ch 10 - designing forms and reports

form

• business document that contains some predefined data and may include some areas - where additional data are to be filled in

• typically based on one database record

report

• contains data from many unrelated records or transactions

• a passive document used solely for reading or viewing

scheduled reports 

• produced at predefined intervals—daily, weekly, or monthly—to support the routine informational needs of an organization

key-indicator reports 

• provide a summary of critical information on a recurring basis

exception reports 

• highlight data that are out of the normal operating range

drill-down reports

• provide details behind the summary values on a key-indicator or exception report

ad-hoc reports

• unplanned information requests in which information is gathered to support a nonroutine decision

user eXperience design (UX)

• involves and understanding of the target audience such as their tasks, goals, information needs, and experience levels

user-centered activity

• follows a prototyping approach

paper prototype

• series of mock screens that can be used to test content, look, and feel, as well as the task flow and other usability factors

• focus is on the design

wireframe 

• simple design to show the placement of information elements on a screen and the space needed for each element

• input screen roughed out using a software tool

coding sheet

• “old” tool for designing forms and reports in text-based format

data input screen

• allows a variety of font sizes, colors, and highlighting

design specifications 

• major deliverables 

have three sections:

• narrative overview

• sample design

• testing and usability assessment
  

narrative overview

• characterizes, users, tasks, system, and environmental factors

sample design

• image of the form is more thoroughly tested and assessed

testing and usability assessment

• provides all testing and assessment information

• determine usability

guidelines for design of forms and reports

• meaningful titles

• meaningful information

• balance the layout

• easy navigation system

meaningful titles

• clear and specific titles

• revision date or code

• current date

• valid date

meaningful information

• only needed information should be displayed

• information should be usable without modification

balance the layout

• information be balanced

• adequate spacing and margins

• all data and entry fields clearly labeled

easy navigation system

• clearly show how to move forward and backward

• clearly show where you are (e.g., page 1 of 3)

• notify user when on the last page of a multipaged sequence

highlighting information 

• valuable technique for conveying special information

• notifying users of errors

• providing warnings

• drawing attention

highlighting information methods

• blinking and audible tones

• color differences

• intensity differences

• size differences

• font differences

• reverse video

• boxing

• underlining

• all capital letters

• offsetting the position of nonstandard information

guidelines for displaying tables and lists

• use meaningful labels

• formatting columns, rows, text

• formatting numeric, textual, and alphanumeric date

use meaningful labels

• all columns and rows should have meaningful labels

• labels should be separated from other information by using highlighting

• redisplay labels when the data extend beyond a single screen or page

formatting columns, rows, text

• sort in a meaningful order

• place a blank line between every five rows in long columns

• similar information displayed in multiple columns should be sorted vertically

• columns should have at least two spaces between them

• allow white space on printed reports for user to write notes

• use a single typeface, except for emphasis

• use same family of typefaces within and across displays and reports

• avoid overly fancy fonts

formatting numeric, textual, and alphanumeric date

• right-justify numeric data and align columns by decimal points or other delimiter

• left-justify textual data. Use short line length, usually 30–40 characters per line

• break long sequences of alphanumeric data into small groups of three to four characters each

tables

• reading individual data values

graphs

• providing a quick summary of data

• detecting trends over time

• comparing points and patterns of different variables

• forecasting activities

• reporting vast amounts of information when simple impressions are to be drawn

usability

• overall evaluation of how a system performs in supporting a particular user for a particular task

• your designs should assist, not hinder, user performance

characteristics of usability:

• speed

• accuracy

• satisfaction 

usability factors

• consistency

• organization

• clarity

• format

• flexibility

consistency

• consistent use of terminology, abbreviations, formatting, titles, and navigation within and across outputs

organization

• formatting should be designed with an understanding of the task being performed and the intended user

clarity

• outputs should be self-explanatory and not require users to remember information from prior outputs in order to complete tasks

format

• information should be consistent between entry and display

flexibility

• information should be viewed and retrieved in a manner most convenient to the user 

measures of usability

• learnability

• efficiency

• error rate

• memorability

• satisfaction and aesthetics

learnability 

how difficult it is for the user to perform a task for the first time?

efficiency

• how quickly users can perform tasks once they know how to perform them?

error rate

• how many errors might a user encounter & how easy it is to recover from those errors?

memorability

• how easy is it to remember how to accomplish a task when revisiting the system after some period of time?

satisfaction and aesthetics

• how enjoyable is the system’s visual appeal and how enjoyable is the system to use?