Category — Prototyping Software

Although such high numbers of users are threatening to pull the plug on their Facebook memberships, in all likelihood, the threats will remain threats. While it is true that people are furious that their private information is not being properly cared for, Facebook users will still have a hard time leaving the site because of all the social networking benefits. Facebook has become one of the main arteries in the social life of millions of people. It is a way to instantly and easily share life with all family, friends, coworkers etc. Pictures, videos, messages, chatting, fan clubs—Facebook is an outlet that allows users to participate in and share a diversity of interests. In reality, it is not so easy for a user to click the ‘delete account’ button. Perhaps Facebook should think about hiding this option in its interface design.

The poll numbers are also telling in terms of the potential mass user exodus. 60% of users only threaten to leave while 16% have actually left. This illustrates the fact that most people who are angry enough to leave have probably left already. This is not to say that people aren’t really mad—many, in fact, are livid. But the anger boiling in the blood of the 60% of users threatening to leave Facebook has actually led to a more positive Facebook evolution: in the past few weeks, Facebook has begun implementing changes to its security feature options in addition to simplifying its interface design. While the social networking site has a long way to go in terms of re-building client trust and respecting client privacy, the organization has proven that it is keen to take user experience feedback into account, even when it is apocalyptically critical. Because Facebook has allowed itself to succumb to self-reflexivity, their survival outlook remains good. For now.

The Facebook privacy features controversy has left many users wondering whether it is worth continuing their relationship with the social networking site. According to a recent poll conducted by the IT security firm Sophos, nearly two thirds of Facebook users are considering leaving the site all together, with 30% of respondents saying that it is highly likely they will quit Facebook over privacy concerns and an additional 30% of respondents regarding this a possibility.

In addition to the 60% of potential Facebook defectors, 16% of users claim that they already have logged out permanently so to speak. It is truly astounding that in just a few short months approximately 75% of the social networking hegemon’s users are dissatisfied enough to seriously consider leaving the site for good if they have not already done so. According to Sophos’ senior techonology consultant, Graham Cluely, „the majority of people we polled are fed up with the lack of control that Facebook gives them over their own data.“ Users find Facebook’s privacy features interface design convoluted and confusing. Confusion unavoidably leads to frustration and, as many interface designers know, frustration often leads to abandonment.

I wrote this blog post inspired by an article by Boris on TheNextWeb in which the author pronounced “The death of the website” after paraphrasing Adam Richardson’s “the death of the browser” pronouncement. Both pronouncements are arguably astute but I wanted to add further comment regarding what they mean for interface design.

Things, as the old adage goes, come and go in cycles. The same goes for the world of software applications. Before the World Wide Web took off, software on PCs mostly got there by way of a native software application.  You had specific programs on floppy disks and you’d install the ones you need. One type of application, the web-browser, would prove to be the single-most versatile app of all. Whereas native apps tended to fulfil a clearly defined task such as desktop publishing, email, or spreadsheets even, the web browser would rise to be a swiss knife of sorts.

This is the second part of my 2-part blog post on design patterns in interface design. In the first part I looked at what design patterns are and advantages of using them. In this part I shall look further at the types and examples of design patterns as well as some potential drawbacks.

What are the different types of design patterns?

Design patterns are generally subdivided into three categories. Creational patterns are design patterns used to create objects that suit a number of software programming scenarios and mechanisms. Structural patterns are design patters that are concerned with the relationships and interactions of entities in your interface design. Structural patterns often deal with the functionality of your interface design. Behavioral patterns are design patterns that recognize common communication patterns between objects and realize these patterns. Recognizing these patterns makes communication more flexible and fluid during the design process. These patterns are exemplified by communication algorithms within or behind your interface design, or any commands that you may want your interface design to allow the user to execute.

What are examples of design patterns used in the interface design of websites?

An example of design patterns employed in the interface design of websites is Account Registration. Design patterns include best practices and can help prevent faux pas to watch out for when designing your website’s account registration process, such as not having a consistent design for the login and signup buttons as well as not making the said buttons easily identifiable. A design pattern would also tell that after a user logs in you should return them to the page they came from such as redirecting users to the comment form. Another example of a design pattern used in interface design is Tell-a-friend. This is used to enable users to share the content of your website with friends or anyone who might be interested with ease.

What are some drawbacks of design patterns?

Design patterns, like all methodologies, have been subject to criticism. Design patterns try to standardize what are generally accepted as best practices by computer scientists, information architects and interface designers. Standardization seems beneficial, but in practice it can result in the unnecessary duplication of code – a potential waste of time in your interface design. Using design patterns as a usability method in interface design can be difficult if one is not well versed with computer science. Although design patterns are not impossible to learn they may take some time and experience getting familiar with them in order to make the most of them. Yet, they may really be worth the effort.

In this blog post I shall look at design patterns as a usability method in 2 parts. In part 1 I shall look at what design patterns are and the advantages of using them in interface design.

What is a design pattern?

Design patterns are a useful method for the interface design of websites and software programs. One of the hallmarks of humanity is the evolution of our empirical collective body of knowledge that succeeding generations have built upon to get us, a relatively feeble creature, to where we are today. Anyone wishing to start a fire to prepare a meal does not have to accidentally discover fire first! In the same vein design patterns are a collection of solutions to typical problems encountered during the interface design of web sites and software programs. Over time these interface design problems have been documented and paired with solutions to assist all interface designers be they a novice or a seasoned professional.

What are the advantages of design patterns in interface design?

One of the ways of ensuring good usability in interface design is to always adhere to usability standards. These standards have been tried, tested and proven to work. Design patterns are there to assist you in solving the common problems encountered during interface design, including usability issues, thus enabling you to optimize your time much like a shortcut takes you to your destination faster. Design patterns sum up best practices and can be thought of as a template or guide that interface designers can use as a direct solution or a starting point to fine tune their interface designs.  Design patterns are also useful because they function as a code or standard that can be used by software developers, interface designers and other stakeholders to communicate and collaborate more efficiently. Novices can become accustomed to them and rely on their proven success, while professionals can share and show their expertise. Design patterns are also continuously being updated, tested and improved upon by an ever growing community of information architects and interaction or interface designers.

What is task analysis?

Task analysis is a usability method that can assist you with the creation of excellent user interface designs. In addition, you can use the information obtained from a task analysis to design usability tests for your interface design. Task analysis is the thorough investigation of all the important factors related to the achievement of a given task. These factors include catalogued descriptions of manual and mental activities, environmental conditions, task duration, task allocation, and task complexity. Task analysis is concerned with ascertaining the most in depth understanding possible pertaining to how people perform jobs and what materials, tangible and intangible, they need to perform them well. Task analysis is a byproduct of Applied Behavioral Analysis, which was established as a theory in the field of psychology by Montrose Wolf, Donald Baer, and Todd Risely in 1968.

What are the benefits of task analysis?

The information gathered during a task analysis can be extremely helpful when planning a new user interface design. Since usability is at the crux of interface design, it is crucial for you to find usability methods that provide you with detailed information on how to design and/or improve your product. Task analysis is especially helpful because as a usability method it allows you to understand the requirements relating to the flow of information within your system relative to the cognitive reasoning, expectations, and needs of your users. Your task analysis can serve as a reference for testing the usability and value of the system functions and features of your fledgling interface design.

How to conduct a task analysis

Task analysis is a complete deconstruction of the tasks users need to perform using your proposed or existing user interface design. The results can guide you in the design or improvement of your user interface. When embarking on a task analysis, be sure to remember that your goal should always be to understand the use of your interface design relative to the cognitive task performance and understanding of your users. Task analysis is relatively simple in theory, but can be arduous in practice. This is because detailed analysis is the focal point of a task analysis—the more painstakingly thorough you are with your investigation, the more relevant information you obtain that will lay a strong foundation for the creation of a successful user interface design. So be prepared to spend a lot of time within the confines of inquiry.

This blog post is the first in a series of two about scenarios of use as a usability method.

What are scenarios of use?

Scenarios of use are a usability method used in interface design.  They are a description of users performing a specific task on your website or application to improve its specific functional requirements.  These user-oriented and task-oriented scenarios of use are short “stories” that incorporate steps a user (often referred to as an actor) takes to accomplish a goal in order to ascertain how a website or application responds to the user’s actions.  Scenarios of use are written in plain language to avoid confusion among participants.

What are the benefits of scenarios of use?

Scenarios of use are a valuable usability method for user interface design and GUI prototyping.  Scenarios of use permit you to avoid weaknesses within your program that might be detrimental to its success by allowing you to collect user requirements systematically and make any necessary changes to your program before you market it.  Scenarios of use are very helpful in establishing what your program or website does before embarking on the interface design process through the use of interface design software or other GUI prototyping tools such as the wireframe software provided by pidoco°. Scenarios of use are also advantageous because they require minimal resources to be generated and they keep the focus on users, usability and user experience. This ultimately leads to happy customers, making your software more successful.

Collaboration is essential to the success of many creative or business endeavors. The confluence of diverse ideas, perspectives, and strengths propels the project forward and gives each team member a sense of purpose and accomplishment. According to Greengage consulting, a firm dedicated to helping individuals and companies achieve organizational effectiveness, organizations that develop their collaborative skills “will transform the way [they] work with colleagues, partners and customers” (greengage.com) often resulting in a more successful end product.

In the world of web interface design, the concept of real-time collaboration has become a crucial aspect of the web development process as it takes regular old teamwork one step further. Real-time collaboration makes it possible to work together across large distances effectively, because it allows several people to cooperate by editing various types of documents simultaneously, oftentimes while in direct contact via audio or video conferencing systems. Real-time collaboration usually occurs online, and so the internet is a crucial enabler for this modern form of team work. Real-time collaboration poses challenges to technology and man as it requires instant communication, i.e. instant relay of data in the form of audio-visual and textual information. More and more providers are moving to real-time collaborative applications, and they can be found in various fields.

Applications such as Google Docs, MindMeister or Pidoco optimally facilitate real-time collaboration because they are provided as software-as-a-service via the internet and thus enable easy access for different team members or project partners from all across the globe. In addition, their interface design is oriented towards a dynamic and team-oriented working environment, focusing on ease of use and catering to users who appreciate the advantages of real-time collaboration.

Google Docs is a free data storage service that allows users to create, edit and share documents online, enabling them to collaborate easily in real-time with other users. In addition to permitting the concurrent viewing and editing of documents, Google

Our conclusion of Rapid Digital Prototyping: It’s got the look and feel of handmade scribble prototyping, but adds interactivity (making wireframes clickable) and enhances developing speed through re-usable elements and layers. Many (real-time) collaboration features enable interface designers to new ways to work with much better time allocation, leaving more time for the creative process that really counts.

Everybody who is into screen design, Rapid Paper Prototyping is old school! But ever considered doing screen design on screen?

With pidoco’s web-based prototyping software, designers and software developers can save valuable time, enhance the creative process and build better usability for the internet.

Rapid Paper Prototyping has already been established as THE way to get a website started. Rapid Paper Prototyping is about sketching ideas with pen and paper to be discussed within the team. This prototype will then go through an iterative design process by integrating feedback from different stake holders. This paper screen will eventually act as a guideline for the whole project – from beginning to the end (but is there a real end?). Some screen-designers even use these very limited paper prototypes for performing usability tests. Retrieving usability errors before programming can save a lot of time, since later alterations in the so called ‘finished’ website are minimized.

However, there are disadvantages of Rapid Paper Prototyping.  Prototypes are not easy to add to the document servers and also difficult to share between team-members. Scanning paper prototypes and making them ‘clickable’ for web testing is also a time consuming task as we all know!

That is why many interface design executives create their wireframes directly in MS PowerPoint or MS Visio and have them send to the relevant sources. True, that way one can share the designs more effectively but it is not really more interactive than making copies of a piece of paper handing it to the team. The prototypes still do not show the real capabilities for test user excitement:  links, dynamic menus and combo-boxes etc. cannot be reproduced effectively and need to be explained individually in long text. Again, more time and effort has to be invested to get the message across.

pidoco° has selected this problem and made it their task to tackle it by providing a easy web-based interface design software.