> too subtle. The VB app I talked about changes its caption between 'wait
> for call' and 'terminate call' - I have had users look stupid
I'd rather say it made the developer look stupid for making incorrect assumptions
about their userbase - afterall what use is software if noone uses it...
> when come
> & say 'the button says it is 'waiting for a call' but it does not pick
> up the line, (think about it).
This is the paradox of the declarative statement and whether an interface is passive
or active.
Passive interface:
The interface informs the user of the current state and so
all feedbacks (including captions) represent the current state.
EG. 'Waiting for call' caption would indicate that the application is currently
waiting for call and that the caption is on a button indicates that the user
can change this.
Active Interface:
the interface informs the user of functions available and so
functional captions represent the functions if actioned.
EG. 'Wait for call' caption would indicate that clicking the button with this
caption would cause the application to begin waiting for a call.
Too many application problems are blamed on users but the simple fact is
that the interface often guides the users to these mistakes by not being
straight-forward enough in their guidance (sometimes it's necessary to be
quite pedantic in the 'lead the user by the nose' method of interface design)...
Tests (in material presented at Waikatos User Interface course) indicate that
users get commplacent about a user-interface as they familiarise themselves
with an application and will miss cues indicating state in the passive model.
In short, functional aspects of a userinterface whould not change visually during
use - This included Enabling/Disabling indicating that if at all possible (without
requiring more interaction points (keypresses and mouseclicks or drags)) new
dialogs should be presented rather than transforming a current dialog - this is
of course not always practical...
Of course this is all grain of salt since all of tests had shortcomings when
applied to real-world apps meaning it's up to the developer to identify the balance
between functionality and usability...
--
Aaron Scott-Boddendijk
Jump Productions
(07) 838-3371 Voice
(07) 838-3372 Fax
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