Design Issues.

Transcription

1 lications Design Issues lications and s Are Different Next Info Based on eb_applications/ User Interface Design for lications: It s a Different World from Design By Jean Tillman 1

2 Think About Design Think about the Web sites you visit. What do you find there? Content Text Graphics Color Animation Glitz and gimmicks, perhaps Designed to encourage browsing, searching, and exploration Designed to attract visitors and keep them interested. Think About Software Design You use software to complete tasks Do you see exciting graphics or animation in a word processor? Exception: a game Do you browse, search, or read lots of text other than online Help? Do you need glitz or fascinating content to keep you on task? You need quick, easy, and intuitive methods to complete your tasks Think About Design Each design decision is dictated by the tasks that are the target of the project What are the main tasks performed by the intended users? Which tasks are parts of other tasks? Which h tasks are performed linearly? l Which tasks are performed repeatedly in a single session? What user assistance (online Help) is needed each step of the way? Which tasks are performed frequently and which infrequently? Would users prefer to have the tasks organized by frequency of use or by the order in which they re performed? 2

3 Can Best Practices be Transferred to s? Visited links Web site users visit pages within the site They need to remember which pages they have already visited Important to distinguish which pages have been visited Specify a color for unvisited links and another color for the visited links Web app users do not visit pages They perform tasks such as entering data into forms Not important to distinguish which pages have been visited Specify the same color for the unvisited links as for the visited links Frames Frames wreak havoc with a web site user s mental model of Web pages why? Web site users cannot bookmark properly with frames Web site users cannot grab a specific URL to send to a coworker Thus, frames are to be avoided for web sites Web app users don t generally bookmark Web app users don t usually ygrab a specific URL to send to a coworker Thus, frames may make more sense for a web app Conduct thorough usability testing prior to full implementation 3

4 Searching Many content-based Web sites are designed with searching in mind Special strategies are used to facilitate searching and browsing Web apps do not necessarily involve searching except in the online help system Special strategies are to facilitate searching aren t needed for Web app For Web app, focus on ease of navigation and intuitive form design Page titles Unique page titles enable users to identify the page in Favorites Univque page titles provide context for users who land on the page from outside Facilitates Bookmarking pages Favorites does not apply to a Web app Landing in the middle of a Web app generally does not apply Bookmarking pages within a Web app is not useful Maybe use the same page title on every page to indicate the application name and version? Hypertext vs. Predetermined Path Users jump from page to page via hypertext links The more interconnected the content the better Users proceed through pages as they perform tasks Tasks may require predetermined paths through pages Changing pages may require additional application processing Design must focus on navigation among and through tasks 4

5 Scrolling Small number of long pages or a large number of short pages? How data-entry-intensive is the application? How long does it take for the pages to download? Cumbersome to scroll through a form while filling out the fields Moving from page to page may require lots of background application processing which causes the pages to download slowly (in which case, users may prefer one long form) A design choice best made with the help of usability testing Cross-browser Considerations Use browser-safe colors Avoid browser-specific capabilities Perform thorough testing of pages on many browsers and browser levels Offer text-only pages for ancient browsers Web app designers may have more control over the target environment Perhaps specify a required browser Gives more freedom of design, more choices for implementing browserspecific capabilities Browser Toolbar Buttons User expectations The Back button displays the previously visited page The refresh button reloads the page from the server Using Back and Refresh buttons within a Web app sometimes yields unexpected results Some Web apps disable these buttons or hide the standard toolbar on the browser Design issue: provide alternate methods so users can move among pages without browser buttons and in the manner required by the app 5

6 Pulldown Navigation Menus Many web site navigation schemes use cascading menus The top or side of the page lists choices that, when moused over or clicked on, open successive levels of submenus Cascading menus may cause serious technical glitches when used in conjunction with web forms A main menu like that of traditional applications may be preferred Or a pulldown menu navigation schemes to negate the need for a whole page devoted to a menu Other Design Considerations for Web Apps Product overview information or online Help for new users? useful for novices may annoy advanced users Help information should be readily available from all pages System statistics or other live data? May require additional application processing which can add to the page download time Other Design Considerations for Web Apps Splash Screen? Help conceptual or background information about the application and how to use it To what end in a web app? context-sensitive help for pages or individual fields of a form wording of system messages and links to more information about how to correct problems Home page or no home page? Concept of the Home page came about with the advent of the Web Does not exist in traditional application design Web-based user interface does not imply Home page Designers may find it s best to leave it out, if users can readily understand what to do on the start page 6

7 End of lications Design Issues 7