250 likes | 352 Views
Design Guidelines for Better 3G User Interfaces Matthias Schneider ETSI STF322 msch@acm.org. Topics. ETSI The work of ETSI Specialist Task Force 322 Introduction Tasks Sample Guidelines
E N D
Design Guidelines for Better 3G User InterfacesMatthias Schneider ETSI STF322 msch@acm.org
Topics • ETSI • The work of ETSI Specialist Task Force 322 • Introduction • Tasks • Sample Guidelines The work carried out is co-financed by the EC/EFTA in response to the EC’s ICT Standardisation Work Programme.
ETSI The home of the GSM™ standards… … and ISDN, DECT, DAB, DVB …
ETSI …and a founding Partner in
What is ETSI? • ETSI, the European Telecommunication Standards Institute • A European standards organization, active in all ICT areas • Independent, non-profit, created in 1988 • 700 members from 60 countries on 5 continents • Officially recognized and co-funded by the EU & EFTA • Setting globally-applicable standards for: • Telecommunications (in general) • Radio communications (especially mobile) • Broadcasting, and • Related topics • Offering direct participation of all members • More than 18,000 publications → all available for free at www.etsi.org
We need standards to ensure: • Compatibility of equipment and services from different suppliers • Full interoperability • Transfer of learning • Accessibility to equipment and services • Better safety and security • Load sharing, cost saving, co-operation of competitors
The “Usability Gap” • “Featurism” - product complexity increasing • Range of mobile technology users broadening – from children to elderly and disabled
Decreasing the “Usability Gap” • Possible ways to decrease complexity include: • understanding of user needs, • excellent user interfaces, • Innovation, • simplicity of setup and configuration, • personalization capabilities, • ease of operation. • Also the “usability gap” can be helped by: • technological advances, e.g. natural interaction/direct manipulation • speech recognition, touch screens • ICT maturity.
Guidelines for generic UI elements? For mobile??? • 12-key keypad character repertoire, key mapping and sorting • Inconsistent, expensive, time-consuming, irrelevant as a mean for competition, confusing to the user • ETSI Standard for 28 languages, expanded to 101 • Spoken command vocabulary • A considerable effort • ETSI Standard for 12 languages, expanded to 30 • Accessibility design guidelines, Multimodal design guidelines • … • Generic UI design guidelines • 2G and GPRS • 3G and HSPA (under development)
Rationale for generic UI elements (1/3) • Manufacturers differentiate their products through industrial and screen design, feature sets and UIs • Generic UI elements are accepted • in safety-relevant products (e.g. cars), • for products to be used by many people (products in public or work environments), and • In UIs following de-facto standards (GUIs in PC software or musical instruments).
Rationale for generic UI elements (2/3) • Generic UI elements result from • De-facto standards (e.g. GUIs), and from • official standardisation (e.g. keypad arrangement on public phones). • Generic UI elements potentially benefit all, • end users, • manufacturers, and • service providers. • Can facilitate the uptake of new and emerging technologies and user interfaces, e.g.: • ETSI ES 202 130 Character repertoires, ordering rules and keypad assignment (under expansion) • ETSI ES 202 076 Generic spoken command vocabulary (under expansion)
Rationale for generic UI elements (3/3) • Basic considerations of what makes a UI area a candidate for generic UI elements: • No barrier to innovation • No obstacle to good product-specific user interfaces • Only the semantic of a generic user-interface element should be specified, not the actual design and implementation • End-user aspects, such as learnability, familiarity, trust, configuration and access • Commercial aspects (quicker uptake of new technologies, larger user base) • Legal requirements and possible regulation
EG 202 132: GSM and GPRS-specific Guidelines • Terminology, symbols, acoustic signals and user guides • Configuration for service access, interworking, portability and error handling (now superseded by EG 202 416 the Setup guidelines) • Terminal and network related generic UI elements • Service and application specific UI elements
ETSI STF 322 (The 3G Guide) • Co-funded by the EC/EFTA • Leader: • Bruno von Niman (ITS (SE), vonniman consulting) • Experts: • Pekka Ketola (Nokia) • David Williams (Motorola/Majire/Asentio Design) • Matthias Schneider (Siemens/BenQ Mobile/Nokia Group) • Follow up EG 202 132 (STF231), focusing on the 3G-specific aspects • Time plan: • Set up in 2006, work started in 2007 • Final draft deliverable ready (TB approval) on September 22, 2008 • ETSI publication foreseen in December 2008
Scope of the 3G work (1/2) • Simplify end-user access to ICT services for end users and consumers from mobile 3G/UMTS telecommunication terminals • without restricting the ability of market players to further improve and develop their terminals, services and applications. • Expand scope of EG 202 132, “Human Factors: Guidelines for Generic Mobile User Interface Elements for Mobile Terminals and Services” (August 2004) • to 3G specific issues • Address specific and important 3G key issues from the end user's perspective • providing guidance on proposed generic user interface elements for basic and advanced mobile terminals, services and applications, including their accessibility.
Scope of the 3G work (2/2) • Consider user requirements and integrate available results of standardisation work • providing implementation oriented guidance. • Do not restrict ability of market players • to further improve and develop their devices and services. • Do not limit options to trademark UI elements or profile the user experience • of brand‑specific user interface implementations as a competitive edge. • Provide guidance on simplifying end-user access to basic and selected advanced functions of mobile communication services from mobile communication devices.
3G/UMTS specifics addressed by the 3G work (in DEG 202 972) (1/2) • Introduction of the present draft • Scope, methodology, topics • Approach • Collaboration with industry • Work plan and time schedule • Requirement collection • Dissemination plan • Reference group • Consensus building process, workshops and activities • Infrastructure and device-related guidelines (chapter 5) • 5.1 Managing quality of service and cost of connectivity • 5.2 Internet access • 5.3 Always-on, always on-line • 5.4 Specialized UIs • (Terminology, symbols and auditory signals)
3G/UMTS specifics addressed by the 3G work (in DEG 202 972) (2/2) • Guidelines for services, media and applications (chapter 6) • 6.1 Data-intensive services and applications • 6.2 Distributed, non-device-native (local and remote) UIs • 6.3 Customization, personalization and operator-bundled packages • 6.4 Services of public interest (societal services/ services to the public) • 6.5 Mobile Internet development guidelines • (Terminology, symbols and auditory signals) • Guidelines for other (related) areas (chapter 7) • 7.1 Application installation and software updates • 7.2 Computer access • 7.3 IMS-based application guidelines • 7.4 3G-enabled accessibility applications • 7.5 In-car use • (Terminology, symbols and auditory signals)
UI design guidelines for connectivity issues • Provide user support for finding the optimal connection (cost, speed, reliability). • If an existing used connection is closed, provide the reason for this to the user. • In roaming situations, explain to the user which network provides 3G bandwidth and data rates for Internet access. • Each application should clearly indicate its connectivity options and on-line status at all times. • Network changes should not require user involvement if there are no cost implications. • Transmission efficiency should be considered (e.g. the use of compressed, lower-resolution pictures) and, when reasonable, optimized for the browser. • If content cannot be displayed due to missing browser plug-ins this should be indicated to the user. • If dedicated browsers are used (e.g for YouTube content), their limitations should be indicated to the user.
UI design guidelines for cost and data rate/QoS issues • The cost of using data-intensive applications should be made clear prior to the application being activated. • The charging scheme for data transmission should be made clear to the user. • Roaming charges should, to the largest possible extent, be indicated to the user. • If an application depends on minimum data rates (e.g. location based information services) the available data rate should be indicated to the user and insufficient data rates should be clearly flagged. • Functional application limitations due to roaming should be indicated to the user. • All applications should “degrade gracefully” if the available data-rate decreases. • An option for limiting cost of data transfer should be available at all times. User-controlled cancellation of data transfer when reaching this limit should be a standard feature of the device. • Indicate if the available QoS does not support or is insufficient for usage of the intended service. • Show the availability of networks in a way which helps users understand their QoS. • Allow users to adjust QoS parameters in whatever way they wish (as long as it does not compromise basic applications such as voice call). • Help users to make an informed choice of available networks by offering QoS and related cost information, such as special tarrifing. • QoS should be shown in relation to the services that it enables, rather than in abstract forms.
UI design guidelines dealing with device functionality and coordination issues • Emergency call functionality should always be available and prioritized. • Applications and services should still be useful to the user in off-line mode. If this is not possible the status of the applications should be communicated to the user • Indicate delays caused by running parallel applications. • Indicate delays caused by connection limitations • Applications not available in off-line mode should be clearly marked. • Indicate power consumption and remaining battery lifetime based on current estimates. • Indicate if data may be unavailable in off-line mode. • Mobile Web content should be mobileOK compliant
Sample UI design guidelines related to device limitations • Provide UI functionality for an overview and the zooming of pages larger than the available display. • Ensure that controls for zooming and scrolling are always available to the user. • Provide alternate means to navigate the data displayed on the device. • Provide means to control data storage (local/remote). • Clearly indicate where data is stored in the system. • Ensure that software updates are not interrupted through network failures in unrecoverable failure mode.
UI design guidelines dealing with privacy issues in 3G networks • The security and protection status of a data connection should be displayed. • External attempts to tamper with secure data connections should be indicated to the user. • The user should always be in control of any access rights to sensitive and private data. • Indicate unavailability of secure data connection to protected data. • The reasons for unavailability of protected data connections should be indicated to the user. • The user should be in control of which personal data is made available to other parties (e.g. location information of the device).
Thank you! QUESTIONS? msch@acm.org The work carried out here is co-financed by the EC/EFTA, in response to the EC’s ICT Standardisation Work Programme.