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Chapter 3c Designing Interfaces and Dialogues

Chapter 3c Designing Interfaces and Dialogues. Learning Objectives. Explain the process of interface and dialogue design and the deliverables. Contrast and apply methods for interacting with a system.

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Chapter 3c Designing Interfaces and Dialogues

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  1. Chapter 3c Designing Interfaces and Dialogues

  2. Learning Objectives • Explain the process of interface and dialogue design and the deliverables. • Contrast and apply methods for interacting with a system. • Describe guidelines for designing interface layout, data entry field structure, feedback, and system help. • Design human-computer dialogues and understand how dialogue diagramming can be used.

  3. Deliverables and Outcomes A typical interface/dialogue design specification: Similar to form design, but includes multiple forms and dialogue sequence specifications

  4. INTERFACE METHODS • Interface: the method by which a user interacts with the information system • Common interaction methods • Command line • Menu • Form • Object-based • Natural language

  5. Command Line Interaction • Users enter explicit statements into a system to invoke operations • Example from MS DOS: • COPY C:PAPER.DOC A:PAPER.DOC • This copies a file from the C: drive to the A: drive • Includes keyboard shortcuts and function keys

  6. Menu Interaction • A list of system options is provided and specific command is invoked by user selection of a menu option • Two common menu types: • Pop-up: menu placed near current cursor position • Drop-down: access point to menu placed at top line of display, menu drops down when access point clicked

  7. Pop-up menu

  8. Guidelines for Menu Design • Wording: meaningful titles, clear command verbs, mixed upper/lower case • Organization: consistent organizing principle • Length: all choices fit within screen length • Selection: consistent, clear and easy selection methods • Highlighting: only for selected options or unavailable options

  9. Contrasting Menu Designs

  10. Visual editing tools help designers construct menus.

  11. Form Interaction • Allows users to fill in the blanks when working with a system • Measures of an effective design: • Self-explanatory title and field headings • Fields organized into logical groupings • Distinctive boundaries • Default values • Displays appropriate field lengths • Minimizes the need to scroll windows

  12. Object Interaction • Symbols are used to represent commands or functions. • Icons: • Graphic symbols that look like the processing option they are meant to represent • Use little screen space • Can be easily understood by users

  13. Natural Language Interaction • Inputs to and outputs from system are in a conventional speaking language like English • Based on research in artificial intelligence • Current implementations are tedious and difficult to work with, not as viable as other interaction methods • Both keyboard and voice entry

  14. DESIGNING INTERFACES • Use standard formats similar to paper-based forms and reports • Left-to-right, top-to-bottom navigation • Flexibility and consistency: • Free movement between fields • No permanent data storage until the user requests • Each key and command assigned to one function

  15. Guidelines for Structuring Data Entry Fields

  16. Options for Entering Text

  17. Controlling Data Input • Objective: reduce data entry errors • Common sources data entry errors in a field: • Appending: adding additional characters • Truncating: losing characters • Transcripting: entering invalid data • Transposing: reversing sequence of characters

  18. Class or Composition Combinations Expected Values Missing Data Pictures/Templates Range Reasonableness Self-checking Digits Size Values Types of Validation Tests

  19. Feedback Messages • Status information: keep user informed of what’s going on, helpful when user has to wait for response • Prompting cues: tell user when input is needed, and how to provide the input • Warning or Error: inform user that something is wrong, either with data entry or system operation

  20. Providing Help • Place yourself in user’s place when designing help • Guidelines: • Simplicity • Help messages should be short and to the point • Organize • Information in help messages should be easily absorbed by users • Show • It is useful to explicitly show users how to perform an operation

  21. DESIGNING DIALOGUES • Dialogue: A sequence of interactions between the system and a user • Dialogue design involves: • Designing a dialogue sequence • Building a prototype • Assessing usability

  22. Consistency Shortcuts and Sequence Feedback Closure Error Handling Reversal Control Ease Guidelines for Dialogue Design

  23. Designing the Dialogue Sequence Dialogue diagramming: A formal method for designing and representing human-computer dialogues using box and line diagrams. See Figure 12-19 for example.

  24. Dialogue diagrams depict the sequence, conditional branching, and repetition of dialogues.

  25. Summary • In this chapter you learned how to: • Explain the process of interface and dialogue design and the deliverables. • Contrast and apply methods for interacting with a system. • Describe guidelines for designing interface layout, data entry field structure, feedback, and system help. • Design human-computer dialogues and understand how dialogue diagramming can be used.

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