Upload
lionel-walsh
View
216
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
AS Level ICT
Health and safety guidelines covering the design and introduction of new
software
Creating less stressful software
• Ergonomically designed software is easier and less stressful to use
• Software designers can make software less stressful by:– Ensuring that the software is as bug-free as
possible– Ensuring that the text size and font chosen make
information easy to read– Ensuring that information is displayed on screen
in a logical way– Ensuring that the software is intuitive i.e. it
behaves in a way that the user would expect
Creating less stressful software
• Software designers can make software less stressful by:– Ensuring that the help screens provide
information that does actually help the user– Ensuring that the number of keystrokes or clicks
required to operate the software is kept to a minimum
– Ensuring that any music or animations can be switched off or skipped
– Ensuring that appropriate shortcuts are used to reduce the number of keystrokes or clicks required
Creating less stressful software
• Other things that can be done to improve software design:– The provision of a help desk that users can
consult if they have problems– Proper training of users when new software is
introduced– The provision fault logging procedures so that
problems that arise can be corrected
Designing less stressful software
• Ensuring that the order information appears on screen is logical, with the most important always appearing first
• Ensuring that all software is fully tested before it is introduced
• Minimal use of the mouse by the use of drop-down and pop-up menus
• The use of consistent design• Positioning buttons, menus, etc., where the user
will expect to find them• The use of simple, easy to understand help
screens
Examples of consistent design in toolbars
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Access
Note the use of GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) or Icons that are common to all the toolbars
Examples include:
Fast Save, Print, and Print Preview
Help
Examples of GUIs used with a toolbar
GUIs or Icons that
will activate particular tools on a Toolbar
Fast Save
Clipboard
Text Justification
Examples of drop-down menus
Note that options that are not available are ‘greyed’ or ‘ghosted’
Examples of pop-up menus
The Microsoft Windows ‘Start’ Menu pops up when the ‘Start’ button is pressed The ‘AutoShapes’ Menu
in Microsoft Word pops up when the ‘AutoShapes’ button is pressed
Example of a key driven interface
This example is taken from the Microsoft Word Toolbar
Besides being able to select a command by clicking on the appropriate word with a mouse, these options can also be selected by the use of the keyboard
For example:
Pressing the ‘Alt’ and ‘f’ keys at the same time selects the File option
Pressing the ‘Alt’ and ‘o’ keys together at the same time selects the Format option
AS Level ICT
Health and safety guidelines covering the design and introduction of new
software