#21015
Poor Code Quality Contaminates Users' Conceptual Models
Software bugs and system crashes result in huge productivity losses and undermine users' ability to form good models of how computers work. Website designers can help improve user confidence by prioritizing quality and robustness over features and the latest technology.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Software
#21615
¿Por Qué los Menús Pastel no son Ubicuos?
En el ultimo artículo de InfoVis.net preguntamos a Don Hopkins por qué los menús pastel, que son más eficientes que los menús lineales, no se han hecho ubicuos, siendo usados sólo en algunas aplicaciones como video juegos y algún software experimenta avanzado. Aquí está su respuesta.
Hopkins, Don. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>Web Design>User Interface
#23908
Online documentation and software messages are important elements of the end-to-end user experience. They have a direct impact on the productivity of users and affect the total cost of ownership. This article discusses designing and executing usability testing of these two important components of the overall product offering. Based on usability tests that were performed on the IBM DB2® Universal Database™ (DB2 UDB) and IBM® WebSphere® Commerce and software products, the combined experiences provide guidance for usability professionals and information developers who need to organize and run such tests for a first time.
Markov, Nikolay and Uliyana Markova. IBM (2004). Design>User Interface>Software>Help
#23269
Practical Design of Outlines and Site Maps 
Experimental new hierarchy-navigation UIs can hardly improve on the ancient outline.
Hoffman, Michael. Hypertext Navigation. Articles>Information Design>User Interface>Sitemaps
#22106
Review: Practitioner's Handbook for User Interface Design and Development 
I was excited to receive my copy of Practitioner's Handbook for User Interface Design and Development, because I was in the middle of a new software development project and would be responsible for approving the look and feel of the user interface (UI). I was interested in learning more about evolving standards, the proper selection of interface controls based on users' tasks, the best way to decide on and create UI style sheets for use by the development staff, and the problem of quantifying that elusive quality called usability. I hoped this book would enlighten me with practical examples I could put to immediate use. Unfortunately, in that regard, Practitioner's Handbook for User Interface Design and Development was mostly a disappointment. It might have been better titled A Project Manager's Handbook, because the author's treatment of the topic is extremely broad but not very deep.
Anderson, Darrill. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>User Interface
#25667
Previewing Video Data: Browsing Key Frames at High Rates
As the amount of video data in digital libraries increases, support for fast and easy access to this information has become necessary. Our approach is to empower users with direct control of video surrogates and provide interaction flexibility. A video browsing interface prototype using a slide show-style presentation of video key frames was built and tested for user performance and subjective satisfaction. The interface allows display rates to be adjusted interactively. Subjects in this preliminary study performed two browsing-related tasks, object identification and gist determination, at display rates of 1, 4, 8, 12, and 16 key frames per second (kfps). A possible functional limit in accuracy for object identification (OI) was detected between 8 to 12 kfps. Performance for gist determination (GD) tended to degrad with increased display rates. However, no significant performance differences were detected. Furthermore, it was observed that lower rates were required for object identification than for gist determination. Suggestions for designing fast video browsing interfaces are provided.
Ding, Wei, Gary Marchionini and Tony Tse. ISRDP in Digital Libraries (1997). Articles>User Interface>Video
#26658
A well designed user interface is comprehensible and controllable, helping users to complete their work successfully and efficiently, and to feel competent and satisfied. Effective user interfaces are designed based on principles of human interface design. The principles listed below are consolidated from a wide range of published sources (Constantine & Lockwood, 1999; Cooper & Reimann, 2003; Gerhardt-Powals, 1996; Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2003; Nielsen, 1994; Schneiderman, 1998; Tognazzini, 2003) and are based on a long history of human-computer interaction research, cognitive psychology, and design best practices.
Usability Body of Knowledge. Design>Usability>User Interface
#19010
Inden for Internet genren hersker der, ligesom i enhver anden medie genre, trends og mode. I denne artikel vil de nuværende strømninger bliver udredet i forbindelse med en fokusering på de generiske elementer, der ligger til grund for webdesign. I relation til enhver løsning vil der kunne tales om et interface. Interface metodologi kendetegnes på nuværende tidspunkt ved en række design zoner, som sætter en linje for ”tidens trend”. Denne trend opfølges af designere, og ender slutteligt i de kommercielle kredse. Beviset for denne teori findes i www.k10k.dk (som nu er taget off-line), som gennem de sidste 2 år har defineret kommende trends. Først var det det minimalistiske, widescreendesign i år 2000, og i år 2001 er det retro i c64 stil (bit æstetik). Denne trend vil kunne spores i designkredse, som www.coolstop.com , www.coolhomepages.com (i mindre grad, på grund af deres meget store lister) og naturligvis www.k10k.dk. Trenden dækker imidlertid over et dybere æstetisk paradigme. Et teknologiparadigme som fokuserer på grænserne i mediet, og overskridelsen af disse.
Quark, The (2002). (Danish) Design>Web Design>User Interface
#25325
Productivity and Multi-Screen Computer Displays 
One hundred eight university and non university personnel participated in a comparison of single monitor, multi-monitor and multi-monitor with Hydravision display configurations. Respondents edited slide shows, spreadsheets and text documents in a simulation of office work, using each of the display arrays. Performance measures, including task time, editing time, number of edits completed, and number of errors made and usability measures evaluating effectiveness, comfort, learning ease, time to productivity, quickness of recovery from mistakes, ease of task tracking, ability to maintain task focus and ease of movement among sources were combined into an overall evaluation of productivity. Multi-screens scored significantly higher on every measure.
Colvin, Janet, Nancy Tobler and James A. Anderson. Rocky Mountain Communication Review (2004). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>User Interface
#28464
A study of the benefits of big monitors fails on two accounts: it didn't test realistic tasks, and it didn't test realistic use. Productivity is a key argument for workplace usability, but you must measure it carefully.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>User Interface>Usability
#28500
Prototyping Beyond the Sunshine Scenario
Prototypes often model one flow of interaction--the path that users are most likely to take. But when we create interaction designs with dynamic and complex flows, we often need to include deviations from the sunshine scenarios to see whether they work. In this article, we'll look at how to do this Visio and Axure.
Olsen, Henrik. GUUUI (2006). Articles>User Interface>Interaction Design>Methods
#18576
Pull-Down Menus: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
This article focuses on a particularly wily cryptodesign foe: pull-down menus. Recall our definition of the developer’s eternal foe: cryptodesign. These are decisions that worked for certain situations, but are often misapplied in different, inappropriate situations. Pulldowns are the “guerilla” combatants of GUI design – so named because at one glance they look like good-guy civilians, but in another moment, they’ve wreaked havoc on ease-of-use. Let’s explore how to neutralize these design sapper bombers.
Schaffer, Eric M. Human Factors International (1995). Design>Web Design>User Interface
#22920
Review: Quality Technical Information: Paving the Way for Usable Print and Web Interface Design 
Principles of information style and design have been around for years. Look at the shelf life of Strunk and White's classic The Elements of Style, published in 1959 and still a bestseller. Producing Quality Technical Information is a gem of a book, whose precise, bullet-style list of seven requirements and a checklist is now even more insightful in the fast-paced world of online information and the World-Wide Web. As a writer, I'm amazed how the IBM authors crystallized the essence of good information design in less than 100 pages. This commentary describes how the book's seven qualities and thirty individual requirements can easily and usefully be extrapolated to address key issues of interface design and usability for today's professional designers and developers.
Mandel, Theo. Journal of Computer Documentation (2002). Articles>Reviews>User Interface>Usability
#21633
Elaborar información procedente de la red y presentarla en forma gráfica es lo que se propone 'dicelared', una interesante iniciativa en español.
Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>Web Design>User Interface
#22673
A Question of Interface Design: How Do Online Service GUIs Measure Up?
Online services have redesigned their old command-based software into graphical user interfaces for the same reason that fledgling stars get their noses fixed. GUIs, as these software versions are commonly called, are a natural choice of interface because they are user-friendly, colorful, window-based interfaces that rely on icons and natural language processing.
Head, Alison J. InfoToday (1997). Design>User Interface>Usability
#26631
Macintosh-style interaction design has reached its limits. A new paradigm, called results-oriented UI, might well be the way to empower users in the future.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>User Interface>Human Computer Interaction
#23516
Many would-be e-businesses, seduced by the lure of the emerging 'virtual-world' on the web, have ignored 40 years of accumulated wisdom in how to design usable information systems, and have seemingly forgotten that a satisfying 'user experience' is key to the successful implementation of any information system.
Macefield, Ritchie. UIdesign (2004). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Usability
#24753
Reconciling Information-Seeking Behavior with Search User Interfaces for the Web 
Current search interfaces reflect the inner workings of search technology rather than what we know about how people look for information.
Rose, Daniel E. Earthlink (2002). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Search
#10547
The search for compelling color is a struggle. As in fashion, success at one time and place is no help at any other.
Stein, Bob. Digital Web Magazine (2001). Design>Graphic Design>User Interface>Color
#13555
Reduce Redundancy: Decrease Duplicated Design Decisions
User interface complexity increases when a single feature or hypertext link is presented in multiple ways. Users rarely understand duplicates as such, and often waste time repeating efforts or visiting the same page twice by mistake.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>User Interface>Collaboration
#23275
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
#21426
You've all heard of TiVo. Sure you have. TiVo is the hard-disk video recorder that automatically records all of your favorite shows. Then there's ReplayTV, the other leading brand. Late fall 2001, ReplayTV crossed over a line that should never have been crossed, one that threatened the future of consumer products.
Tognazzini, Bruce. Nielsen Norman Group (2002). Articles>User Interface>Ethics>Assessment
#14530
Research-Based Guidelines For Visual Interface Design
Whether it is for a help system, a multimedia training product, or a software application, there are two key elements needed for good screen design: knowledge of the applicable research, and the ability to balance aesthetic appeal with functionality. This paper focuses on research into the specific human factors that affect how users interact with the visual display of information, and provides guidelines for how to apply the research results. The author adds information from his own interface design and usability testing experiences at Microsoft.
Prekeges, James G. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>User Interface>Multimedia>Visual Rhetoric
#27010
The Role and Evolution of Design in Software Products
Design professionals often decry the lack of importance and investment their companies place on design. After all, most software projects revolve around a product's engineering, to the ongoing detriment of its design--not to mention the chagrin of so many designers, who wriggle uncomfortably toward the bottom of the food chain. But there is a good reason for this: products can be very profitable without investing a single penny in interface design--at least, beyond the user interfaces the engineers build. Indeed, at least in the early stages of a market or company, resources dedicated to intentional interface design are often a bonus rather than being viewed as a necessity.
Knemeyer, Dirk. UXmatters (2006). Design>User Interface>Programming
#18671
The Role of Project Managers in Interface Design
This describes the role that I played as program manager for IE5.0, and the basic process we used. It's a good anecdote as to how one team managed the cross discipline work of design and usability, with the engineering and development process.
Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (1999). Design>Project Management>User Interface
