2. Bruce Shields
Usability Manager/ForeSee by Answers
You can contact me at:
bruce.shields@answers.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bruceshields
http://www.slideshare.net/bruce0shields
/iue-slides-2015-final
7. Best Practice is also NOT about:
➔Code
◆ The machine doesn’t matter
◆ Your users don’t care
➔ Cool
◆ “If the user can’t use it, it doesn’t work.”
● Susan Dray
11. So, what’s the Best Practice here?
➔ If you are asking users to perform a
complex task, don’t expect them to see a
gorilla at the same time
➔ If they are checking out don’t make them go
elsewhere to find a promo code, they won’t—and
won’t purchase without one
12. “Best Practice is about fitting the
interface to the user rather than
forcing the user to adapt to
technology
13. The Original List:
Visibility of system status
The system should always keep
users informed about what is going
on, through appropriate feedback
within reasonable time.
Match between system and the
real world
The system should speak the
users' language, with words,
phrases and concepts familiar to
the user, rather than system-
oriented terms.
User control and freedom
Support undo and redo.
Consistency and standards
Users should not have to wonder
whether different words, situations,
or actions mean the same thing.
Follow platform conventions.
Error prevention
Even better than good error
messages is a careful design
which prevents a problem from
occurring in the first place.
Recognition rather than recall
Minimize the user's memory load
by making objects, actions, and
options visible. The user should
not have to remember information
from one part of the dialogue to
another.
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Accelerators -- unseen by the
novice user -- may often speed up
the interaction for the expert user
such that the system can cater to
both inexperienced and
experienced users. Allow users to
tailor frequent actions.
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Dialogues should not contain
information which is irrelevant or
rarely needed.
Help users recognize, diagnose,
and recover from errors
Error messages should be
expressed in plain language (no
codes), precisely indicate the
problem, and constructively
suggest a solution.
Help and documentation
Even though it is better if the
system can be used without
documentation, it may be
necessary to provide help and
documentation. Any such
information should be easy to
search, focused on the user's task,
list concrete steps to be carried
out, and not be too large.
15. Best Practices: Existing Sites
➔ Organization:
◆ People create buckets in their heads, use them
◆ Find out how they would organize your content
➔ Don’t do this:
17. Best Practices: Existing Sites
➔ Wayfinding, users need to answer three questions:
◆ Where am I?
◆ How do I get where I need to go?
◆ What’s around me?
39. Best Practice:
It’s not about:
• UIs
• Code
• Cool
It is about:
• People
• Organization
• Wayfinding
• Consistency
Find the need!
Efficiency
Effectiveness
40. Thanks!
Any questions?
You can contact me at:
bruce.shields@answers.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bruceshields
http://www.slideshare.net/bruce0shi
elds/iue-slides-2015-final
Editor's Notes
That is not to say there aren’t BPs that apply to the interface. Talk about underlying principles.
2006 recipient of SIGCHI lifetime service. Faculty online user experience institute.
Talk about heuristics and how ours are a lot more granular.
Talk about using Best Practice to design. Automate the routine stuff to concentrate on the high level innovations.
Talk about the Everything link here.
Doug Dietz: aromatherapy pina colada. “Can we come back tomorrow.” Patient satisfaction went up 92%.
