Once A Beginner: Supporting Evolving Usage Patterns
Topics:
¬ Beyond Beginners
¬ Skiing The Interface
¬ Progressive usage
¬ Supportive Interfaces
¬ Designing For Progressive Usage
¬ Progressive usage Applied
Progressive Usage:
Progressive usage model (Triphasic model):
The technical guide to design user interface architectures to facilitate the transition back and forth between novice usage, intermediate usage and expert usage.
Usage Profile:
§ Design objectives & details of user interface will differ based upon majority of your users
- Air traffic control
- Telephone order processing
- A forecasting system that is used once a year
§ For most ordinary systems, user interface are likely to stem from better support of intermediate users and usage.
The reason: Even the most expert user of a system may regularly employ only 10% to 20% of available features. For the other 80% to 90%, the expert may effectively be an intermediate or even a novice.
Supportive Interfaces:
A supportive interface is to allow users to move freely between acquisition facilities, transition facilities and production facilities.
Acquisition Facilities: To support novice usage
§ The first priority: maintain high visibility
§ Guided by WYSIWYN (what you see is what you need)
§ Simplest language
§ Attractive and appealing
§ Highly tolerant errors
§ Focus on supporting typical and standard cases
§ Chances to access transition facilities
Transition Facilities: To support intermediate usage
§ More straightforward access to a larger number of the software features
§ Serves as a smooth mapping between acquisition and production facilities
§ Support customization
§ Facilitate continued learning
§ Provide continuity with the familiar working environment of acquisition facilities
Production Facilities: To support expert usage
§ User-defined features (scripts and macros)
§ More accessible features and fewer visible features
§ Customized work area and interfaces
§ Complex navigation networks with many implied paths
§ Configurations to fit highly particular demands (customizable)
§ Allow fall back to transition and acquisition facilities
Designing For Progressive Usage:
§ Mapping the shortcuts
§ Transition help:
Examples:
Ö Labels on tools /icons
Ö Labels on tools with keyboard shortcuts
Ö Hints or tool tips
§ Adaptable and adaptive interfaces:
- Adaptive interface: automatically adapting the configuration or contents of the user interface based on the user’s actions.
- Adaptable interface: can be configured or changed under control and direction of users to fit their individual requirements.
§ Continuous customization:
Ö Tool trays
Ö Layout
Ö Defaults
Ö Interface configurations
§ Feature access: example: macromedia extension management
Activities:
1. Identify yourself as
Ö Novice User
Ö Intermediate User
or
Ö Expert User
when you use Dreamweaver.
2. List the characteristics to justify the reasons that you identify yourself as Novice User, Intermediate User or Expert User:
(Bonus questions)
3. Most of the textbooks and courses discussing usability principles or guidance of user interface are most likely to take the needs of novice users into design considerations, is it true or false?
4. Name the user interfaces of some software which consider all of the three types of users: novices, intermediates and experts.
Characteristics of The Three Progressive Usages:
Novice Usage (Interface feature is Acquisition Facilities):
§ Simple, basic and standard tasks
§ Need help and support
§ Need motivation and encouragement promptly
§ Trial and error
§ Mistakes and misuses
§ Unskilled and slower operation
§ Limited use of options or alternatives
Intermediate Usage (Interface feature is Transition Facilities):
§ Experience-based, understanding the capabilities and limitations of a system
§ Gradually undertake more complex and extensive tasks
§ Expanding needs and growing complexity of tasks
§ Changing pattern of interaction
§ The more extensive experimentation
§ Being slowed or annoyed by acquisition facilities
§ Intermittent need for help or access to acquisition facilities
Expert Usage (Interface feature is Production Facilities):
§ Basis in extensive experiences with the system
§ Primary concern with efficiency and productivity
§ Idiosyncratic style and mode-dependent patterns of interaction
§ Full “knowledge in the head” regarding system operation and organization
§ Complex, sophisticated tasks and nonstandard or unsupported uses
§ Use of numerous features, especially advanced and specialized ones
§ Intermittent need for help or access to transition and acquisition facilities