Printed Reports Analysis questions –Who will use the report? –What is the purpose of the report? –When or how often is the report needed? –Where does the report need to be delivered? –How many people need the report? –How long will a report be kept?

Printed Reports Why are printed reports still used? –the output is going to an outside organization –the output is too voluminous to be used on-line –the output is used for control and audit purposes Screen reports are appropriate when –inquiries are made about single occurrences in the database –inquiries are part of an interactive session –the volume of output is low

Printed Reports Determine the source(s) of the data before designing layout –one table? –multiple tables? –external database?

Printed Reports 4 Design criteria –timeliness –completeness –correctness –clarity –relevance –cost of preparation and handling

Printed Reports Report components –Title or heading –Page number and date of preparation –Column headings –Detail area –Control breaks –Page breaks –Totals or summary data –Report footer

Printed Reports Professional report specifications –Narrative overview (name of report, who uses, etc.). –Special paper or other equipment needed –Instructions to the programmer if needed –Sample of report layout If programming in a non-GUI environment, be sure maximum field lengths are laid out (usually across 132 columns) and COBOL-style data types are used (Z,9,X, etc...)

Printed Reports Consistency –Reports should have a consistent style (layout, graphics, page and report headings, etc..) Alignment conventions –Left justify text data –Right justify numeric data –Use zeros (0.00) not blanks if a numeric field has a zero value –Use blank lines to separate groups of data

Printed Forms 4 Why do we still need pre-printed forms? –for people without workstations –for legal documents, e.g., checks –for turnaround documents 4 Principles of forms design also apply to forms that are completed on-line, e.g.., WWW

Printed Forms 4 Design principles –Easy to fill out –Organized –Consistent with other forms in the organization –Ensure accurate AND complete completion –Economical cost of scanning or data entry cost of designing, printing inventory

Printed Forms 4 Components of a form –Heading –Identification and access –Instructions –Body –Signature and verification –Totals –Comments

Printed Forms 4 Captioning –Captions within blanks –Captions above blanks –Captions preceding blanks Within: Above: Preceding:

Printed Forms 4 Guidelines for good design –use standard sizes and margins –paper color should be light, black ink –use a clear font that is large enough –spacing should be large enough to permit hand- written input

Printed Forms 4 Guidelines for good design –use white space to separate areas on the form –position instructions before the section to which they apply –position fields on forms so they align with typewriter tab stops –be sure text is spelled correctly; use standard punctuation; avoid abbreviations

Screen Design 4 Analysis questions –Who will be using the screens? –How “sophisticated” are the users? –Are there special ergonomic concerns? –For what task is the screen needed? –Can users change or add data? –What data will be needed for each screen? one table? multiple tables? external databases?

Screen Design 4 Principles of screen design –goal is to reduce complexity of interface as seen by the user –use concrete objects (icons) rather than obscure commands IF: documentation is provided (e.g..., ToolTips) the icons are not obscure themselves NEVER assume a user knows what an icon means!!

Screen Design 4 Principles of screen design –Provide easy visibility to functions, command, function keys selection from lists consistent placement –Provide as much information as possible so that screen acts as a template input masks default values

Screen Design 4 Principles of screen design –Provide an interactive interface –Use a familiar conceptual model resemblance to a physical form a desktop metaphor –Consistent commands and functions e.g..., Do you “quit”, “stop”, “logout”?

Screen Design 4 Principles of screen design –provide context-sensitive help screens –provide tailoring to individual needs e.g., pointing versus typing default starting points –physical design should be simple color sounds highlighting

Screen Design 4 Screen styles –Logo -- title, ownership, copyright, login information –Menu -- implemented with action bars, icons, pull-down menus –List -- “pops up” to show list from which user can select; disappears once selection made

Screen Design 4 Screen styles –Entry -- for data entry parameter entry, usually implemented as pop-ups form entry tabular entry, like a spreadsheet –Information -- for display only, usually has scroll bars, implemented as pop up windows, –Combined -- example is Main/Subform in Access

Screen Design 4 Graphic screens –can generate any object, character shape on screen –user controls mostly by pointing –increases amount of communication and computation to “paint” the screen 4 Character screens –can display only a limited character set –typing, command-driven interface –characteristic of terminals

Planning Screen Sequences 4 Menu screens –user chooses from a menu –may need a sequence of menus –limit choices on a screen (6 or 7 max) 4 Task screens –corresponds to a process on a DFD –may contain “sub-screens” or panels 4 Step screens –used for a single task or subtask –may “pop” up or be a permanent part of a task screen –used also be used for maintaining a table