1. AS Level ICT Health and safety guidelines covering the design and introduction of new software

2. Creating less stressful software Ergonomically designed software is easier and less stressful to use Software designers can make software less stressful by: –Ensuring that the software is as bug-free as possible –Ensuring that the text size and font chosen make information easy to read –Ensuring that information is displayed on screen in a logical way –Ensuring that the software is intuitive i.e. it behaves in a way that the user would expect

3. Creating less stressful software Software designers can make software less stressful by: –Ensuring that the help screens provide information that does actually help the user –Ensuring that the number of keystrokes or clicks required to operate the software is kept to a minimum –Ensuring that any music or animations can be switched off or skipped –Ensuring that appropriate shortcuts are used to reduce the number of keystrokes or clicks required

4. Creating less stressful software Other things that can be done to improve software design: –The provision of a help desk that users can consult if they have problems –Proper training of users when new software is introduced –The provision fault logging procedures so that problems that arise can be corrected

5. Designing less stressful software Ensuring that the order information appears on screen is logical, with the most important always appearing first Ensuring that all software is fully tested before it is introduced Minimal use of the mouse by the use of drop-down and pop-up menus The use of consistent design Positioning buttons, menus, etc., where the user will expect to find them The use of simple, easy to understand help screens

6. Examples of consistent design in toolbars Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel Microsoft Access Note the use of GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) or Icons that are common to all the toolbars Examples include: Fast Save, Print, and Print Preview Help

7. Examples of GUIs used with a toolbar GUIs or Icons that will activate particular tools on a Toolbar Fast Save Print Clipboard Text Justification

8. Examples of drop-down menus Note that options that are not available are ‘greyed’ or ‘ghosted’

9. Examples of pop-up menus The Microsoft Windows ‘Start’ Menu pops up when the ‘Start’ button is pressed The ‘AutoShapes’ Menu in Microsoft Word pops up when the ‘AutoShapes’ button is pressed

10. Example of a key driven interface This example is taken from the Microsoft Word Toolbar Besides being able to select a command by clicking on the appropriate word with a mouse, these options can also be selected by the use of the keyboard For example: Pressing the ‘Alt’ and ‘f’ keys at the same time selects the File option Pressing the ‘Alt’ and ‘o’ keys together at the same time selects the Format option

11. AS Level ICT Health and safety guidelines covering the design and introduction of new software