Output Design

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Output Design
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Output Design

• Why start with output?
• Output should be
• accessible
• timely
• relevant
• accurate
• usable
• complete
• correct
• secure
• economic
• efficient

• Issues
• output method
• output format
• purpose
• distribution
• frequency and timing
• response time

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Report Characteristics

• Frequency
• How often?
• Periodic
• As required
• ad hoc
• on demand
• Distribution
• Who will be using the report?
• Internal
• External
• Turnaround
• Format

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Report Types

• Detail
• day to day operations
• structured
• Resource status
• inventory, customer activity, etc.
• periodic (e.g.,once a month)
• structured or unstructured

• Summary (Management)
• statistics and ratios
• ad hoc or periodic
• structured

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Output Design Tactics

• Aesthetics
• Strategic value
• Distribution testing
• who really needs it?
• Field selection
• Design for change
• e.g., field size

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Principles of Output Design

• Always have a title (proper wording, page
  numbers, dates)
• Use sections
• Include legends
• Eliminate computer jargon
• Read left to right, top to bottom
• Column headings for multi-record layout
• Right justify numbers, left justify text
• Use colors (screen output / color output)

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Input Design
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Input Forms

• Forms of input
• manual paper forms
• electronic input forms
• direct-entry devices
• document image processing

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Remember...

• A well designed document is
• easy to use
• unique or specific
• concise
• informative
• expandable
• amenable to data entry
• economical

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Error Checking

• Types Transaction Errors
• field type (e.g., numeric)
• field size
• unreasonable quantity
• field not filled in
• mandatory property / slot

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Error Checking (continued)

• Types (continued)
• logical range (e.g., month)
• negative balance
• illogical combinations
• record access
• not found
• duplicate

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Error Checking (continued)

• Catch errors early
• cost of rework increases exponentially with time
• Clean Transaction tactic
• dont update records with suspicious data

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Error Messages

• Specific and precise
• Constructive
• Show what needs to be done
• Transpose Customer ?
• Positive tone
• Avoid illegal, invalid, bad

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Error Messages (continued)

• User-centered phrasing
• Ready for data rather than
• Enter data
• Multiple levels of messages
• Help Specific screens
• Consistent grammatical form, terminology and
  abbreviations

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Human Computer Interaction/Interactive Design
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User Types

• Novice
• Intermediate
• Experienced
• Casual (Rusty)

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The Novice User

• Human Factors default
• experienced users get testy
• novice users quit
• Why cater to them when they learn so quickly?
• Typical turnover rate

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Short-term Memory

• Capacity (chunks)
• relative to familiarity
• Millers 7 /- 2 phenomenon
• decreases with anxiety
• Congruence (Symmetry)
• Volatility

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STM Volatility

• Limited capacity
• Data lasts about 15 sec
• Events causing data loss
• interruption (phone calls)
• processing delays (response time)
• visual distraction (color)
• noisy work environment
• Importance of closure

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Long-term Memory

• Pictorial
• Learning is pushing chunks from STM to LTM
• Takes fair amount of time and iterations
• Once learned, not forgotten lose access keys
• if new chunks pictorially similar

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Human Factors Goals

• Time to learn
• Speed of performance
• Rate of user errors
• Subjective satisfaction
• turnover rate
• Knowledge retention over time

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Design Principles

• (Shneiderman, 1987)
• Keep it simple.
• Be consistent.
• Design tasks for closure.
• Support internal locus of control.
• Provide user shortcuts

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Design Principles

• Handle errors civilly.
• Allow easy reversal of actions.
• Use surprise effectively.
• Dont lose the user.

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Keep It Simple

• Simple screen designs
• Minimal use of windows
• Mnemonic coding (if any)
• Screen density

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Be Consistent

• Same terminology on all screens
• Similar screen layouts
• Standard escape routes
• Consistent processing times
• novice users prefer consistent,
• not faster,
• screen response times

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Design for Closure

• Break tasks into smallest modules
• Provide user feedback
• hourglass
• still processing
• Phase III completed
• Short-term memory capacity
• Keep from discouraging users

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Support Internal Locus of Control

• Minimize warnings
• No patronizing messages
• Avoidance of we or I
• User choices
• color
• screen placement
• novice / experienced

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Easy Reversal of Actions

• Erase / undo
• Word / Line / Screen
• Escape menus
• Paging back

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Use Surprise Effectively

• Minimum highlighting
• Minimum input verification
• Few flashing or auditory signals

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Screen Structure

• Greeting Screen
• Password Screen
• Main Menu
• Intermediate Menus
• Function Screens
• Form-filling
• Transaction update

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Structure (Continued)

• Help screens (Pull Down)
• Escape options
• Quit
• Main Menu
• Last screen

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Interactive Structure
Greeting Screen
(1)
Dont Accept
(2)
Password Screen
Accept
(3)
Main Menu
Escape Options
Help Screens
(4)
(4)
(4)
Intermediate Menu
Intermediate Menu
Intermediate Menu
(5)
(5)
(5)
Function Screen
Function Screen
Function Screen
(6)
(7)
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Dialogue Modes

• Inquiry
• Are you sure
• augments other dialogue modes
• Command Language
• experienced user shortcuts
• Menus (for navigation)
• Form-filling Screens

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Menus

• Option sequence
• logical (new, update, delete)
• frequency of choice
• alphabetic
• Number options (6 to 8)

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Form-filling Screens

• Looks like off-line form
• same sequence
• shade fields to be entered
• Cycle until user chooses to exit
• Maximize transaction throughput

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Maximizing Transaction Throughput

• Cueing (entry format)
• Autoterminate
• Free-form entry
• Default values
• constant (e.g., System Date)
• from record (e.g., Item Price)
• last transaction (e.g., Cust )

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Common Screen Considerations

• Highlighting (lt 10)
• color
• reverse image
• flashing
• auditory
• Colors (dont overdo)

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Screen Considerations

• Symmetry
• unless theres a reason
• Input verification
• Screen density
• Relative screen clutter
• Tied to throughput
• Total and Local

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Total Screen Density

• screen with non-blank characters
• ( char) / (screen capacity)
• should be lt 25
• can achieve on form-filling screen
• dimming unused screen portions
• highlighting screen portions
• blocking out with windows

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Example

• Non-zero characters
• Filling up the screen
• From top to bottom
• From left margin to right margin
• Too much total screen density
• Novice users will have reduced throughput

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Local Screen Density

• Mean clutter around each character
• How to reduce
• symmetry
• minimize capital letters
• limit punctuation
• blank lines between text lines
• minimize words used

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Features That Affect User Interface Design

• Display area
• Character sets and graphics
• Paging and scrolling
• Color displays and display properties
• Split-screen and windowing capabilities
• Pointer options