Understanding, Learning and Relearning?

Users consider an application to be easy, if they understand it, especially if they even understand it having not used it for a long period of time. Thus, simplicity can be achieved by making applications understandable and easy to learn and re-learn.

Motto: Understand what's going on!

Purpose of a Screen

Provide screens, screen areas, and groups with meaningful names!

Example: As a negative example, the current SAP ESS applications do not name areas - and users struggled in the user tests...

Example: The Windows title bar provides information about the purpose of a screen. However, this information is mostly overlooked!

Order of Screen Elements

Arrange areas and screen element in a logical order that fits the order of processing or reflects logical dependencies!

Avoid a "Yoyo" style of flow of control where processing jumps up and down.

Example: Do not reuse a screen area above another area for displaying detailed data from items in the lower area - just because it is currently unused.
Better: Exchange item list and detailed data in the same area, and keep the context stable.

Support

Use written explanations, diagrams, graphics, and so on, on the screen as online support. Users prefer this support to reading documentation.

Example: Online documentation is rarely used, because most users do not like to read longer texts on the screen.

Affordances

The term "affordance" refers to controls' ability to create certain user expectations about their functions, or to "invite" users to interact with them. This way users can be lead intuitively to a certain behavior, and thus guided without using any force.

Example: Buttons "talk" to users, "click me" fields say "enter data" and so on.

Example: User tests revealed that links in tables have a stronger affordance for users to click them than icons in tables.

Implicit/Tacit Assumptions

Avoid implicit / tacit assumptions about how an application has to be interacted with. Make such assumptions explicit by displaying instructions, or using other methods, to make the interface self-explanatory!

Example: In an application users could only cancel an order by providing a reason for the cancellation. The users, however, were looking for a "Delete" icon to cancel the order.

Standards

Consistency makes an application easier to use, learn and re-learn. One way to achieve consistency is to adhere to proven interface standards as they are laid down in style guides.

Therefore, refrain from too much creativity in interaction design, and adhere to the standards - your users will appreciate this! They expect your application to function in certain ways. Do not surprise them!

Note: The infamous word from developers "Style guide? Never read it!" is out!

Complexity

Do not put elements onto your screen that are unnecessary and "might" be used by some unknown users! Those unnecessary elements shift the relation between foreground and background information so that users have difficulties in finding the elements they need.

Example: Do not put seldom or never used fields on the screen!

Example: Do not display table columns that are not generally needed!

Hint: Provide access to rarely used fields or table columns if users occasionally really need to see them. However, you can make this access a little bit harder without harming most users.

Note: The infamous quote "The final selection of fields / table column will be done when the system is customized" is no valid excuse for a bad interface design! This quote just serves as a justification for imposing the design on the customer!

Feedback

Provide feedback to the users regarding

the current state of the processing,
how correct user entries are,
the consequences of possible user actions.

If users know what is going on and what might happen, they feel much happier and find the system easier to use.

Example: Display the progress of a process (for example, of a copy process).

Example: Indicate how far the user is in a procedure that consists of a number of steps.

Example: Provide a preview for possible settings and options (for example, a diagram assistant might provide a preview of the diagram in case certain settings are selected).

Example: Tell users about the consequences of actions, especially if the consequences might be severe for the users (for example, tell the users what will happen if they hit the "Order Now" button).

(Re-)Learning

(Re-)Learning is made easier through...

understandability of the user interface
- for beginners, and
- for casual users
simple and consistent interaction rules
- Similar or equal procedures should always work the same way!
- But note: Sometimes consistent and simple rules may lead to less efficient procedures. However, users often remember only the simple rules and do not use the efficient procedures.

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