- taking the decision-making away from the experts -- and deign the interface by dictum rather than traditional development processes, to the detriment of the product.

Hourihan, Meg. O'Reilly and Associates (2002). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Usability

Seeing the World in Symbols: Icons and the Evolving Language of Digital Wayfinding

Of all the objects that occupy our digital spaces, there are none that capture the imagination so much as icons. As symbols, icons can communicate powerfully, be delightful, add to the aesthetic value of software, engage people's curiosity and playfulness, and encourage experimentation. These symbols are key components of a graphic user interface--mediators between our thoughts and actions, our intentions and accomplishments.

Follett, Jonathan. UXmatters (2006). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Graphic Design

Streamlining an Interface Using Information Design Principles  

Describes a process for improving interface usability.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Design>Usability>User Interface

Ten Quotable Moments: Challenges and Responses for User Interface Designers

The following ten things have been said by actual clients and represent common and very human reactions to a new wrinkle in the process of building software: design. By gathering these comments in one place and sharing them widely, it becomes easier to recognize them, so we can keep our calm and contribute to effective software teams.

Krause, Brian R. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>User Interface>Usability

This Is What Happens When You Let Developers Create UI

If you let your developers create your UI, hilarity ensues.

Atwood, Jeff. Coding Horror (2006). Design>User Interface>Usability>User Centered Design

Top 10 Decisions That Reduce Usability

Did you ever wonder why some products are well designed and easy to use and others are not? The answer is simple—decision makers and budget holders make decisions with little thought of how they reduce usability. Here then are the top ten decisions that reduce usability.

Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2004). Design>Usability>User Interface

UIML: An Appliance-Independent XML User Interface Language

Today’s Internet appliances feature user interface technologies almost unknown a few years ago: touch screens, styli, handwriting and voice recognition, speech synthesis, tiny screens, and more. This richness creates problems. First, different appliances use different languages: WML for cell phones; SpeechML, JSML, and VoxML for voice enabled devices such as phones; HTML and XUL for desktop computers, and so on. Thus, developers must maintain multiple source code families to deploy interfaces to one information system on multiple appliances.

Abrams, Marc, Constantinos Phanouriou, Alan L. Batongbacal, Stephen M. Williams and Jonathan E. Shuster. International WWW Conference, The (1999). Design>User Interface>Usability

A Usability Evaluation of Web Map Zoom and Pan Functions  

Due to limitations on screen size and resolution, the usability of web maps relies heavily on their interface design. The main goal of this research is to find better interface designs for web maps and to facilitate their usage by the public. The research consists of two stages of investigation: (a) a survey on the operation interfaces of popular web maps; and (b) a usability evaluation of simulated interfaces by measuring task performance and conducting subjective evaluations.

You, Manlai, Chun-wen Chen, Hantsai Liu and Hsuan Lin. International Journal of Design (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Usability

Usability First

This website provides information and resources for key issues related to usability in website and software design. We believe that helping people do their work in an effective and enjoyable way should be the top priority in design because if a product is not usable, people will not use it.

Diamond Bullet Design (1996). Resources>User Interface>Usability>Web Design

Usable Interface Design

As an information designer the interfaces we currently work on - no matter whether Apple or Windows, bother me. Yes, OS X looks a lot better than its predecessors, and Windows' upcoming rip off of OS X looks better than the previous rip off. But however pretty, glossy and lickable those Interfaces may look, no matter how many twist and turn effects they build in - the problem they have is not one of special effects. If a good interface were a matter of special effects, George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic might do a very good job.

Information Architects Japan (2006). Design>User Interface>Usability

User Empowerment and the Fun Factor

Designs that engage and empower users increase their enjoyment and encourage them to explore websites in-depth. Once we achieve ease of use, we'll need additional usability methods to further strengthen joy of use.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>User Interface>Usability

User Modeling for Adaptive and Adaptable Software Systems

Universal Usability requires that user interfaces accommodate users with a wide variety of expertise and knowledge. Moreover, individual users' needs and preferences change as they use a software system. Systems that guide the user through an evolutionary learning process or adapt the user interface to the user provide a solution to this challenge. This paper introduces the techniques, highlights several examples of systems that implement them and provides guidelines for practitioners who wish to develop adaptive and adaptable interfaces.

Kules, Bill. University of Maryland (2000). Design>User Interface>Accessibility>Universal Usability

We Are All Designers  

We are all designers -- because we must be. We live our lives, encounter success and failure, sadness and joy. We structure own worlds to support ourselves throughout life.

Norman, Donald A. JND.org (2003). Design>User Interface>Usability

Well-Designed Products

To offset this sometimes irritating tendency to critique and redesign everything we see, I'd like to offer a selection of software that I consider to be truly well-designed. To avoid creating a list that is simply an expression of my personal taste (which of course it is, to some extent), I devised some criteria as necessary aspects of a well-designed software product.

Cronin, Dave. Cooper Interaction Design (2004). Design>Usability>User Interface

Why Mobile Phones are Annoying

Bystanders rated mobile-phone conversations as dramatically more noticeable, intrusive, and annoying than conversations conducted face-to-face. While volume was an issue, hearing only half a discussion also seemed to up the irritation factor.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Design>User Interface>Usability>Voice

Writer as Designer: Building Quality into the Design  

Provides background for writers beginning to work in design and an introduction to practical methods to build quality into the design of software, forms (whether paper or online), and highly detailed processes used by diverse users. These methods support both macro and micro control of highly detailed products throughout the iterative stages of design. The workshop includes exercises and covers essential background, such as how to determine what is quality for your company and why design fails. The workshop deals with requirements for success, including the importance of standards, and with application of the methods to design specifications, user documentation, and testing. The workshop materials also include examples of the method applied to a commonly available commercial product.

Bibus, Connie M. 'C.J.' and William D. Gearhart. STC Proceedings (1996). Design>User Interface>Usability

Interaction Elasticity

Usage goes down as interaction costs increase. User motivation determines how fast demand drops, following an elasticity curve.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Interaction Design

Making the Right Constraints for Usable and Accessible User Interfaces

This paper focuses on managing constraints in a way that enables developers to create an accessible and usable user interface (UI). The constraining processes presented in this paper comprise of a language to describe a logical web page in an application, a basic bottom-up repository management system and the processing required for compiling pages.

Cornelius, Gary and John J. Chelsom. IDEAlliance (2005). Articles>Information Design>User Interface>Usability

Usability Tips for Your Application (Part I)

There are a exponentially growing amount of applications being developed. Some of them vanish at an early stage, while others grow to be quite (and sometimes extremely) popular. What really dazzles me is how sucky many of them (both the popular and the unpopular ones) are regarding how they deal with user-interaction.

Odden, Michael. Unlimited Edition (2009). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Interaction Design

The Inclusion Principle

Affordance allows us to look at something and intuitively understand how to interact with it. For example, when we see a small button next to a door, we know we should push it with a finger. Convention tells us it will make a sound, notifying the homeowner that someone is at the door. This concept transfers to the virtual environment: when we see a 3D-shaped button on a web page, we understand that we are supposed to “push” it with a mouse-click.

Link-Rodrigue, Margit. List Apart, A (2009). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Usability

Treating User Myopia

Fortunately, you don't see dialogs in web apps much, but this sort of modal dialog lunacy is, sadly, becoming more popular in today's AJAX-y world of web 2.5. Those who can't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, I guess.

Atwood, Jeff. Coding Horror (2009). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Usability

Teaching Users to Read

This may sound a little harsh, but you'll see, when you do usability tests, that there are quite a few users who simply do not read words that you put on the screen. If you pop up an error box of any sort, they simply will not read it.

Atwood, Jeff. Coding Horror (2004). Articles>User Interface>User Centered Design>Usability