380 likes | 545 Views
Limiting Factors in Usability. To users, it's still the basics that count!. Who??? Jack Bellis. Or Any User.
E N D
Limiting Factors in Usability To users, it's still the basics that count!
Or Any User • “My interest in usability arose from the pain and tears of patching the wounds of suffering interface designs with the inadequate bandages of help files and user guides.”—Daniel Cohen
… words/phrases I tend to ignore are, 'make it easy' and 'make it intuitive.' These are not useful descriptions of solutions, but rather descriptions of the feelings that users have using it. It is important to listen to these statements, but they are not directions." —David Malouf
A Condensed History of Usability Reprinted for educational purposes, by permission of Mackaycartoons.net
In the beginning… … before that?
Every technological age is characterized by the precipitous drop in price of a particular commodity. —Heard on public television speech. http://zoho.com/
Google Earth TiddlyWiki.com
"Design is a process - an intimate collaboration between engineers, designers, and clients." - Henry Dreyfuss, Industrial Designer.
Improving Today’s Usability The Goal of Usability... is to eliminate the need for in-advance training.
Directness "There is always a tradeoff between the convenience of the programmer and the convenience of the user. " —I've always believed that this was from Peter Norton, but I've never been able to substantiate it.
Noise Reduction The greatest of all talents is that of not using two words when one will do. —Thomas Jefferson I’m sorry this letter is so long. I didn’t have time to make it shorter. —Abraham Lincoln http://lukew.com/
Explicitness My Mockup Recent Change
Explain Delays & Timing http://freshbooks.com/
Explain “Not” http://freshbooks.com/
For Infrequent Tasks…Put the Info Right in the Interface http://freshbooks.com/
For Repetitive Tasks…Put Instructions into Once-Only Messages
If you can’t make a • Web 2.0… • Ajax-enabled… • Dynamically-controlled… • Animated-data… • Context-intelligent system…
Do This… Give Users a Chance • Be Explicit… Direct, Accurate, Precise, Descriptive • Use Standards and Conventions • For Infrequent Tasks…Put the Info Right in the Interface • For Repetitive Tasks…Put Instructions into Once-Only Messages