After reading through Lanter and Essinger’s User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS”, I believe that the ultimate takeaway is that traditional user interface design has significant disadvantages in comparison to the alternative of user-centered user interface design. These disadvantages come in the form of excess spending on training, end-user support, and sizable system documentation as a result of non-intuitive user interface design. The inherent reason for the existence of the shortcomings associated with traditional UI design is noted in the journal article as being a byproduct of design intention, which was “to best represent the software functionality”. While traditional user interface design is primarily suitable for those familiar with programming, that does not mean those programmers can’t perform the same or better through the use of user-centered user interface design. User-centered user interface design, in comparison to traditional user interface design, is developed around tying information system functionality to easily understood user-centric models. This is done in order to better meet user expectations without further complicating user processes.
“User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS” by Lanter and Essinger highlights many necessary aspects that make a good user interface. The first step to creating an effective graphical user interface (GUI). is to “understand how people think and work”. Although easily said, it’s much harder in practice. The first factor that adds to the GUI are “subjective factors”. Subjective factors are often forgone by the software engineers; yet, these are the features that add to the overall usability of the system. These subjective factors can be looked at as “illusions” of the back end information system. In the end, users do not care about the algorithms or networks, just as long as it works and is visually appealing.
Another emphasis that Lanter and Essinger addressed was in “internal and external” factors. The internal factors relate back to understanding how a user thinks and works. The user expectations, goals, and intentions. If the designer looks at the system through that view they will create an effective GUI. For external factors, these address how it presents itself. Going through the elicitation of requirements and having detailed documentation will fulfill the external factors.
Good points. A good user interface not only increases the site usability but also leads to the smooth completion of any task at hand thereby making everything enjoyable and flexible as per the requirements of users.
I like the point that you emphasized about “Subjective Factors”. I wanted to highlight that contextual observation and usability testing is very important to get the required information to improve the value of user experience, organizations must treat these methods as integral to their software development processes and culture, not as after-the-fact fixes.
I like how you mentioned that users do not care about the algorithms or networks. I think the most important part is that the program can be used by someone who has no experience in programming.
A good user interface design is focused on the user’s understanding and interacting while conducting system functionality. The first key point would be to let users have the feeling that they are really controlling something “physically” such as three-dimensional buttons and pulldown menus. The second key point would be conducted things as much as possible that users are already familiar with such as the icon of notebook in our laptop desktop. The third would be users who are programmers or non-programmers do not need to learn query languages to select data. User’s existing models are important but the user interface designer also always needs to find ways that are easier to understand when users interact with the system.
Hi Shuyue,
Great summarization of key points the authors make about good user interface design. I agree with the idea that a good user interface design should focus on users’ understanding, which helps them know what they need to do and how to do it.
very clear and concise point, a good user interface should focus on user’s understanding. the traditional user interface focused on delivering message functionally, The graphic based user interface provides users with controls they are already familiar with to make the systems easier to use and learn.
A good interface should make sense and convenient for its’ users. In Lanter and Essinger’s view, the key points the authors made about good user interface are:
-Clear message. Information, tasks, and methods provided by a system interface will be more likely to be understood and learned if they fall into existing conceptual frameworks that the user has. If these are not readily available, conceptual frameworks will have to be invented that clearly communicate the functioning of the system to the user.
-Familiar to users. One of the biggest problems for end-users is that the things computers let users do are
abstract such as terminologies like files, directories, records, databases, logging on and off, function keys…
-Efficient. The designer should aim at moulding and directing the users model in order that new, more informative and efficient ways of doing things can be introduced in understandable ways.
Hi, Yuchong, I think you just points out a really important factor. A good GUI should be easily understood and used. For non-technical people or for beginners good GUI’s tends to make easiness in life. For example with few clicks on buttons user can easily make his work done. Software in shops for calculation of products sold and inventory can be better managed by an even non-technical guy. A user can easily navigate to the system without knowing a lot of details. Easy setup and ready to start working are awesome. Most of the software hides the complexity of actions from the users and display only required information is key to good interface.
Hi Yuchong, very nice response. I like how you broke down the necessities into three main categories. Clear message is important for the new users and even those who haven’t used the updated system. Keeping an information system “familiar” often focuses the designer into making the system simple to use. Finally efficiency is a necessity in all businesses. Time is money and if a system is hard to learn or use, time will be extended along with the budget.
First of all, it must be easy to learn, appear natural, and independent of implementation complexities such as data structures and algorithms.
Secondly, the domain of user interface design centers on the creation of specifications that express system capabilities throughout the system interface in ways that match, adapt, or create conceptual models in the user model.
Thirdly,Graphical user interface techniques making use of graphic and symbolic clues can help make Geographic Information Systems that are easier to understand, learn, and use.
In short, it is an easy to learn and presented to the user as a complete system, rather than as a disjoint set of data, data structures and algorithms.
Therefore, the user interface of the GIS should show itself to its use as a system, and not as various collections of data. User-Centered Design focuses on how to map the system functionality onto the user’s existing conceptual models and how to influence these models while they interact with the system. The user understands to make systems truly usable.
In “User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS” by Lanter and Essinger, the authors describes and justifies the importance of designing and enhancing the user experience by focusing on user-centered design. Following are the key points the authors make about good user interface design:
> Before designing the user interface, a conceptual model that describes and represents the structure, behavior and more views of the system is modeled in conceptual design.
> By effectively using the user’s mental model (i.e, conceptual model), we can design systems that “feels” intuitive using intuitive user interface mappings. Author has cited multiple examples to illustrate this. For example: usage of the computer mouse which involves intuitive mappings in which new users typically do not notice the partly unnatural mapping involved.
> Good UI design requires usability that is built into the system and also which requires little or no documentation or training
I like your final point the most. I think it is most important that the system can be operated with little or no training. Users want to push buttons and select options, not scroll through jargon terms and code.
User-Centered Design is offered as an alternative that focuses on how to map the system functionality onto the user’s existing conceptual models and how to influence these models while they interact with the system. The designer should aim at molding and directing the users and model in order that new, more informative and efficient ways of doing things can be introduced in understandable ways. Therefore, the systems should be easy to learn, appear natural, independent of implementation complexities and present themselves to the user as a complete system, not as various collections of data.
Hello,
Looking at your response regarding the main takeaways from Lanter and Essinger’s journal publication on User-Centered User Interface Design, I can tell that you had a similar understanding to myself. I particularly liked your explanation on how user-centered design focuses more on ease of access, backed up by statements I remember from the works itself. I would be careful, however, as you may want to consider using quotation marks for certain descriptors and definitions you may have taken directly from the publication.
In “User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS,” Lanter and Essinger mentioned that three key reasons why users adapt to poorly designed system interfaces are over-reliance on system documentation, training, and end-user support. A good user interface design, especially making use of graphics and symbolic clues, can help make GIS that is easier to understand, learn, and use. A good user interface design should have the function for the users to specify spatial analytic algorithms to the GIS, and the function for the GIS to provide feedback to users concerning the status of the executing algorithm and the data involved in the algorithm.
Well-thought-out point about “Symbolic clues”! I guess, we cannot imagine a user interface without icons or symbols today. We might think that it is just a small element in user interface but actually it makes a big impact in the complete GUI designs. They are small and meaningful icons which becomes little keys to usability and intuitive navigation.
A good graphic user interface (GUI) design efficiently bridges the gap between what is abstract and concrete, appears familiar to the user, and is without obvious implementation complexities. The GUI should not only benefit an end-user, but programmers as well through visual representation of processes, such as data flow diagrams, in order to illustrate an abstract concept. For both types of users, a well-designed GUI is able to take seemingly insignificant data and turn it into something valuable to the user, such as manipulating algorithms in order to understand environmental impact.
Hi Sarah,
It is for sure that an efficient user interface is user-friendly while remaining easy for the programmer to edit it. Also good point on making insignificant data and turn it into something valuable to the user. The designer should aim at moulding and directing the users model in order that new, more informative and efficient ways of doing things can be introduced in understandable ways.
In the article, it says that “The user interface of the GIS should show itself to its user as a system, and not as various collections of data. This paper discusses how traditional user interface design focuses on how to best represent the software functionality rather than on how to meet the expectations of the user. User-Centered Design is offered as an alternative that focuses on the two-way mapping between system functionality and the user’s conceptual model of the system.” The point is the clear communication between the user and the computer. A good user interface design makes it easy to let users express what they want to the computers, and computers request information back and then present understandable information to users.
Hi Haixin, I agree, good user design should be easy for all users to express what they want from the system, and understand how to achieve all the uses.
Since user interface design is the main idea of making GIS useful, it’s important to design the user interface in more efficient way. I think the key points authors make about good user interface design in the article is that users’ using experience is always the top consideration. Designers should fully understand how people think and work when they are using the system. Because not all users have technical background, designers are supposed to make the user interface easily understandable and rational. The illusions are essential for users to understand all the functionalities of the system and designers aims to create and give users abilities to control the system.
The user interface should have a clear fashion to avoid users have their wrong explanations from internal and external factors to what are happening. Users only want to achieve what they are willing to get, therefore, designer should find the most appropriate design to meet users expectations. The authors provide several examples including the car turn indicator signal control, control mouse and taped water to emphasize the importance of mapping. Once designers find out any improper design, they should redesign by better mapping considering what users need and the design. Again, users’ using experience is always the top consideration, so designers should design the user interface easily to use by most users in accordance with their understanding.
Hi, I agree with you that users’ using experience is always the top consideration and therefore designers should use the most appropriate design to meet users’ needs.
The key points that the author made in the article about good user interface design would be the understandability for users and interaction with users. The design could be understood by the users. As the example authors provided, “it is easy to map between the position of the knobs and the burners in this design”. When we compare with the first design, the second design interact with users in a more effective way but still perform the same functions, and translating an abstract idea to end users is also important. Moreover, for program designers, the GUI representations of their data structures to gain a better understanding of the algorithmic processing their data, and it will support them.
Hi, Ryu
I agree that a good user interface design would be easily understood for users. To achieve that, designers would simulate the real world objects into the user interface which would make more sense to users. I would suggest build prototypes and adjust the prototypes before actually building it.
Hi Ryu, I agree with all your ideas of a good user interface especially the first point. The first and foremost aspect for designing is that the system should be easily to use, I remember the stove example that authors mentioned in the article, the redesigned system increase the understandability of corresponding between the burner ring and the knob. Redesigning and better mapping could improve the use experience and be more easy for end user.
A good user interface is one where the underlying architecture is invisible to the user. Therefore, the designer must understand how people think and work to develop a good user interface. Allowing the user to push buttons, choose options, make selections from the menu, give commands and manipulate controls, are all key points the authors make about good user interface design. As mentioned in page six, “The system interface designer, therefore, aims to match the user model. This kind of design has a particularly strong impact on the ease of learning a system. When users find their expectations and assumptions validated in the way a system works it follows that there is less need for users to expend mental resources on learning entirely new concepts and ways of doing things.” So, design a user interface that is clear, easy to learn and hard to forget. This allows the user to feel in control and empowered.
Hi Raisa, I agree with your point. I also think it is important for designers to understand how people think. The goal of the user interface is make it more user friendly and more understandable to user. Moreover, different applications are facing to different user groups. It is also important for designers to understand them.
I really like your first point. The user should not be concerned with the underlying architecture. The system’s usability should be so good that my grandmother should be able to operate it.
According to the article, the transitional user interface design is focusing on how to present the software functionality in the system interface and it usually ignore users. This situation would result in arbitrary design decisions that fail the expectations of users. User- Centered Design provide a chance, which users can focus on how to the system functionality onto the users’s existing conceptual models and how to influence these models when they interact with the system. GUI help users easier to understand, learn and use. In addition, it makes the structure of spatial analytic databases available to GIS application program designers.
“The user interface of the GIS should show itself to its user as a system, and not as various collections of data”
“Creating the necessary two-way mapping and facilitating the usability of GIS systems. User-Centered Design”
‘In other words, user interfaces are illusions that hide the underlying architecture of the technology prominent in the programmer’s view and repackage it as something understandable and usable by analysts and decision makers.”
In layman’s terms; A good user-interface design is a design that translates the GIS into an interface that someone with no programming experience can use efficiently. Non-Programmers want to push buttons and select options, not type code or scroll through a bunch of jargon terms. If a complex program can be used by someone with no programming experience, then a great user-interface design has been created.
Good explanation, Panayiotis. A good user interface design means that the designer should first understand what the users need, and then deliver on that. Additionally, a good user interface design should be easily accessible, information/links easily discoverable, and a level of consistency that allows the users to develop usage patterns.
The article brought up many key points regarding good user interface design. The design has to be understood by users, but the actual architecture is invisible to the users. The users experience interacting with the system is the top priority. Designers have to understand how people think and work, and how they will want to use the system. It has to be simplistic enough that even users lacking technical design can still explore all the functionalities of the system. Some designs should be universal so anyone would be able to use and understand.
Nice points. It made me think of my own experience with using new software, like Project- if you mess around with it enough, you’ll eventually get the hang of it. I think it’s also important for the designer to not over simplifynas well, because then it becomes frustrating for the user to have to go through extra steps. Findings the happy medium that satisfies both experienced and inexperienced users is definitely a daunting task.
This article remains me of ” Do It Yourself” artwork store in my hometown, the traditional artwork store used to be like selling accomplished handicraft, the salesman makes business by describing the product or making a adjustment according to customers’ preference. it focused on how to present the artwork functionality. nowadays, the artwork store starts to listen to customers, they will teach you manual skill and provide your with various materials and assign you with finishing your idea handcraft.
the graphics based user interface providing users with controls they are already familiar with to make the systems easier to use and learn, the user model can be expressed and dynamically maintained for the user on-screen, users don’t have to store the mental image in short time. the interface system and user model build mutual relationship on delivering functional message and shaping user model.
Imran Jordan Kharabsheh says
After reading through Lanter and Essinger’s User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS”, I believe that the ultimate takeaway is that traditional user interface design has significant disadvantages in comparison to the alternative of user-centered user interface design. These disadvantages come in the form of excess spending on training, end-user support, and sizable system documentation as a result of non-intuitive user interface design. The inherent reason for the existence of the shortcomings associated with traditional UI design is noted in the journal article as being a byproduct of design intention, which was “to best represent the software functionality”. While traditional user interface design is primarily suitable for those familiar with programming, that does not mean those programmers can’t perform the same or better through the use of user-centered user interface design. User-centered user interface design, in comparison to traditional user interface design, is developed around tying information system functionality to easily understood user-centric models. This is done in order to better meet user expectations without further complicating user processes.
Alexander Reichart-Anderson says
“User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS” by Lanter and Essinger highlights many necessary aspects that make a good user interface. The first step to creating an effective graphical user interface (GUI). is to “understand how people think and work”. Although easily said, it’s much harder in practice. The first factor that adds to the GUI are “subjective factors”. Subjective factors are often forgone by the software engineers; yet, these are the features that add to the overall usability of the system. These subjective factors can be looked at as “illusions” of the back end information system. In the end, users do not care about the algorithms or networks, just as long as it works and is visually appealing.
Another emphasis that Lanter and Essinger addressed was in “internal and external” factors. The internal factors relate back to understanding how a user thinks and works. The user expectations, goals, and intentions. If the designer looks at the system through that view they will create an effective GUI. For external factors, these address how it presents itself. Going through the elicitation of requirements and having detailed documentation will fulfill the external factors.
Feng Gao says
Good points. A good user interface not only increases the site usability but also leads to the smooth completion of any task at hand thereby making everything enjoyable and flexible as per the requirements of users.
Deepa Kuppuswamy says
I like the point that you emphasized about “Subjective Factors”. I wanted to highlight that contextual observation and usability testing is very important to get the required information to improve the value of user experience, organizations must treat these methods as integral to their software development processes and culture, not as after-the-fact fixes.
Panayiotis Laskaridis says
I like how you mentioned that users do not care about the algorithms or networks. I think the most important part is that the program can be used by someone who has no experience in programming.
Shuyue Ding says
A good user interface design is focused on the user’s understanding and interacting while conducting system functionality. The first key point would be to let users have the feeling that they are really controlling something “physically” such as three-dimensional buttons and pulldown menus. The second key point would be conducted things as much as possible that users are already familiar with such as the icon of notebook in our laptop desktop. The third would be users who are programmers or non-programmers do not need to learn query languages to select data. User’s existing models are important but the user interface designer also always needs to find ways that are easier to understand when users interact with the system.
Penghui Ai says
Hi Shuyue,
Great summarization of key points the authors make about good user interface design. I agree with the idea that a good user interface design should focus on users’ understanding, which helps them know what they need to do and how to do it.
Xinye Yang says
Hi Shuyue
very clear and concise point, a good user interface should focus on user’s understanding. the traditional user interface focused on delivering message functionally, The graphic based user interface provides users with controls they are already familiar with to make the systems easier to use and learn.
Yuchong Wang says
A good interface should make sense and convenient for its’ users. In Lanter and Essinger’s view, the key points the authors made about good user interface are:
-Clear message. Information, tasks, and methods provided by a system interface will be more likely to be understood and learned if they fall into existing conceptual frameworks that the user has. If these are not readily available, conceptual frameworks will have to be invented that clearly communicate the functioning of the system to the user.
-Familiar to users. One of the biggest problems for end-users is that the things computers let users do are
abstract such as terminologies like files, directories, records, databases, logging on and off, function keys…
-Efficient. The designer should aim at moulding and directing the users model in order that new, more informative and efficient ways of doing things can be introduced in understandable ways.
Yuan Liu says
Hi, Yuchong, I think you just points out a really important factor. A good GUI should be easily understood and used. For non-technical people or for beginners good GUI’s tends to make easiness in life. For example with few clicks on buttons user can easily make his work done. Software in shops for calculation of products sold and inventory can be better managed by an even non-technical guy. A user can easily navigate to the system without knowing a lot of details. Easy setup and ready to start working are awesome. Most of the software hides the complexity of actions from the users and display only required information is key to good interface.
Alexander Reichart-Anderson says
Hi Yuchong, very nice response. I like how you broke down the necessities into three main categories. Clear message is important for the new users and even those who haven’t used the updated system. Keeping an information system “familiar” often focuses the designer into making the system simple to use. Finally efficiency is a necessity in all businesses. Time is money and if a system is hard to learn or use, time will be extended along with the budget.
Feng Gao says
First of all, it must be easy to learn, appear natural, and independent of implementation complexities such as data structures and algorithms.
Secondly, the domain of user interface design centers on the creation of specifications that express system capabilities throughout the system interface in ways that match, adapt, or create conceptual models in the user model.
Thirdly,Graphical user interface techniques making use of graphic and symbolic clues can help make Geographic Information Systems that are easier to understand, learn, and use.
In short, it is an easy to learn and presented to the user as a complete system, rather than as a disjoint set of data, data structures and algorithms.
Zhu Li says
Therefore, the user interface of the GIS should show itself to its use as a system, and not as various collections of data. User-Centered Design focuses on how to map the system functionality onto the user’s existing conceptual models and how to influence these models while they interact with the system. The user understands to make systems truly usable.
Deepa Kuppuswamy says
In “User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS” by Lanter and Essinger, the authors describes and justifies the importance of designing and enhancing the user experience by focusing on user-centered design. Following are the key points the authors make about good user interface design:
> Before designing the user interface, a conceptual model that describes and represents the structure, behavior and more views of the system is modeled in conceptual design.
> By effectively using the user’s mental model (i.e, conceptual model), we can design systems that “feels” intuitive using intuitive user interface mappings. Author has cited multiple examples to illustrate this. For example: usage of the computer mouse which involves intuitive mappings in which new users typically do not notice the partly unnatural mapping involved.
> Good UI design requires usability that is built into the system and also which requires little or no documentation or training
Panayiotis Laskaridis says
I like your final point the most. I think it is most important that the system can be operated with little or no training. Users want to push buttons and select options, not scroll through jargon terms and code.
Zhu Li says
User-Centered Design is offered as an alternative that focuses on how to map the system functionality onto the user’s existing conceptual models and how to influence these models while they interact with the system. The designer should aim at molding and directing the users and model in order that new, more informative and efficient ways of doing things can be introduced in understandable ways. Therefore, the systems should be easy to learn, appear natural, independent of implementation complexities and present themselves to the user as a complete system, not as various collections of data.
Imran Jordan Kharabsheh says
Hello,
Looking at your response regarding the main takeaways from Lanter and Essinger’s journal publication on User-Centered User Interface Design, I can tell that you had a similar understanding to myself. I particularly liked your explanation on how user-centered design focuses more on ease of access, backed up by statements I remember from the works itself. I would be careful, however, as you may want to consider using quotation marks for certain descriptors and definitions you may have taken directly from the publication.
Penghui Ai says
In “User-Centered Graphical User Interface Design for GIS,” Lanter and Essinger mentioned that three key reasons why users adapt to poorly designed system interfaces are over-reliance on system documentation, training, and end-user support. A good user interface design, especially making use of graphics and symbolic clues, can help make GIS that is easier to understand, learn, and use. A good user interface design should have the function for the users to specify spatial analytic algorithms to the GIS, and the function for the GIS to provide feedback to users concerning the status of the executing algorithm and the data involved in the algorithm.
Deepa Kuppuswamy says
Well-thought-out point about “Symbolic clues”! I guess, we cannot imagine a user interface without icons or symbols today. We might think that it is just a small element in user interface but actually it makes a big impact in the complete GUI designs. They are small and meaningful icons which becomes little keys to usability and intuitive navigation.
Sarah Puffen says
A good graphic user interface (GUI) design efficiently bridges the gap between what is abstract and concrete, appears familiar to the user, and is without obvious implementation complexities. The GUI should not only benefit an end-user, but programmers as well through visual representation of processes, such as data flow diagrams, in order to illustrate an abstract concept. For both types of users, a well-designed GUI is able to take seemingly insignificant data and turn it into something valuable to the user, such as manipulating algorithms in order to understand environmental impact.
Yuchong Wang says
Hi Sarah,
It is for sure that an efficient user interface is user-friendly while remaining easy for the programmer to edit it. Also good point on making insignificant data and turn it into something valuable to the user. The designer should aim at moulding and directing the users model in order that new, more informative and efficient ways of doing things can be introduced in understandable ways.
Haixin Sun says
In the article, it says that “The user interface of the GIS should show itself to its user as a system, and not as various collections of data. This paper discusses how traditional user interface design focuses on how to best represent the software functionality rather than on how to meet the expectations of the user. User-Centered Design is offered as an alternative that focuses on the two-way mapping between system functionality and the user’s conceptual model of the system.” The point is the clear communication between the user and the computer. A good user interface design makes it easy to let users express what they want to the computers, and computers request information back and then present understandable information to users.
Mei X Wang says
Hi Haixin, I agree, good user design should be easy for all users to express what they want from the system, and understand how to achieve all the uses.
Yuqing Tang says
Since user interface design is the main idea of making GIS useful, it’s important to design the user interface in more efficient way. I think the key points authors make about good user interface design in the article is that users’ using experience is always the top consideration. Designers should fully understand how people think and work when they are using the system. Because not all users have technical background, designers are supposed to make the user interface easily understandable and rational. The illusions are essential for users to understand all the functionalities of the system and designers aims to create and give users abilities to control the system.
The user interface should have a clear fashion to avoid users have their wrong explanations from internal and external factors to what are happening. Users only want to achieve what they are willing to get, therefore, designer should find the most appropriate design to meet users expectations. The authors provide several examples including the car turn indicator signal control, control mouse and taped water to emphasize the importance of mapping. Once designers find out any improper design, they should redesign by better mapping considering what users need and the design. Again, users’ using experience is always the top consideration, so designers should design the user interface easily to use by most users in accordance with their understanding.
Haixin Sun says
Hi, I agree with you that users’ using experience is always the top consideration and therefore designers should use the most appropriate design to meet users’ needs.
Ryu Takatsuki says
The key points that the author made in the article about good user interface design would be the understandability for users and interaction with users. The design could be understood by the users. As the example authors provided, “it is easy to map between the position of the knobs and the burners in this design”. When we compare with the first design, the second design interact with users in a more effective way but still perform the same functions, and translating an abstract idea to end users is also important. Moreover, for program designers, the GUI representations of their data structures to gain a better understanding of the algorithmic processing their data, and it will support them.
Shuyue Ding says
Hi, Ryu
I agree that a good user interface design would be easily understood for users. To achieve that, designers would simulate the real world objects into the user interface which would make more sense to users. I would suggest build prototypes and adjust the prototypes before actually building it.
Yuqing Tang says
Hi Ryu, I agree with all your ideas of a good user interface especially the first point. The first and foremost aspect for designing is that the system should be easily to use, I remember the stove example that authors mentioned in the article, the redesigned system increase the understandability of corresponding between the burner ring and the knob. Redesigning and better mapping could improve the use experience and be more easy for end user.
Raisa Ahmed says
A good user interface is one where the underlying architecture is invisible to the user. Therefore, the designer must understand how people think and work to develop a good user interface. Allowing the user to push buttons, choose options, make selections from the menu, give commands and manipulate controls, are all key points the authors make about good user interface design. As mentioned in page six, “The system interface designer, therefore, aims to match the user model. This kind of design has a particularly strong impact on the ease of learning a system. When users find their expectations and assumptions validated in the way a system works it follows that there is less need for users to expend mental resources on learning entirely new concepts and ways of doing things.” So, design a user interface that is clear, easy to learn and hard to forget. This allows the user to feel in control and empowered.
Ryu Takatsuki says
Hi Raisa, I agree with your point. I also think it is important for designers to understand how people think. The goal of the user interface is make it more user friendly and more understandable to user. Moreover, different applications are facing to different user groups. It is also important for designers to understand them.
Panayiotis Laskaridis says
I really like your first point. The user should not be concerned with the underlying architecture. The system’s usability should be so good that my grandmother should be able to operate it.
Yuan Liu says
According to the article, the transitional user interface design is focusing on how to present the software functionality in the system interface and it usually ignore users. This situation would result in arbitrary design decisions that fail the expectations of users. User- Centered Design provide a chance, which users can focus on how to the system functionality onto the users’s existing conceptual models and how to influence these models when they interact with the system. GUI help users easier to understand, learn and use. In addition, it makes the structure of spatial analytic databases available to GIS application program designers.
Haixin Sun says
Hi, it is interesting that it makes the structure of spatial analytic databases available to GIS application program designers.
Panayiotis Laskaridis says
“The user interface of the GIS should show itself to its user as a system, and not as various collections of data”
“Creating the necessary two-way mapping and facilitating the usability of GIS systems. User-Centered Design”
‘In other words, user interfaces are illusions that hide the underlying architecture of the technology prominent in the programmer’s view and repackage it as something understandable and usable by analysts and decision makers.”
In layman’s terms; A good user-interface design is a design that translates the GIS into an interface that someone with no programming experience can use efficiently. Non-Programmers want to push buttons and select options, not type code or scroll through a bunch of jargon terms. If a complex program can be used by someone with no programming experience, then a great user-interface design has been created.
Raisa Ahmed says
Good explanation, Panayiotis. A good user interface design means that the designer should first understand what the users need, and then deliver on that. Additionally, a good user interface design should be easily accessible, information/links easily discoverable, and a level of consistency that allows the users to develop usage patterns.
Mei X Wang says
The article brought up many key points regarding good user interface design. The design has to be understood by users, but the actual architecture is invisible to the users. The users experience interacting with the system is the top priority. Designers have to understand how people think and work, and how they will want to use the system. It has to be simplistic enough that even users lacking technical design can still explore all the functionalities of the system. Some designs should be universal so anyone would be able to use and understand.
Sarah Puffen says
Nice points. It made me think of my own experience with using new software, like Project- if you mess around with it enough, you’ll eventually get the hang of it. I think it’s also important for the designer to not over simplifynas well, because then it becomes frustrating for the user to have to go through extra steps. Findings the happy medium that satisfies both experienced and inexperienced users is definitely a daunting task.
Xinye Yang says
This article remains me of ” Do It Yourself” artwork store in my hometown, the traditional artwork store used to be like selling accomplished handicraft, the salesman makes business by describing the product or making a adjustment according to customers’ preference. it focused on how to present the artwork functionality. nowadays, the artwork store starts to listen to customers, they will teach you manual skill and provide your with various materials and assign you with finishing your idea handcraft.
the graphics based user interface providing users with controls they are already familiar with to make the systems easier to use and learn, the user model can be expressed and dynamically maintained for the user on-screen, users don’t have to store the mental image in short time. the interface system and user model build mutual relationship on delivering functional message and shaping user model.