Design Theory: 10 Guidelines for usability design

Source: Internet
Author: User
Tags exit documentation visibility minimalist design

These are ten general principles for the user interface design. They are called "heuristics" because They are more in the "the" of the rules of thumb than specific to usability.

Visibility of system State of Visibility of systems status--
the system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable Time.
The
system should always be at a reasonable time with appropriate feedback to let users know what the system is doing.
Match between system and the real world-- systems match the actual world
The
system should speak the users ' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than sys tem-oriented terms. Follow Real-world Conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.
The
system should use the user's language, rather than the system-oriented terminology, with familiar words, phrases, and concepts. Follow the practice of the real world and let the information show up in a natural logical order.
User control and freedom-- users Controls and freedom
Users often choose system functions by mistake and would need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the Unwante D state without has to go through a extended dialogue. Support Undo and Redo.
users often mistakenly select system features, so there is an operation that is clearly marked as an "emergency exit" without having to see the conversation extending out of error, leaving the unwanted state. In addition, the system needs to support the undo action and redo functionality.
consistency and standards-- conformance and standards
The
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform Conventions.
users don't have to worry about whether different words, situations or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.
Error prevention-- prevent errors from occurring
even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem to occurring in the . Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before commit to the action.
A careful design that can prevent a problem beforehand is much better than a good error message. Either eliminate error-prone conditions, check them, and give users a clear choice before they make a mistake.
recognition rather than recall-- recognition rather than memory
Minimize The user ' s memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should is visible or easily retrievable whenever.
make each object, action, and options visible. The user does not have to memorize information from part of the conversation to another part of the process. System usage instructions should be visible or easily accessible at all times.
Comfort and efficiency of the use of flexibility and efficiency of use--
Accelerators-Unseen by the novice user-may often speed up the interaction for the
expert user such the S Ystem can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.
accelerators-not seen by novice users-can often speed up the interaction of expert users so that the system can cater to the needs of inexperienced and experienced users at the same time. Allows the user to perform frequent operations.
Aesthetic and minimalist design-- aesthetic and least-content design
dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every Extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their E visibility.
The
conversation should not contain extraneous or rarely needed information. The extra information in any conversation can seriously affect the information in the conversation and reduce the visibility of the relevant information.
Help user recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors-- helps users identify errors, diagnose errors, and recover from errors
Error messages Should is expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively Suggest a solution.
The
error message should be expressed in a simple language rather than code, correctly pointing out the problem, and providing a constructive solution.
Help and documentation-- assistance and instructions
even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may being necessary to provide help and D Ocumentation. Any such information should is easy to search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to is carried out, and not Be too large.
While it is best for the system to be available
without any instructions, it is necessary to provide a function of help and explanation. Focus on the task with the user, any such information should be easy to be found by the user, list the specific steps to achieve these operations, and not too long space.

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