Principles of GUI
1. Aesthetically pleasing Provide visual appeal by following these presentation and graphic design
principles:
Provide meaningful contrast between screen elements.
Create groupings.
Align screen elements and groups.
Provide three dimensional representation
Use colors and graphics effectively and simply.
2. Clarity The interface should be visually, conceptually and linguistically clear, including
Visual elements
Functions
Metaphors
Words and text
3. Compatibility Provide compatibility with the following:
The user
The task and job
The product
Adopt the user’s perspective
4. Comprehensibility A system should be easily understood and learned. A user should know the
following
What to do
What to look at
When to do it
Where to do it
Why to do it
How to do it
The flow of actions, responses, visual preparations and information should be in a sensible order
that is easy to recollect and place in context.
5. Configurability Permit easy personalization, configuration and reconfiguration of settings.
Enhances a sense of control
Encourages an active role in understanding
6. Consistency A system should look, act, and operate the same throughput. Similar components
should:
Have a similar look
Have similar uses.
Operate similarly
The same action should always yield the same result.
The function of the elements should not change
The position of standard elements should not change.
7. Control The user must control the interaction.
Actions should result from explicit user requests
Actions should be performed quickly
Actions should be capable of interruption or termination
The user should never be interrupted for errors
The context maintained must be from the perspective of the user.
The means to achieve goals should be flexible and compatible with the user’s skills,
experiences, habits and preferences.
Avoid modes since they constrain the actions available to the user.
Permit the user to customize aspects of the interface, while always providing a proper set of
defaults.
8. Directness Provide direct ways to accomplish tasks
Available alternatives should be visible,
The effect of actions on objects should be visible.
9. Efficiency
Minimize eye and hand movements, and other control actions.
Transitions between various system controls should flow easily and freely.
Navigation paths should be as short as possible.
Eye movement through a screen should be obvious and sequential.
Anticipate the user’s wants and needs whenever possible.
10. Familiarity Employ familiar concepts and use a language that is familiar to the user.
Keep the interface natural, mimicking the user’s behavior patterns.
Use real world metaphors.
11. Flexibility A system must be flexible to the different needs of its users, enabling a level and type
of performance based upon:
Each user’s knowledge and skills.
Each user’s experience.
Each user’s personal preference
Each user’s habits
The conditions at that moment
12. Forgiveness
Tolerate and forgive common and unavoidable human errors
Prevent errors from occurring whenever possible.
Protect against possible catastrophic errors.
When an error does occur, provide constructive messages.
13. Predictability The user’s should be able to anticipate the natural progression of the task.
Provide distinct and recognizable screen elements
Provide cues to the result of an action to be performed
All expectations should be fulfilled uniformly and completely.
14. Recovery A system should permit:
Commands or actions to be abolished or reversed.
Immediate return to a certain point if difficulties arise.
Ensure that users never lose their work as a result of
An error on their part
H/W, S/W or communication problems.
15. Responsiveness The system must rapidly respond to the user’s requests.
Provide immediate acknowledgement for all user actions
Visual
Textual
Auditory
16. Simplicity
Provide as simple an interface as possible
Provide defaults
Minimize screen alignment points.
Make common actions simple at the expense of uncommon actions being made harder.
Provide uniformity and consistency
Five ways to provide simplicity:
Present common and necessary functions first.
Prominently feature important functions,
Hide more sophisticated and less frequently used functions
17. Transparency
Permit the user to focus on the task or job, without concern for the mechanics of the interface.
Workings and reminders of workings inside the computer should be invisible to the user.
18. Trade-offs
Final design will be based on a series of trade-offs balancing often-conflicting design principles
People’s requirements always take precedence over technical requirements
