Interaction Design Flashcards
Interaction Design
Interaction Design involves designing interactive products to support the way people communicate and interact in their everyday and working lives.
Determining Usability
Many ways, taught throughout this course
Interaction design process
Expert-led / rule-based methods, such as Heuristic Evaluation
8 Golden Rules for Interface Design
Strive for consistency
Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
Offer informative feedback
Design dialogs to yield closure
Offer simple error handling
Permit easy reversal of actions
Support internal locus of control
Reduce short-term memory load
Strive for Consistency
Consistent sequences of actions in similar situations
Identical terminology used in prompts, menus, and help screens
Consistent commands employed throughout
Design System
A Design System is a complete set of standards intended to manage design at scale using reusable components and patterns.
Components of Design Systems
Style guide
Pattern Library
Component Library
Enabling Shortcuts for Frequent Users
Frequency of use increases desire to reduce interactions and increase pace
Utilize abbreviations, function keys, hidden commands, and macro facilities
Offer Informative Feedback
For every action, provide system feedback.
Feedback should answer questions like “What is it doing now?” and “What action has been performed?”
Feedback needs to be immediate and synchronized with user actions.
Informative Feedback for Infrequent and Major Actions
Key Points:
For infrequent and major actions, provide more substantial responses.
Ensure the feedback is informative and guides the user through the process effectively.
Types of Informative Feedback
Visual: Examples include lights or written messages.
Audible: Examples include beeps or clicks.
Haptic: Examples include vibration.
Timeframes for Informative Feedback
0.1 sec:
Cause and effect: Respond to mouse click, key press, etc.
1.0 sec:
Intermediate: Open a window, etc.
2-10 sec:
Intermediate: Perform calculations, image processing, etc.
10 sec:
Longer tasks: Wake up machine, load file, copy files, start printing, etc.
Design Dialogs to Yield Closure
Key Points:
Action sequences should have a beginning, middle, and end.
Informative feedback at the completion of a group of actions gives operators the satisfaction of accomplishment.
Design Dialogs to Yield Closure
Key Points:
Group actions should have:
Explicit completion of an action
Well-defined options for the next step.
Offer Simple Error Handling
Key Points:
Design the system to prevent serious errors whenever possible.
Examples include:
Lifts: Can’t open doors until they stop.
Aircraft: Can’t reverse thrust unless landing gear is down.
Restrictions in User ID Systems and Drop-down Calendars
Examples:
Some user ID systems only allow specific combinations of characters.
Drop-down calendars only allow users to enter valid dates.
Error Detection and Handling
Key Points:
The system should be able to detect errors.
Provide simple and comprehensible mechanisms for handling errors when they occur.
Permit Easy Reversal of Actions
Key Points:
Actions should be reversible whenever possible.
Examples include:
Trash can / recycling bin.
Edit-undo feature.
Let the user know they can reverse an action.
Prevent Irreversible Actions
Key Points:
Avoid making important irreversible actions easy to perform.
Ask for confirmation wherever possible without being annoying or overprotective.
Support Internal Locus of Control
Definition:
In personality psychology, locus of control is the degree to which people believe that they have control over the outcome of events.
Support Internal Locus of Control
Key Points:
Users want to feel in control.
Anxiety and dissatisfaction can occur when the feeling of control is lost, such as:
Surprising interface actions.
Tedious actions.
Difficulty in performing actions.
Lag.
