Designing Interfaces and Dialogues

Question 1

The deliverable and outcome from system interface and dialogue design

Answer 1

design specification document
1. Narrative overview
2. Sample design
3. Testing and usability assessment
4-a section outlining the dialogue sequence

Question 2

Interface

Answer 2

A method by which users interact with an information system.

Question 3

human-computer interfaces must have

Answer 3

1- have an interaction style, and

2- use some hardware device(s) for supporting this interaction.

Question 4

Methods of Interacting

Answer 4

• Command line
• Menu
• Form
• Object-based
• Natural language

Question 5

Command language interaction

Answer 5

A human–computer interaction method whereby users enter explicit statements into a system to invoke operations.
Command language interaction places a substantial burden on the user to remember names, syntax, and operations.

Question 6

Menu interaction

Answer 6

A human–computer interaction method in which a list of system options is provided and a specific command is invoked by user selection of a menu option.
user only needs to understand simple signposts and route options to effectively navigate through a system.

Question 7

common methods for positioning menus.

Answer 7

1- Pop-up menu: a menu-positioning method that places a menu near the current cursor position
2- Drop-down menu is a menu-positioning method that places the access point of the menu near the top line of the display.
When accessed, menus open by dropping down onto the display.

Question 8

Guidelines for Menu Design

Answer 8

• Wording — meaningful titles, clear command verbs, mixed upper/lower case
• Organization — consistent organizing principle
• Length — all choices fit within screen length
• Selection — consistent, clear and easy selection methods
• Highlighting — only for selected options or unavailable options

Question 9

Form interaction

Answer 9

a highly intuitive human-computer interaction method whereby data fields are formatted in a manner similar to paper-based forms
Allows users to fill in the blanks when working with a system.

Question 10

Object-based interaction

Answer 10

a human-computer interaction method in which symbols are used to represent commands or functions
Use little screen space and are easily understood by users

Question 11

Icons

Answer 11

graphical pictures that represent specific functions within a system

Question 12

Natural language interaction

Answer 12

a human-computer interaction method whereby inputs to and outputs from a computer-based application are in a conventional spoken language such as English
Based on research in artificial intelligence
Current implementations are tedious and difficult to work with, not as viable as other interaction methods.

Question 13

Hardware Options for System Interaction

Answer 13

Touch screen
Light Pen
Graphics Tablet
Voice
Keyboard
Mouse
Joystick
Trackball

Question 14

Usability Problems with Hardware Devices

Answer 14

Visual Blocking
Extent to which device blocks display when using
User Fatigue
Potential for fatigue over long use
Movement Scaling
Extent to which device movement translates to equivalent screen movement
Durability
Lack of durability or need for maintenance (e.g., cleaning) over extended use
Adequate Feedback
Extent to which device provides adequate feedback for each operation
Speed
Cursor movement speed
Pointing Accuracy
Ability to precisely direct cursor

Question 15

Common sources of data entry errors in a field

Answer 15

Appending: adding additional characters
Truncating: losing characters
Transcripting: entering invalid data
Transposing: reversing sequence of characters

Question 16

types of system feedback

Answer 16

1. Status information
2. Prompting cues
3. Error or warning messages

Question 17

Guidelines for designing usable help:

Answer 17

Simplicity — Help messages should be short and to the point.
Organize — Information in help messages should be easily absorbed by users.
Show — It is useful to explicitly show users how to perform an operation.

Question 18

Dialogue

Answer 18

the sequence of interaction between a user and a system

Question 19

Dialogue design involves:

Answer 19

Designing a dialogue sequence.
Building a prototype.
Assessing usability

Question 20

Guidelines for Designing Human-Computer Dialogues

Answer 20

Consistency
Shortcuts and Sequence
Feedback
Closure
Error Handling
Reversal
Control
Ease

Question 21

Dialogue diagramming

Answer 21

A formal method for designing and representing human–computer dialogues using box and line diagrams.

Question 22

sections of the box used in dialogue diagramming

Answer 22

1. Top: Contains a unique display reference number used by other displays for referencing it.
2. Middle: Contains the name or description of the display.
3. Bottom: Contains display reference numbers that can be accessed from the current display.

Question 23

to becoming an effective GUI designer

Answer 23

1- Become an expert user of the GUI environment.
Understand how other applications have been designed.
Understand standards.
2- Understand the available resources and how they can be used.
Become familiar with standards for menus and forms.

Question 24

Cookie crumbs

Answer 24

the technique of placing “tabs” on a Web page that show a user where he or she is on a site and where he or she has been