Subject:
Step-by-Step Interface Design
What Happens After
Testing?
Derek Sisson, the User Experience Manager for Borders
Online, devotes a web site called
philosophe.com
to quality in site
design. He believes that quality is a natural result of proper planning and
usability testing.
To stress this point, he quotes
Software for Use:
A Practical Guide to the Models and Methods of Usage-Centered Design
, by
Larry L. Constantine and Lucy A. D. Lockwood.
"A common outcome of usability testing, however
refined and successful, is that many of the findings end up being ignored. The
same can often be said for the recommendations of usability and user interface
design experts when their opinions are sought relatively late in the
development
process. In either case, the problems uncovered often do not get corrected
because the necessary changes are deemed to be too extensive or expensive.
Those
changes that do get made are likely to be more superficial ones because those
are the easiest to effect in completed code. The end result is that relatively
superficial or cosmetic changes are made to solve deeper problems that are
actually architectural in nature."
Designing in Quality
In this short article, Sisson looks at the big
picture, describing the highlights of a development cycle. He provides some
direction for the following tasks.
Form an empowered team.
Decide on - and agree to - a plan.
Identify and understand your
customers.
Architect your
information space for the user.
Define the Requirements and Specifications.
Document your standards and
styles.
Design an interface
for the user.
Site Design: Designing in Quality
http://www.philosophe.com/design/design.html
--------------------------------------------------
Interaction Design Techniques
In this second article, Sisson describes difficulties
faced by developers of e-commerce interfaces. He suggests techniques for
presenting choices and handling data that can also be used in software process
applications.
Topics include:
Designers Work Hard, So Users Don't Have To
Provide Plenty of Choices
Use Predictive Logic
Remove Obstructions
Accommodate Common
Behaviors
Provide a
Reasonable and Appropriate Interface
Common Sense Rules for Interaction Design
http://www.philosophe.com/design/interaction.html
