CS4720

UsabilityandAccessibility

CS4720– MobileApplicationDevelopment

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Whatmakesagoodinterface?• Don'tsay“anythingbutSIS.”• Whatareit'scharacteristics?• HowdoyoujustKNOWthatyou'reusingsomethingthathasbeenthoughtoutproperly?

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NotJusttheUI• Theexperiencebeginswiththefirsttimeyoulaunchanapporgotoawebsite

• Thereareseveralcomponentshere– Initialimpression– Userinterface– 80/20rule(sometimesthe90/10rule)– Graphicdesign– Informationpresentation

• Allofthisaddsuptotheuserexperience(UX)

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10Rules…• 10RulestoMobileHCI

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule1:Visibilityofsystemstatus• Thesystemshouldalwayskeepusersinformedaboutwhatisgoingonthroughappropriatefeedbackwithinreasonabletime.

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule2:Matchthesystemtotherealworld• Thesystemshouldfollowreal-worldconventions,makinginformationappearinnaturalandlogicalorder.

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule3:The“uh-oh”button• Usersoftenchoosesystemfunctionsbymistake(particularlyonmobile)andwillneedaclearlymarked“emergencyexit” toleavetheunwantedstatewithouthavingtogothroughextendedsteps.

• Systemsshouldsupportundoandredo.

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule4:Consistencyandstandards• Usershouldnothavetowonderwhetherdifferentwords,situations,oractionsmeanthesamething.

• Thesystemshouldfollowplatformconventions.

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule5:Errorprevention• Addinputchecks

– Howmanydigitsinthatphonenumber?– Howmanydigitsinthatcreditcardnumber?– Aretherereally39daysinJuly?

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule6:Recognitionratherthanrecall• Aniconshouldrepresenttheactionandshouldimmediatelyrecognizableastowhatitdoes

• Partofthisisfollowingplatformstandards,partisbeingconsistentinyourownapplication

• Anaction/swipe/etc shouldbeconsistentacrossscreens

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule7:Flexibility• Accelerators,shortcuts,etc.(whichareunseenbythenoviceuser)canspeedupinteractionsfortheexpertusertosuchanextentthatthesystemcancatertobothinexperiencedandexperiencedusers.

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule8:Aestheticandminimalistdesign• Everyextraunitofinformationinadialogcompeteswiththerelevantunitsofinformationanddiminishestheirrelativevisibility.

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule9:Errorexplanations• Errormessagesshouldbeexpressedinplainlanguage(NOCODES),preciselyindicatetheproblem,andconstructivelysuggestasolution.

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EvaluatinganInterface• Rule10:Help!• Havereasonablehelpinformationavailableintheappifpossible.

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TheTenRules• 1.VisibilityofStatus• 2.System=RealWorld• 3.The“uh-oh”button• 4.ConsistencyandStandards• 5.ErrorPrevention• 6.RecognitionratherthanRecall• 7.Flexibility• 8.MinimalistDesign• 9.ErrorExplanation• 10.Help!

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SoftwareInterface

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• Let'slookatafewinterfaces

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ImageGalleries

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EmptyLists

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DescribingPlaces

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SendingMoney

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PlayingMusic

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Contacts

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OneHandorTwoHands?• Large,obviousbuttons• Controlstowardthecenterofthescreensoyoudon'thavetostretch

• Controlshavespacebetweenthemifpossible• Putonlyneededitemsonthescreen• Eliminateunnecessarywords• Maketransitionsbetweenstatesobvious• Apps:Phone,Contacts,Urbanspoon

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OneHandorTwoHands?

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• Theoretically,theuserisnotmoving,socontrolscanbemorecomplex

• Styluscontrol• Keyboardinlandscapemode(softorhard)• Moreinformationtoproces• Apps:Amazon,AllRecipes

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RulesofThumb

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• Easytraversalsbetweenstates• Audiosparingly(remember– audiomaybeturnedoff!)

• Buildfortheinputdevice(clickwheel,touchscreen,stylus)

• Provideshortcutswhenpossible• Trytousedirect-manipulationwidgetsforinputwithimmediatefeedback

• Menusmustbetailoredtothedeviceinput

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RulesofThumb• Typingisn'teasy– providewaystoremembertext

• Usecontextualinformationwheneverpossible(useGPScoordsautomaticallyinaGooglesearch,havethelastcontactupformakingaphonecall,etc)

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MyUIworksgreatnow!• Butitstilldoesn't look“slick!”• Simpleisbeautiful• Getafriendtopickoutthecolorschemeforyou.Seriously.

• Imitationisthegreatestformofflattery• Ifallelsefails…askagraphicdesignstudent• Orcheckthepatterns:

– http://sixrevisions.com/user-interface/mobile-ui-design-patterns-inspiration/

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