Design Considerations
Requirements Gathering
Envisionment Methods
Evaluation
Other
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User classification
There are 3 main types of user
- Novice
- Knowledgeable / intermittent user
- Expert / frequent user
Users can however, be classified in any other way that is appropriate to
the system being built.
- Some users may have keyboard skills, others not.
- Some users may have knowledge of other similar systems, others not.
The advantages of classification mean that generalisations can be made
about users and their needs.
- This doesn’t necessarily mean that the best system has been designed
for every individual.
- It means that the system has been designed to fit the generalisations
for each user group.
The Novice
- For the novice user of a system, progress is slow because of the limitations
of working memory.
- Chunking is almost entirely absent.
- Systems used by novices require more feedback and more opportunities
for closure.
Guidelines for novice users
- All initiatives should come from the computer – the novice may
not know what is to be done
- Each required input should be brief – the shorter it is the more
likely it is to be remembered
- Input procedures should be consistent with user expectations –
humans search for patterns and will generalise
- No special training should be necessary – especially true in
the case of web or multimedia where the user is ‘on their own’
- All system messages should be clear – in the language of the
user, not the designer
- User decision should be made from a small set of options – the
more of a selection you offer, the harder it is to choose
- Users should control the pace of interaction - they need to understand
the system and feel that they can control it, and not the reverse
- User decision making should be a response to a specific request for
action – save - y/n?
- Help should always be available – tutor / book / online
- There should be sufficient feedback - closure
Knowledgeable / intermittent users
These users need consistent structures, good help facilities, good documentation.
Expert users
- These users have fast response time and will require brief feedback.
- Experts organise their knowledge according to a higher conceptual structure.
- They can recall more than novices because their knowledge is chunked.
- Expert users will look for keyboard shortcuts, abbreviated sequences.
- Experts can find constant confirmation screens irritating - Use these
only when important.
Examples
Logging on according to the experts view and the actual steps
Expert steps for logging on
- Input username
- Input password
Actual steps for logging on
- Press any key to activate screen
- Click into input box
- Input username
- Press tab or click into second input box
- Input password
- Press return
- Wait for welcome message or error message
- if welcome message then task ends
- if error message then
- repeat 2-7 or
- toggle 'caps-lock' and repeat 2-7 or
- ask for help