UI techniques as applied to coding

1. Consistency, consistency, consistency. The most important thing that you can possibly do is make sure that your user interface works consistently. If you can double-click on items in one list and have something happen then you should be able to double-click on items in any other list and have the same sort of thing happen. Put your buttons in consistent places on all of your windows, use the same wording in labels and messages, and use a consistent color scheme throughout. Consistency in your user interface allows your users to build an accurate mental model of the way that it works, and accurate mental models lead to lower training and support costs.

2. Set standards and stick to them. The only way that you’ll be able to ensure consistency within your application is to set design standards and then stick to them. The best approach is to adopt an industry standard and then fill any missing guidelines that are specific to your needs. Industry standards, such as the ones set by IBM (1993) and Microsoft (1995), will often define 95%-99% of what you need. By adopting industry standards you not only take advantage of the work of others you also increase the chance that your application will look and feel like other applications that your users purchase or have built. User interface design standards should be set during the Define Infrastructure Stage (Ambler, 1998b).

3. Explain the rules. Your users need to know how to work with the application that you built for them. When an application works consistently it means you only have to explain the rules once. This is a lot easier than explaining in detail exactly how to use each and every feature in an application step by step.

4. Support both novices and experts. Although a library-catalog metaphor might be appropriate for casual users of a library system, library patrons, it probably is not all that effective for expert users, librarians. Librarians are highly trained people who are able to use complex search systems to find information in a library, therefore you should consider building a set of search screens to support their
unique needs.

5. Navigation between screens is important. If it is difficult to get from one screen to another then your users will quickly become frustrated and give up. When the flow between screens matches the flow of the work that the user is trying to accomplish, then your application will make sense to your users. Because different users work in different ways, your system will need to be flexible enough to support their various approaches. Interface-flow diagrams can be used during the Model Stage (Ambler, 1998b) to model the flow between screens.

6. Navigation within a screen is important. In Western societies people read left to right and top to bottom. Because people are used to this should you design screens that are also organized left to right and top to bottom. You want to organize navigation between widgets on your screen in a manner that users will find familiar to them.

7. Word your messages and labels appropriately. The text that you display on your screens is a primary source of information for your users. If your text is worded poorly then your interface will be perceived poorly by your users. Using full words and sentences, as opposed to abbreviations and codes makes your text easier to understand. Your messages should be worded positively, imply that the user is in control, and provide insight into how to use the application properly. For example,
which message do you find more appealing “You have input the wrong information” or “An account number should be 8 digits in length.”? Furthermore, your messages should be worded consistently and displayed in a consistent place on the screen. Although the messages “The person’s first name must be input.” and “An account number should be input.” are separately worded well, together they are inconsistent. In light of the first message, a better wording of the second message would be “The account number must be input” to make the two messages consistent.

8. Understand your widgets. You should use the right widget for the right task, helping to increase the consistency in your application and probably making it easier to build the application in the first place. The only way that you can learn how to use widgets properly is to read and understand the user-interface standards and guidelines that your organization has adopted.

9. Look at other applications with a grain of salt. Unless you know that another application follows the user-interface standards and guidelines of your organization, you must not assume that the application is doing things right. Although it is always a good idea to look at the work of others to get ideas, until you know how to distinguish between good user-interface design and bad user-interface design you have to be careful. Too many developers make the mistake of imitating the user interface of another application that was poorly designed.