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SWE205 Review

SWE205 Review. Spring 2014. Why is software unusable?. Users are no longer trained. Why? Feature creep Inherently hard: a problem of communication Designed inside-out. Give some examples of the 7±2 rule in a software interface. Items in a menu Options in a command line interface

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SWE205 Review

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  1. SWE205 Review Spring 2014

  2. Why is software unusable? • Users are no longer trained. Why? • Feature creep • Inherently hard: a problem of communication • Designed inside-out

  3. Give some examples of the 7±2 rule in a software interface • Items in a menu • Options in a command line interface • Steps in a process? • What do we do if there are more than 7 options? • But how do you decide on divisions?

  4. 5 criteria for measuring usability • Time to learn • Speed of performance • Rate of user error • Skill retention • Subjective satisfaction • List a product where each one is the most important • List one way each can be improved

  5. 9 golden usability principles • Consistency • What if newer is better? • Shortcuts • Where? How many? • Feedback • Examples • Closure • Error handling • Components of a good error message? • Undo • What if we can’t undo? • Customization • Reduce short term memory load • More knowledge in the world? • Design for the user • Explain each one of these on/for Amazon.com

  6. Knowledge • Declarative vs procedural • Memorization versus a deeper understanding • Humans are imprecise; a UI must not require it • Manifest model: • Implementation: network protocols • Mental : files • Manifest model: local disk • How does a user know what to do • Transfer knowledge, seek instructions

  7. Hypertext engineering • What are images used for? • Animation? • Scrolling? (how to avoid vertical?) • Frames? • What should I do with a link?

  8. Nielsen’s top 10 mistakes. Fixes? • Bad search • PDFs • Link color after visit • Text blocks • Fixed font size • Un-findable pages • Ads • Violating conventions • Opening new windows • Not answering the user’s questions

  9. How to speed up web interaction? • Create clear visual hierarchy • Take advantage of conventions • Shopping cart, etc. • Break pages up with borders and colors • Make what’s clickable obvious • Minimize noise • How do we measure speed?

  10. Six elements of persistent navigation • Site ID • Link home • Search • Sections • Utilities • Current indicators • On all pages, except?

  11. How to make the UI disappear? • Defaults should be most likely (or used) • 40% versus 20,000 bytes • Indicate status • Don’t use dialog boxes for normal behavior • Don’t ask questions, give choices • Make dangerous choices hard to reach

  12. Elements of a good homepage • Same as normal webpages, plus: • Teasers • Registration • Deals • Establish credibility and trust • Taglines

  13. Elements of good navigation • Don’t use multiple windows • Tabbed panes • Toolbars versus menus? • Avoid scrolling and linking • Breadcrumbs • Persistent screen objects

  14. Elements of good data entry • Knowledge in the world • Use constraints • Design for error • Make software immune from bad data • Automatic repair • Ignore invalid characters • Modeless feedback for missing data

  15. What are the four types of dialog boxes? Types of widgets and tradeoffs? • Property • Function • Bulletin • Process

  16. HTML review • Let’s build a homepage together!

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