How to Give Good UI!?

Wayne Weibel

Interface/Web/Drupal DeveloperLII / Legal Information Institute

Why Another Usability Talk?

•Debunk the Buzz Words

•“This is not good enough: we need the USP for the UX not the UI”

•“The user experience of the site is increasing the usability of users to interact through our interface”

Why Another Usability Talk?

•Debunk the Buzz Words

•UI vs. UX vs. Usability

Why Another Usability Talk?

•Debunk the Buzz Words

•UI vs. UX vs. Usability

•Interface [ UI ]

Why Another Usability Talk?

•Debunk the Buzz Words

•UI vs. UX vs. Usability

•Interface [ UI ]

•Experience [ UX ]

theoatmeal.com

theoatmeal.com

Jim Crow Museum

theoatmeal.com

theoatmeal.com

Why Another Usability Talk?

•Debunk the Buzz Words

•UI vs. UX vs. Usability

•Interface [ UI ]

•Experience [ UX ]

•Usability

Usability is NOT ...

•Design

Usability is NOT ...

•Design

•Programming

Usability is NOT ...

•Design

•Programming

•Accessibility}affectsUsability

Usability is NOT ...

•Design

•Programming

•Accessibility

•Marketing

}affectsUsability

Usability is NOT ...

•Design

•Programming

•Accessibility

•Marketing

•Marketing

}affectsUsability

Usability is NOT ...

•Design

•Programming

•Accessibility

•Marketing

•Marketing

•did I mention ... Marketing

}affectsUsability

Usability IS ...

•“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler” - Einstein

•“Whenever possible, substitute constructions out of known entities for inferences to unknown entities.” - Bertrand Russel, Occam’s razor

•K.I.S.S

Usability IS ...

•“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler” - Einstein

•“Whenever possible, substitute constructions out of known entities for inferences to unknown entities.” - Bertrand Russel, Occam’s razor

•K.I.S.S = Keep It Simple Stupid

• ... optimizing a user’s ability to complete a task

How about some examples:

•University of Chicago - Flu VaccinationMalcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point

•NASA Space Pen10 years and $12 Billion dollars

How about some examples:

•University of Chicago - Flu VaccinationMalcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point

•NASA Space Pen10 years and $12 Billion dollars

•The MOST usable interface:

theoatmeal.com

Rules of Thumb

•Jakob Nielsen - useit.com

•Don Norman => Nielsen/Norman Group - nngroup.com

•10 Heuristics for Usability with Rolf Molich

Rules of Thumb

•Jakob Nielsen - useit.com

•Don Norman => Nielsen/Norman Group - nngroup.com

•10 Heuristics for Usability with Rolf Molich... boil down to 3 varieties:

• Familiarity

• Feedback• Flexibility

On The Internet

•Section 508

•Workforce Investment Act of 1998

•21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010

On The Internet

•Section 508 ...

•Guides (not rules)

•W3C Accessibility

•Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0

•WebAIM (Accessibility In Mind)

On The Internet

•Section 508 ...

•Guides ...

•Tools

•Visicheck (color blindness check)

Color Blindness

• Protanopia/Deuteranopia= red/green

• Tritanopia= blue/yellow (rare)

• ~ 10% Males

• < 0.5% Females

how about some numbers

Color Blindness

• Protanopia/Deuteranopia= red/green

• Tritanopia= blue/yellow (rare)

• ~ 10% Males

• < 0.5% Females

• ~ 5% of populationor 1 in 20

• 1000 ~= 50 people

how about some numbers

On The Internet

•Section 508 ...

•Guides ...

•Tools

•Visicheck (color blindness check)

•UI Patterns (examples and forum)

•Dead Link Checker (lots of em)

Usability Artifacts

•Personas == Stakeholders / User Groups- primary, secondary, tertiary

Usability Artifacts

•Personas == Stakeholders / User Groups- primary, secondary, tertiary

•use proper names

•give personal traits

•what reason to use interface

•scenario/schema of use

Usability Artifacts

•Personas == Stakeholders / User Groups- primary, secondary, tertiary

•Wireframes- fancy word for sketches

Usability Artifacts

•Personas == Stakeholders / User Groups- primary, secondary, tertiary

•Wireframes- fancy word for sketches

•Prototypes- even just glue and paper, stub out functions

Usability Artifacts

•Personas

•Wireframes

•Prototypes

•Conceptual / Mental Models

•how the developer thinks it works

•how the system actually works

•how the user thinks it works

User Testing

•ANYone can do it (yes, even you!)

User Testing

•ANYone can do it (yes, even you!)

•You set the cost (depending on data) *

User Testing

•ANYone can do it (yes, even you!)

•You set the cost (depending on data) *

•30 - 60 min; more often == less time needed

User Testing

•ANYone can do it (yes, even you!)

•You set the cost (depending on data) *

•30 - 60 min; more often == less time needed

•One Catch - must have specific tasks/features

User Testing

•ANYone can do it (yes, even you!)

•You set the cost (depending on data) *

•30 - 60 min; more often == less time needed

•One Catch - must have specific tasks/features

•During Testing:

•Have designers and programmers watch

User Testing

• ANYone can do it (yes, even you!)

• You set the cost (depending on data) *

• 30 - 60 min; more often == less time needed

• One Catch - must have specific tasks/features

• During Testing:

• Have designers and programmers watch

• Encourage user to think out loud

• * for you researchers ...

There Is No Spoon

•Usability is Highly Subjective

There Is No Spoon

•Usability is Highly Subjective

•Decide who is your audience, then build to them

There Is No Spoon

•Usability is Highly Subjective

•Decide who is your audience, then build to them

•Keep things familiar, but not identical

There Is No Spoon

•Usability is Highly Subjective

•Decide who is your audience, then build to them

•Keep things familiar, but not identical

•Know when to break the design

There Is No Spoon

•Usability is Highly Subjective

•Decide who is your audience, then build to them

•Keep things familiar, but not identical

•Know when to break the design

•Test Often

There Is No Spoon

•Usability is Highly Subjective

•Decide who is your audience, then build to them

•Keep things familiar, but not identical

•Know when to break the design

•Test Often“If you meet a Usability Expert, kill him.”