Chapter 5 The Golden Rules of User Interface Design

Chapter 5 The Golden Rules of User Interface Design " Make it simple, but no simpler. " Albert Einstein " Before you buy software, make sure it believes in the same things you do. Whether you realize it or not, software comes with a set of beliefs built in. Before you choose software, make sure it shares yours. " PeopleSoft Advertisement (1996) User Interface Design Principles " The golden rule of design: Don't do to others what others have done to you. Remember the things you don't like in software interfaces you use. Then make sure you don't do the same things to users of interfaces you design and develop. " Tracy Leonard (1996) Why should you need to follow user interface principles? In the past, computer software was designed with little regard for the user, so the user had to somehow adapt to the system. This approach to system design is not at all appropriate today—the system must adapt to the user. This is why design principles are so important. Computer users should have successful experiences that allow them to build confidence in themselves and establish self-assurance about how they work with computers. Their interactions with computer software should be " success begets success. " Each positive experience with a software program allows users to explore outside their area of familiarity and encourages them to expand their knowledge of the interface. Well-designed software interfaces, like good educators and instructional materials, should build a " teacher-student " relationship that guides users to learn and enjoy what they are doing. Good interfaces can even challenge users to explore beyond their normal boundaries and stretch their understanding of the user interface and the computer. When you see this happen, it is a beautiful experience. You should have an understanding and awareness of the user's mental model and the physical, physiological, and psychological abilities of users. This information (discussed in Chapters 3 and 4) has been distilled into general principles of user interface design, which are agreed upon by most experts in the field. User interface design principles address each of the key components of the " Look and Feel " iceberg (see Chapter 3): presentation, interaction, and object relationships.