15-int-des-intf.pptVIP

Designing Interfaces and Dialogues Human–Computer Interface Designing Interfaces and Dialogues ? the process of defining the manner in which humans and computers exchange information - analogous to a conversation between 2 people ? interface and dialogue design is critical for successful information systems - “to the user the interface is the system” ? should provide a uniform structure for finding, viewing, and invoking different components of an information system Designing Interfaces and Dialogues use prototyping, as with forms and reports design specifications- as for forms and reports: 1. Narrative overview 2. Interface/dialogue design 3. Testing and usability information Design Specifications Narrative overview - interface name, user, task, system, environment Interface/dialogue design - form/report designs, dialogue sequence diagram Testing and usability assessment - testing objectives, procedures and results - time to learn, speed of performance, rate of errors, retention over time, user satisfaction and other perceptions Hoffer et al. (1999) p555 Interaction Methods and Devices Common interface methods are: command language interaction menu interaction form interaction icon/object-based interaction Command Language Interaction users enter explicit commands to invoke operations - users must therefore remember syntax and semantics MSDOS commands for example - copy A:doc.doc to B:doc.doc complex applications such as word processors and spreadsheets have many commands - eg. control:P print control:S save Menu Interaction users select from a list of system options and a specific operation is executed menu interaction is most widely used interaction method menus can differ greatly in their design and capability - simple single menu - hierarchy of menus - pop-up menus - drop-down menus Example Simple Single Menu Example Menu Hierarchy Example Drop-down