Unit Notes

ICAICT420A Develop client user interface

Topic 2 – Design and document user interface

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ICAICT420A Develop client user interface

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ICAICT420A Develop client user interface

Table of Contents

Getting Started with ICAICT420A Develop client user interface ....................................... 4

2.1 Design menu structures according to requirements and acceptance criteria and following design principles ................................................................................................. 5

Principles of user interface design ...................................................................................... 5

Activity 2.1 .......................................................................................................................... 6

Check Your Understanding ................................................................................................. 7

2.2 Design screen dialogues according to requirements and acceptance criteria and following design principles ................................................................................................. 7

Dialogue design .................................................................................................................. 7

Activity 2.2 .......................................................................................................................... 9

Check Your Understanding ................................................................................................. 9

2.3 Design batch procedures where appropriate to technical specifications and acceptance criteria ............................................................................................................. 10

Batch processing .............................................................................................................. 10

Using Batch Processes ..................................................................................................... 10

Activity 2.3 ........................................................................................................................ 11

Batch processing is used for measuring application performance. What might be the setback for this? ............................................................................................................... 11

Check Your Understanding ............................................................................................... 11

2.4 Design online help and tutorials for the prototype following design principles ...... 11

The First Step is to Prototype............................................................................................ 11

Designing Online Help and Tutorials ................................................................................. 12

Activity 2.4 ........................................................................................................................ 13

Check Your Understanding ............................................................................................... 13

2.5 Document prototype according to organisational goals ........................................... 13

Deliverables ...................................................................................................................... 14

Display Rules and Messaging ........................................................................................... 14

Activity 2.5 ........................................................................................................................ 14

Check Your Understanding ............................................................................................... 15

2.6 Submit prototype to appropriate person for sign-off..................................................... 15

Activity 2.6 ........................................................................................................................ 15

Answers to Activities: ........................................................................................................ 16

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ICAICT420A Develop client user interface

Getting Started with ICAICT420A Develop client user interface Welcome to ICAICT420A Develop client user interface. This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to design and document a client user interface that integrates with front end applications.

Reading notes The unit notes cover the following elements:

Part 1: Design menu structures according to requirements and acceptance criteria and following design principles Part 2: Design screen dialogues according to requirements and acceptance criteria and following design principles Part 3: Design batch procedures where appropriate to technical specifications and acceptance criteria Part 4: Design online help and tutorials for the prototype following design principles Part 5: Document prototype according to organisational goals Part 6: Submit prototype to appropriate person for sign-off

It is important to remember that the system environment which applies to the notes in this topic is diverse and can be used for any application – whether web-based or stand-alone; business, computers, financial/ information/ management systems, network and so on.

Using the Unit Notes

Icons and symbols are used throughout the guide to provide quick visual references. They indicate the following:

Icon Meaning Icon Meaning

ACTIVITY: An activity is listed to be completed

ACTIVITY: A Learning activity requiring some physical action

WWW: A web link is listed REFLECTION: A point is to be considered and thought about more deeply

IMPORTANT: A pivotal point is detailed

SEARCH: A particular item / book etc needs to be found and applied

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ICAICT420A Develop client user interface

2.1 Design menu structures according to requirements and acceptance criteria and following design principles

Make your website Consistent Since the design of your user interface has just as much emphasis on usability as the information on the web pages, users should not be guessing what to do to make something work on the site. E.g. if you chose to have drop-down menus, continue to use them throughout the website. Remember, command and menus should have the same format.

Two main factors to consider with menu selection:

User efforts and errors are minimised Large numbers and combinations of choices leads to confusion

As discussed previously, the study of cognition which discusses short and long term memory applies once more. The menu makes efficient use of short term memory and provides fast access to a list of commands that do not have to be remembered. We also discussed the rule of thumb for numbers of items of information which the average user can hold onto at any one time. Therefore, users will find it difficult to remember contents of a menu with over ten items. This avoids clutter on a graphical user interface.

Generally, the design principles which help govern a menu structure are consistency, ease of learning, familiarity, responsiveness, protection, user compatibility and product compatibility.

Principles of user interface design These principles are intended to improve the quality of user interface design. According to Larry Constantine and Lucy Lockwood in their usage-centered design, these principles include:

• The structure principle: This dictates that user interface design should be organised purposefully, has proper meaning and is based on clear, consistent models which are obvious and recognisable to users. It also need to put related items together and separate unrelated things. This principle is concerned with overall user interface architecture.

• The simplicity principle: The design should provide for simple, common tasks to be easy whilst communicating clearly in the user's own language apart from providing shortcuts which are meaningfully related to longer procedures.

• The visibility principle: The design ought to ensure that all needed options and materials for a given task are visible without distracting the user with extra or redundant information. Good designs will not overwhelm users with alternatives or confuse them with unneeded information.

• The feedback principle: This principle dictates that users be informed of actions or interpretations, changes of state or condition, and errors or exceptions that are relevant and of interest to the user through clear, concise, and unambiguous language which is familiar to users.

• The tolerance principle: The design ought to be flexible and tolerant thereby reducing the cost of mistakes and misuse by allowing undoing and redoing. This principle also prevents errors wherever possible by accepting varied inputs and sequences and by interpreting all reasonable actions.

• The reuse principle: Reusing internal and external components and behaviors in the design will help maintain consistency with purpose and reduce the need for users to rethink and remember thus reducing the need for long term memory retention (LTM).

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At minimum, a menu displays a list of menu items whereby most include titles that indicate the type of items which are in the list. It is important to choose menu item names that are accurate and informative so that users can predict the outcome of choosing an item.

The fundamental difference between menus and forms is that menus offer the user a more constrained choice from a limited number of options. This helps with protection of information on the web site (or application) and users can direct their activities and this reminds them of their options. With this, it is important to keep menu items no longer than two words. The idea is that users should be able to quickly scan down the list of pages (or commands) available.

** Note: where a page title is longer than the workings used in menu items, a designer can mirror this closely.

Some situations/strengths of menu-driven interaction for consideration:

It is used in context where users are semi-skilled Where the system constrains interaction, also where users are liable to make

mistakes Where there is a high level of keystroke error rate Usage in educational software

Some weaknesses that affect menu-driven interaction:

If there is a requirement for time critical task whereby one can get lost and be under pressure

When there is limited communication bandwidth or poor presentation hardware

Users with reduced motor skills can find dropdown menus hard to use if responsiveness is set too fast.

There are many ways to design a menu structure. Some content management systems allow for designers to use their menu module to create nested menu trees. Sometimes, this menu module can be a hindrance to get the effect and responsiveness that the designer is looking for.

Design Aims for Menus

Having a clear structure – complexity of placing menus within menus and its relationships with the items in the menu

Clear labeling of categories – organisation according to guidelines (design principles and acceptance criteria)

Appropriate breadth and depth – sometimes this involves a trade-off. Designers can make all menu options available from a top level display. This will in turn increase the breadth of the structure and force users to remember the location of each menu item within a category. Alternatively, items can be in sub-menus and this will increase the depth of the structure. Here it is advisable to use category information to access

Simple selection procedure – it is important that users can easily select the most common options.

In summary, go through the website to ensure it has consistent tools on it so once the user understands how to navigate the site, he or she can maneuver through easily as it meets the requirements of usage and acceptance criteria plus follows the required design principles.

Activity 2.1

Research on the site structure and understand how to design menus. http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/3-information-architecture/3-site-structure.html

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Search: For this unit of study, you may use any software which you’re comfortable with and this can range from Adobe products such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Fireworks, Muse, or some free tools which you can explore. Others include: http://www.carettasoftware.com/guidesignstudio/

Additional tools for consideration;

Prototyper Free Edition - with working hyperlinks for prototypes and wireframes: http://www.justinmind.com/prototyper/download

Wire framing Tools for download: http://www.onextrapixel.com/2012/05/11/7-non-web-based-wireframe-tools/

Easy to use Mind Map tool: http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download

Check Your Understanding I can now

❒ Design menu structures according to requirements and acceptance criteria and

following design principles

2.2 Design screen dialogues according to requirements and acceptance criteria and following design principles

Dialogue design A dialogue is typically the communication between a computer and a user. Three important points to consider when discussing dialogues:

Meaningful communication – user understands the information that is presented. This also includes easy to use help screens.

Minimal user action – this can be achieved by:

o Enter only data that are not stored on files/ database

o Not requiring user to enter editing characters

o Supplying default values on entry screens

o Providing inquiry programs with short entry fields

o Providing context-sensitive menus, displayed when the right mouse button is clicked on an item/object

Standard operation and consistency – this can be achieved by:

o Keeping standard information, use of icons, keystrokes in the same location for all screens as an example.

o Providing consistent use of terminology within a screen or website, consistent font alignment, size and colour on a web page. Provide a consistent way to navigate through the dialogue. E.g. using tab control dialogue boxes which is a feature of GUI (Graphical User Interface) design.

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o Also, tab control dialogue boxes should have logically grouped functions on each tab and each tab should have OK, Cancel or Apply with Help buttons where applicable.

“Dialogue design focuses on the contents of specific screens, while interface design defines the structure, links, and the execution sequence associated with the complete set of screens and windows that defines a user interface. In summary, user interface design is more action-oriented based while dialogue design is more data focused.” Reference: http://www.hit.ac.il/staff/leonidm/information-systems/ch49.html Research this reference above for more on dialogue design issues. The information detail of what needs to be defined in the dialogue is collected during the requirements analysis stage. Note that dialogues often utilise windows. Individual screens, reports and forms are considered static while a dialogue is dynamic and interactive. Since dialogue design is closely linked to user interface design, the designer MUST identify the necessary screens and define how those screens are linked during the user interface design process. So, during the dialogue design process, the designer creates the contents of those screens. Forms provide a structure for text-based interface; labels are used to prompt users for suitable input. Users are often free to choose the text they want to enter in each field and therefore are less constraining than menus. Is it possible to check for erroneous data in form based interfaces? No doubt that forms dominate the data entry applications so optimal designs can be achieved when user’s tasks are well considered and not just by analysing application functionality. Think about this. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using forms? Form and report design are key ingredients for successful systems as users often equate the quality of a system/ application to the quality of its input and output methods. This is especially true for Internet-based e-commerce systems. The key is once again – consistency and this can be further achieved by learning the guidelines of formatting information, using colour, highlighting, and avoiding biasing information. The outcome/ deliverable from this design process is a specification that has three sections:

1. a narrative overview explaining the need for and use of the form and/ or report

2. a sample design

3. all testing and usability assessment information

Ensure that there is correct information, in the right amount of detail and at the right time communicated to the user. Important Research Activity: Read the Q and A for Designing Forms and Report by Anvari.net.pdf. Feel free to explore the other reading material in online such as “Designing Interfaces and Dialogues by Anvari.net”. That resource may be especially useful for the next section on dialogue and its design. So what types of dialogue are there?

Instruction type dialogue – also known as the systems information interface. It provides instructions together with other information about the system’s operations,

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functions and structure. This information can be presented in text or graphic form (e.g. table of menus, or Microsoft’s Word help screen on particular topic etc.)

Assistance type dialogue – it is an interactive process intended to assist the user find something; the help index etc. This type of dialogue normally requires a response of some type while the instruction type dialogue doesn’t.

If you’re developing an e-commerce type dialogue, there needs to be extra considerations and feedback needs to be solicited from customers using the following methods:

Launch the user’s email program

Create a blank feedback template with a submit button labeled “feedback”

The site should be intuitively designed and can include the following ingredients:

A rollover menu that is also touch screen compatible A collection of hierarchical links Having a site map on the home page and emphasizing the link to it from every page

on the site Having a navigational bar on every page that repeats the categories used on the entry

screen All of the items listed here should now also be touch screen compatible e.g. larger

sized menu items for easier selection when not using a pointer/mouse

Web Accessibility

Web accessibility focuses on ensuring that websites are accessible and usable by people with disabilities. In most organisations, providing for universal access to web pages has been an established institutional policy. Most coincide with state and federal regulations and are adhered to in general, especially by government and educational institutions. You can read more from http://www.w3.org/WAI/. The Web Accessibility Initiative efforts are to develop tools and best practices to promote the universally accessible websites. Most validation tools use the WAI guidelines.

To understand and learn further about what’s required for accessibility designs and how to evaluate designs for accessibility, please follow the below list of links:

Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organisation

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility

Activity 2.2

What factors assisted a designer to decide to select a dialogue style?

Check Your Understanding I can now

❒Design screen dialogues according to requirements and acceptance criteria and

following design principles

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2.3 Design batch procedures where appropriate to technical specifications and acceptance criteria

Batch processing When one executes a number of ‘jobs’ which are setup so that they can be run to completion on a computer without any manual intervention, it is called batch processing. E.g. will be when user enters information on a form and all input data are preselected via scripts or using some job control language and is submitted for processing in the server-side or even client-side. This can involve using a database. Another example can be when interactive programs/ online programs or applications prompt users for input.

The program will then produce a set of output data files in return after processing the data. The operating environment which does this is called ‘batch processing’ where input data are collected in batches of files and are processed in batches by the program before releasing the output. So, what is the benefit here?

For volume of processing, it will keep a high overall rate of utilisation of the computer i.e. a high end computer

It can designate the time of job processing to when the computer resources are less busy

It allows for the computer to manage its resources by avoiding idling without every minute manual intervention and supervision

It allows the system to use different priorities for batch and interactive work”.

Modern batch applications make use of modern batch frameworks such as Spring Batch, which is written for Java, and other frameworks for other programming languages, to provide the fault tolerance and scalability required for high-volume processing. In order to ensure high-speed processing, batch applications are often integrated with grid computing solutions to partition a batch job over a large number of processors. High volume batch processing places particularly heavy demands on system and application architectures as well. Architectures that feature strong input/output performance and vertical scalability tend to provide better batch performance than alternatives. Scripting languages became popular as they evolved along with batch processing.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batch_processing

Using Batch Processes

Say for instance that you want to have membership data from a form.

Data in the form may be uploaded to a database for all types of batch data. A unique identifier is created (basically batchUid) normally generated automatically by the system but can be created by a user as one may want to use a particular naming convention or numerical order. Note that this unique identifier cannot be changed after the recordID is created (its unique, a single identifier).

There are rules which can be applied to the data uploaded using the GUI:

Batch Add – adds records only when the unique identifier doesn’t match an existing record.

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Batch Edit – modifies record with the matching unique identifier which exists and will override any data in the existing record. Need to consider that should a field/ attribute of a record be blank, data in the existing record (s) will not be overwritten by blanks etc.

Batch Delete - will remove the record when the unique identifier matches a record which exist and generally will occur in real time.

Note: all batch process files must be formatted in plain-text file with a .txt or .csv extension.

Activity 2.3

Batch processing is used to enhance application performance. What might be the setback of this?

Check Your Understanding I can now

❒Design batch procedures where appropriate to technical specifications and acceptance

criteria

2.4 Design online help and tutorials for the prototype following design principles

The First Step is to Prototype Designing a prototype, particularly a web development project is relatively easy when one has all the requirements in place and has done proper research. It is a good way for users to provide feedback on the development and to test a website to see if potential users will find it usable and satisfactory. Some web developers may not agree that there is a need to design the website ahead of time but some of the best website designs are more often than not produced earlier before or during the coding of a website. What does prototype design entail? Just create a non-working design which will display the whole website from a visual perspective. It can be artistic and from a visual design angle which can be more intuitive than using XHTML code alone. Some designers-developers create prototypes of just a section of the web page such as a navigation menu or an image to test one element. Some even create several prototypes so that the user can pick the most preferred design. Based on this, the designer-developer can receive feedback and make appropriate changes to the design where needed and move forward to further enhancing the interface before creating a working website. Designing a prototype need not entail actually creating a working website or an interface.

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A prototype (semi-functional or non-functional) can be easily made from any tool or application which can be used to produce one. Balsamiq – This comes with a free trial and is more appropriate for the more discerning user.

Even Microsoft Office, Photoshop and other freeware which you’ve researched can be used. A designer-developer doesn’t need to spend too much money creating a prototype as there are tools which are easily available to help. Some of these tools have incorporated WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web design programs and illustrations. Reference: http://website-tutorials-review.toptenreviews.com/website-design-and-prototypes.html Research Activity: Prototyping Tools and Testing and A Simple Template for in-browser Web Design Prototyping. Also go through: Prototyping is essential

Designing Online Help and Tutorials

Generally, the way moving forward is to create video tutorials. However, first we need to be clear the objective of online support systems. Say for a technical communication support group who has purchased a desktop publishing program to help them write, design and publish documentation. There are many ways to obtain useful support. However, an introductory online tutorial could guide them through basic program functions such as creating files, making templates, and importing graphics. It is also essential to have a search capability with indexing for users who may not want to use the video and merely want the instructions in text format on a page.

Before you start, you need to plan for the help and tutorial. There are a number of ways on how to do this; consider the following questions:

1. Why are you creating the tutorials? Focus on the advantages of what it does.

2. If you were the user, what will make you feel that the online tutorial and help is well-designed and can help the learning goals and task objectives in substantial ways? An example for any online tutorial would be to have computer-assisted instruction (CAI), computer-assisted learning (CAL), or computer-based training (CBT) where the user can engage in highly interactive, self-paced educational activities at their own convenience and pace.

3. Having a choice of different organisational patterns and navigational systems as well as customised instructional content by adding personal annotations, bookmarks and/or entirely new texts. These aspects will help support the design principles being met by the prototype.

4. Adapting the considerations which were established during the planning and designing stages pertaining to avoiding poorly-designed online support. Examples of these can include:

a. Can be related to physical and rhetorical differences between pages and screens

b. Can be related to novice users struggling to learn new applications

c. Can be related to users working with the minimum hardware and/or software requirements needing to run applications may experience performance problems

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Think about the tools which can help you to create the Online Help and Tutorial, you can consider Adobe RoboHelp which allows you to link documents in relatively easy ways, HyperCard which is an application used for Apple Macs and some other Apple computers with hypermedia facilities and intuitive scripting language. Remember to find out about the constraints of your authoring environment of your choice.

Research some video tutorials: http://guides.lib.umich.edu/videotutorials

Read about creating user-friendly online tutorials from the Tutorials.pdf file in your resource folder.

Explore how to create an online Help and Tutorial documentation at http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/tech_assist/sampledesign/course/course.htm and also http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html. You find documentation for Camtasia Studio at http://www.techsmith.com/tutorial-camtasia-documentation.html. You may use the trial version to complete your online documentation for your prototype.

Activity 2.4

Explain why do you suppose there is the move towards electronic support?

Check Your Understanding

I can now

❒Design online help and tutorials for the prototype following design principles

2.5 Document prototype according to organisational goals Here is where you need to detail the content and organisation of the interface pages. The content can be architecture by sketching out and building it into a prototype or small prototypes of parts of the interface to test what it feels like to move around within the design. If you are building an application, prototypes are fairly useful for two simple reasons:

It is the best way to test navigation and develop the user interface. With this, the prototype (s) should have a sufficient number of pages/screens to accurately gauge what it feels like to move for example from menus to content. This is a handy way to test the information architecture with users.

Graphical designers are able to develop relations between how the navigation interface and site looks to support the information design. The prototype should not be too complex or elaborate where the team can become too invested in one design at the expense of exploring better alternatives.

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Deliverables The deliverables we are looking at the end of this stage are the following:

1. A detailed (site or application) design specification document 2. A detailed description of site content which will include;

a. Site maps, thumbnails, outlines, tables of contents 3. User-tested wireframes or prototype(s) demonstrating architecture 4. Choices of graphical design and interface design sketches 5. A detailed technical support specification comprising of:

a. Browser technology supported b. Connection speed supported c. Web server and server resources (if applicable)

6. A proposal to create programming or technology to support specific features of the interface/site or software application

7. A schedule for implementing the site or application design and construction

Remember, “a prototype is an early model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from” – referenced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototype. Therefore, it serves not only to allow for exploration of design and functional alternatives as part of the product in the design process, but also to provide specifications for a real working system rather than a theoretical one. One hiccup is that there is much uncertainty as to whether the new design will actually do what it is desired to - so test theories come into play together with confirmation of performance before starting production of a new/enhanced product.

Prototyping therefore, is an iterative process to help resolve issues and perform closer toward a final product as intended from initial concepts to seeing a part working example (in the prototyping phases). Prototyping develops the storyboards actively and is done after the basic paper-based plans/blueprints/storyboards are approved.

Display Rules and Messaging It is highly important to include display rules and messaging, especially when designing a website prototype or software application. When you break the screen up into sections (you can easily do this in Word with a few text boxes), it actually helps to consider the interactivity which users will receive. For example, after labeling each section, look for display rules such as when a search result page is obtained, what are the fields which are displayed? How are the items sorted? What is a particular field is missing? As for messaging, you may want to display a specific message in specific conditions? What might they be then?

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototype

Research: http://www.justinmind.com/prototyper/examples http://www.justinmind.com/prototyper/download for one of many free prototyping tools.

Activity 2.5

Consider seven types of feedback which can be done for the user which is necessary.

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Check Your Understanding

I can now

❒Document prototype according to organisational goals

2.6 Submit prototype to appropriate person for sign-off

Once the prototype is constructed and presented, it needs to be signed off. Generally, the project manager of the team who is happy with the prototype will sign it off. When the designer-developer submits a prototype, the project manager and client will sign off on the final screen prototypes presented during acceptance at the final cycle meeting for the particular prototype module. If the prototype is a functioning software deliverable, the project manager and client will sign off on acceptance criteria at the final cycle meeting for a particular functioning software module.

Activity 2.6 Sometimes, there may be one or several outstanding action(s) for the team to review. So what goes into a sign-off process?

Research

http://www.sitepoint.com/improve-design-sign-off-process/

http://blog.webbizideas.com/2012/07/03/prototype-your-social-network-website-design/

http://responsivedesign.is/strategy/rwd-process

Check Your Understanding I can now

❒Submit prototype to appropriate person for sign-off

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Answers to Activities:

Activity Suggested Guidance

2.1 Research

2.2 1. the users task – sometimes there is the need for GUI, text-based interface or even a menu-based approach. E.g. for high-volume data-entry tasks, the key-board is the operators best friend and they will normally use one screen. At times, complex data analysis can be very difficult without graphical representation.

2. the user’s level of expertise – menu and GUIs provide easy, additional support so will better suit novice users. If the designer needs to build upon existing skills by making commands consistent with other applications such as in a suite software, then the textual interfaces are better suited to experts. Also consider the staff turnover; in the turnover is high, then best the designer still have to support a significant novice population.

3. the system’s characteristics – heard of the term design is full of compromises? Sometimes, without the high communications band-width, the speed is reduced to an unacceptable level during peak time and you may need to revise the graphical interaction techniques

4. the available input and output devices – there isn’t much point using graphical interaction technique when there isn’t high resolution display just as it is pointless to support audio interaction without a microphone.

2.3

It can cause latency as it takes time to process value of parameters. It can be more significant when there is large data transfer.

2.4 1. as organisations want to reduce development and production cost 2. so as to benefit from the sophisticated searching and interactive capabilities that online environments provide 3. Information needs to be updated perhaps rapidly and dissemination in manual form is not only time but money consuming and impractical.

2.5 1. the computer has accepted the input 2. the input is in the correct form 3. the input is not in the correct form 4. there will be a delay in processing 5. the request has been completed 6. the computer cannot complete the request 7. more detailed feedback is available

2.6 Research and learning – Varied sign off considerations