2. Interface design Access/IPS Walsall College of Arts & Technology

3. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 2 What we are going to cover What is an interface Why we use them How to design an interface How to test an interface Anything else that I may have missed out…

4. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 3 What is an interface? An interface is the screen that we look at when using a program An interface stops us seeing what goes on ‘behind-the-scenes’ It can also put a pretty face on some ‘ugly’ programming!

5. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 4 Why do we use them? Interfaces are designed to make programs easier to use They often stop people having to see the ‘guts’ of the computer Can you think of any other reasons, because I can’t

6. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 5 A nice pair There are two kinds of interfaces: –GUI –CLI So what are they?

7. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 6 GUI Graphical User Interface An example of a GUI is Microsoft Windows You use the computer by clicking on icons or menus We have another technical phrase coming up…

8. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 7 Who are you calling a WIMP? Windows Icons Menus and Pointers Window – a box with at least a title bar and a menu bar Icon – a picture you click on to activate a computer process Menu – a list of options each to activate a process Pointer – Commonly a mouse; what is used to activate menu items or icons

9. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 8 CLI Command Line Interface An example of a CLI is the DOS prompt The user types in set commands to operate the computer What are the pros and cons of these two?

10. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 9 Battle of the interfaces GUI Easier to use Don’t have to learn complex commands Users often feel more comfortable with pictures, instead of a black screen CLI Often quicker, no need to generate fancy pictures Closer to the workings of your computer, if you like that sort of thing

11. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 10 Designing an interface (1) There are various things you have to consider when designing an interface First you have to decide whether to use GUI or CLI This decision should be based on user level, appropriateness and your own ability

12. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 11 Designing an interface (2) You also have to bear in mind colour schemes Bright colours may look pretty, but could take away from the importance of error messages And error messages themselves should be obvious and perhaps accompanied by sound

13. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 12 Designing an interface (3) Finally, interfaces should be logical If possible, interfaces should resemble real- life situations For example, if you are making a computer version of a calculator, the buttons should be in similar places to that of a normal one.

14. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 13 Examples All being well, I have designed an example of a bad interface for you to examine. Several of the buttons, icons, etc can be clicked on and an explanation of why they are bad should appear There is a link to this on Dave’s web site Fingers crossed anyway….

15. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 14 A method of interface design One method of designing an interface that will have several screens is to use a method called storyboarding. This is when you draw out a plan of how the screens fit together Like a cartoon strip

16. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 15 Storyboarding This can be used when designing an interface with many screens It shows how you go from one screen to another This is also handy for future reference, if you have forgotten how to use the program! If you want any more info, just ask me!

17. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 16 Testing interfaces A test plan should be designed to test your system to the limit The interface testing is one part of that Mainly, you are testing for usability But also for things like colour schemes and helpful error messages

18. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 17 Speaking of which…. Error messages are also very important They tell the user when something has gone wrong However, they have to be helpful, otherwise the user will be unhappy And that’s not good

19. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 18 So... It is important to make sure the error messages are user-friendly Try them out on some non-computer people If they can’t understand it, make them simpler This is our chance to look cleverer than everyone else!

20. December 2002Walsall College of Arts & Technology 19 That’s all folks I did try to find a Porky Pig Warner Bros. picture for this slide Maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough Any recommendations you can make will be appreciated!