Flashcards on User Interface Design (Draft One)

Flashcards based on lecture notes about User Interface Design, covering topics from Shneiderman's Evaluation Criteria to Visual Design and Interaction Techniques.

What are Shneiderman's 5 criteria for evaluating user interfaces?

Time to Learn, Speed of Performance, Rate of User Errors, Retention of Skills, Subjective Satisfaction.

What does "Time to Learn" measure in the context of user interfaces?

How long it takes to learn how to use an interface effectively.

What are learning plateaus in interface usage?

Stages where users gain more command knowledge and can perform more tasks.

What does "Speed of Performance" refer to in UI design?

How quickly a user can complete tasks using the interface.

Why are faster UIs often harder to learn?

They usually require more complex or abstract actions (e.g., command lines).

What factors influence the "Rate of User Errors" in an interface?

Consistency, instructions, and screen layout.

What affects "Retention of Skills" when using an interface?

How intuitive the interface is and how well it matches user expectations.

What does "Subjective Satisfaction" capture regarding an interface?

The user's personal comfort and enjoyment of the interface.

What is the flexibility-usability tradeoff in interface design?

More flexible systems tend to be harder to use, while more usable systems often have less flexibility.

How does system evolution typically progress according to the lectures?

From flexibility toward specialization as user needs become better understood.

What is human cognition?

The ability to identify sensory inputs and act on them for some purpose.

What are the two types of human cognition systems?

Type 1 (fast, automatic) and Type 2 (slow, deliberate).

What are key traits of the Type 1 cognitive system?

Unconscious, effortless, fast, heuristic, associative, can't be turned off.

What are key traits of the Type 2 cognitive system?

Conscious, effortful, slow, logical, used for planning, only partly active.

Give an example of Type 1 thinking.

Instantly recognizing a friend's face.

Give an example of Type 2 thinking.

Solving a math problem or making a plan.

What happens to pupils during increased mental effort?

Pupils dilate as mental effort increases.

What happens when cognitive demands exceed maximum capacity?

Tasks are prioritized, and some may be dropped entirely.

What is the difference between attention and focus?

Attention is narrowing down what you want to process; focus is maintaining that attention despite changes in what you sense, feel, or think.

What are the two main memory systems in human cognition?

Short-term memory (limited to about 4 items) and long-term memory (virtually unlimited).

What is rehearsal in learning?

The repetitive experience or active repetition of information to strengthen memory.

How does depth of processing affect memory?

The more time spent interacting with information, the more likely it is to be remembered.

What is the "illusory truth effect"?

The more some information is brought up, the more likely it is to be considered true, regardless of actual truthfulness.

What is automaticity?

When sequences of actions become faster and require less conscious attention through repetition.

How does automaticity relate to cognitive systems?

Responsibility shifts from System 2 (conscious) to System 1 (automatic) with practice.

What factors influence habit formation?

Complexity of behavior being learned.

What is "affect" in psychology?

Current emotional state, characterized by valence (positive/negative) and arousal (activation level).

What are the two dimensions of affect?

Valence (positive or negative) and arousal (strength of activation of sympathetic nervous system).

What is the Yerkes-Dodson law?

The principle that performance increases with arousal up to a point, then decreases as arousal becomes too high.

How does arousal affect System 1 tasks?

Arousal generally increases performance for automatic, System 1 tasks.

How does arousal affect System 2 tasks?

Arousal only increases performance on deliberate, System 2 tasks up to a threshold, then impairs performance.

How should designers leverage System 1 thinking?

Take advantage of automatic processing where possible to make interfaces more intuitive.

Why should designs avoid confusing System 1?

Inconsistent mappings force users to switch to effortful System 2 processing, slowing them down.

What should interfaces provide during wait times?

Something for users to do while waiting to reduce perceived wait time and frustration.

What does "discoverability" mean in UI design?

Users should be able to tell what actions are possible in an interface.

What is feedback in interface design?

Information that lets users know their actions had an effect and what that effect was.

What is a conceptual model in design?

An explanation of how something works that users form in their minds.

What is iterative design?

A design process involving repeated testing and improvement cycles.

What is the Double Diamond model of design?

A design process with four phases: Discover (research), Define (problem definition), Develop (ideation), and Deliver (implementation).

What is needfinding in design research?

Understanding users' needs through methods that gather qualitative data.

What is the "fail fast" philosophy?

Rapidly testing ideas to learn from failures early in the design process when changes are less costly.

What is the iterative design process?

A continuous cycle of observation, idea generation, prototyping, and testing.

What is an activity in user experience design?

A set of tasks performed together for a common goal (e.g., "go shopping").

What is a task in user experience design?

A component of an activity, organized cohesive set of operations towards a single low-level goal (e.g., "find item in store").

Why should designers focus on activities rather than just tasks?

To support the whole activity seamlessly and ensure interactions between tasks don't interfere.

What makes someone an expert?

Experts think differently - they have schemas that help them recognize patterns, encode information abstractly, and solve problems effectively.

What are schemas (chunking)?

Mental frameworks that help recognize patterns and react to situations, enabling more abstract thinking and effective problem-solving.

What is a mental model (conceptual model)?

An internal representation in the head of how something works in the real world.

What are external representations in cognition?

Tools or artifacts outside the mind that help reduce memory burden and restructure problems.

What are Norman's 7 principles of designing for action?

Discoverability, Feedback, Conceptual Model, Affordances, Signifiers, Mappings, and Constraints.

What are affordances?

Relationships between objects and users that determine how the objects can be used.

What are signifiers in design?

Elements that communicate where and how to perform actions, making affordances more obvious.

What is mapping in interface design?

The relationship between controls and their actions, ideally following intuitive spatial layouts.

What are constraints in design?

Physical, logical, semantic, or cultural limitations that guide actions and ease interpretation.

What are Norman's 7 stages of action?

1) Form the goal, 2) Plan the action, 3) Specify action sequence, 4) Perform action sequence, 5) Perceive the state of the world, 6) Interpret the perception, 7) Compare outcome with goal.

What is the "gulf of execution" in Norman's model?

The gap between what the user wants to do and the means the system provides to accomplish it.

What is the "gulf of evaluation" in Norman's model?

The gap between what the system displays and the user's ability to perceive and interpret that state.

What is systems thinking in design?

Analyzing and synthesizing elements and their behaviors as part of interconnected systems.

What is evaluation in design context?

The process of determining value or quality based on established criteria - identifying patterns we expect to see.

What are the steps of First Principles Thinking?

1) Identify the problem, 2) Break it down to basic elements, 3) Challenge assumptions, 4) Reconstruct the solution.

What are the two main categories of usability evaluation methods?

Analytical methods (expert-based) and empirical methods (user-based).

What are analytical evaluation methods?

Methods that rely on experts evaluating products based on established principles and guidelines, without involving end-users.

What are empirical evaluation methods?

Methods that involve collecting data from actual users interacting with the product.

What is heuristic evaluation?

An analytical method where experts identify usability issues by applying established usability principles.

What is a cognitive walkthrough?

An analytical method that assesses an interface's ease of learning by simulating a user's problem-solving process step by step.

What is a prototype in design?

A preliminary version of a product used to explore, test, and refine concepts before final implementation.

What is a low-fidelity prototype?

A simple, rough representation of a design that focuses on basic structure and functionality.

What is a high-fidelity prototype?

A detailed representation that closely resembles the final product in appearance and interaction.

What are the benefits of paper prototyping?

Quick creation, low cost, easy modification, focus on concept rather than details, and encouragement of honest feedback.

What does WYSIWYG stand for?

"What You See Is What You Get" - refers to systems where content displayed during editing appears similar to final output.

What are user interfaces defined as by Amy Ko?

"Software and/or hardware that bridge the world of human action and computer action."

What is accessibility in interface design?

Designing products that can be used by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.

What is universal design?

The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without adaptation or specialized design.

What is Value-Sensitive Design?

A design approach that accounts for human values throughout the design process, considering ethical implications proactively.

What is Direct Manipulation?

"Rapid incremental reversible operations whose impact on the objects of interest is immediately visible" (Shneiderman, 1982).

What are the three main characteristics of Direct Manipulation?

1) Continuous representation of the object of interest, 2) Physical actions instead of complex syntax, 3) Continuous feedback and reversible, incremental actions.

What is the difference between Feedback and Feedforward?

Feedback signals the effects of an executed action (what the user did); Feedforward signals the causes of executable actions (what the user can do).

What is the Swiss Cheese Model?

A model showing that accidents occur when holes in system defenses line up. To reduce accidents: add more defense layers, reduce size/number of holes, or alert users when holes line up.

What is a slip?

An attentional failure where the user intended to do the correct action but did not actually execute it correctly. Example: putting a coffee cup in the refrigerator.

What is a mistake?

When a user formulates the wrong goal or plan. Can be rule-based (diagnosed situation correctly but chose wrong action) or knowledge-based (lacks correct information).

What is Information Foraging Theory?

A mathematical model describing navigation where users are like animals foraging for food. Users navigate through information spaces (patches) connected by links to maximize chances of finding information (prey) in minimal time.

What is "scent" in Information Foraging Theory?

How users interpret cues on links by the likelihood they will reach their information "prey." Users make choices to maximize the possibility of reaching prey per cost of interaction.

What are the design implications of Information Foraging Theory?

Organize information into functionally related groups, design effective cues to help users predict what will be found, match expectations of user's mental model, provide search for large information spaces.

What is Fitt's Law?

The time required to move to a target decreases with target size and increases with distance to the target. Movements typically consist of one large quick ballistic movement followed by fine-adjustment homing movements.

What are the 7 Principles of Universal Design?

1) Equitable use, 2) Flexibility in use, 3) Simple and intuitive, 4) Perceptible information, 5) Tolerance for error, 6) Low physical effort, 7) Size and space for approach and use.

What are interface metaphors and their advantages?

Metaphors communicate what an interface can do through references to the real world. Advantages include leveraging understanding of familiar objects and providing intuitive understanding of affordances.

What are interface idioms and examples?

Consistent mental models of how something works that provide intuitive understanding of affordances and interactions. Examples: email, clipboard (cut/copy/paste), format painter, newsfeed, follow item.

What is interaction flow?

When the next thing the interface wants to do is exactly what the user expects. It follows the user's mental model, keeps all related tools available, and avoids surprises.

What is visual design in software interfaces?

Visual design solves communication problems in ways that are both functionally effective and aesthetically pleasing. It creates a visual language with a vocabulary of design elements characterized by visual variables, organizational relations, and visual syntax.

What are the key goals of visual design?

Successfully transmit information, present coherent & consistent design that reduces ambiguity, reduce visual search time through layout & organization, and create desired emotional reactions through aesthetic choices.

What are visual variables in design?

Visual variables are the fundamental elements of visual design including shape, size, position, orientation, color, and other aspects that can be manipulated to convey information.

What is the meaning of elegance in design?

Elegance derives from Latin "eligere," meaning "to select carefully." It involves judicious selection of elements and economy of expression revealing an intimate understanding of the problem, removing and combining superfluous elements until only the necessary remains.

What is regularization in visual design?

Regularization involves reducing information by repeating elements according to a rule, principle, or rhythm to enable users to scan ahead, while using irregularity where needed to clarify that something is irregular.

What are scale, contrast, and proportion in visual design?

Scale is the relative size or magnitude of an element compared to related elements. Contrast refers to visually noticeable distinctions along a common visual dimension. Proportion is the ratio and balance between elements.

How do layers function in visual design?

Layers use contrasting color, value, and texture to segregate information, supporting overlapping information in displays and allowing selective processing of specific sets of elements. Different layers can be read and interpreted separately.

Why is organization important in visual design?

Organization needs to be designed to provide: Unity (tying together related elements), Integrity & readability (offering structure for easy scanning & comparison), and Control (determining where user will focus attention).

What is hierarchy in visual design?

Hierarchy involves ordering groups based on perceptual prominence corresponding to intended reading sequence. It can help solve "skimming" problems and help people focus attention on key parts.

What are the benefits of using images and icons?

Images provide identification (easy to recognize) and expression (breadth of artistic expression that can make design more engaging & enjoyable).

What are the four types of iconic representation?

1) Similar - visually analogous to action, object, concept; 2) Example - things that exemplify or are commonly associated; 3) Symbolic - represent concept at higher level of abstraction; 4) Arbitrary - little or no relationship to concept, must be learned through standard.

What are the four principles of effective icon design?

1) Immediacy - can be perceived effortlessly & involuntarily by being bold, clear, balanced; 2) Generality - represents a class of items by removing variable details; 3) Cohesiveness - set of icons that function together by sharing visual variables; 4) Characterization - calls to mind one or more distinctive features.