IS 436 Ch.8: User Interface Design

6 principles for user interface design

1. layout

2. content awareness

3. aesthetics

4. usage level

5. consistency

6. minimize user effort

layout

series of areas on the screen used consistently for different purposes

• navigation (top)

• status area (bottom)

• work area (mid)

content awareness

users should always be aware of where they are in the system and what information is being displayed

aesthetics

interfaces should be functional and inviting

usage level

ease of use and ease of learning

consistency

enables users to predict what will happen before they perform a function

minimize user effort

interface should be simple to use

issues with touch screen design

not ideal for data entry

navigation design

• assume users don’t know anything

• clear controls

• consistent grammar order (action-object, object-action)

input design

simply and easily capture accurate information for the system

online processing

immediately records the transaction in the appropriate database

batch processing

collects inputs over time, holds them temporarily, then processes all the transactions at one time in a batch

online vs batch processing

batch simplifies data communication but master files are not updated in real time

types of selection controls

1. checkboxes

2. radio button

3. on-screen

4. drop down

5. combo box

6. up-down numeric control

input validation

ensures accuracy

6 types of input validation

• completeness

• format

• range

• check digit

• consistency

• database

output design

utilizes various report types and media to satisfy users’ output requirements