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Video Title: User Interface Golden Rules
Description: User Interface Golden Rules
Watch more Videos at https://www.tutorialspoint.com/videotutorials/index.htm
Lecture By: Mr. Arnab Chakraborty, Tutorials Point India Private Limited
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In this session, we are going to discuss
User Interface Golden Rules.

So, the following rules are mentioned in
the Golden Rules for GUI Design and

described by Snyder
Mann and the Pleasant

in their book, Designing
the User Interface.

So, what are the golden rules are there?

Let me go one by one.

The first one is strive for consistency.

So, consistent sequence of actions should
be required in similar situations.

An identical terminology should be used in
prompts, menus and in the help screens.

So, consistent
commands should be used or should

be employed
throughout the development process.

So, this is known as the strive for
consistency.

That means, the consistency in the GUI
design should be maintained and there is a

similar for the similar situations,
the actions or the sequence of actions

which are going to be performed that
should be consistent in nature.

Next one is the enable frequent users to
use shortcuts.

So, the users desire
to reduce the number of

interactions
increases with the frequency of use.

So, that is why abbreviations,
function keys, hidden commands and macro

facilities are very helpful for an user to
initiate the shortcuts.

So, sometimes you can find that going to a
certain menu, then sub-menu, then

sub-menu, then sub-menu in this way,
you can initiate one command.

But if we have some shortcuts,
you can directly have that key press with

the key combinations, you can initiate the
same.

So, in that case, we might be requiring
some abbreviations or some function keys,

some hidden commands and some macro
facilities.

Offer informative feedback.

So, for every operator action,
there should be some system feedback.

And for frequent and minor actions,
the response must be modest, while for

infrequent and major actions, the response
must be most and more substantial.

So, that is my offer informative feedback.

So, for optimum feedback.

So, depending upon the system feedback.

So, depending upon the system's feedback,
the respective G.Y.

design or the user design, user interface
design should be performed.

So, for the most frequent and minor
actions, the response must be modest.

More substantial.

Design dialogue to yield the closure.

So, dialogue has to be designed in a very
efficient way.

So, sequence of actions should be
organized into groups with a beginning,

middle and end.

The informative
feedback at the completion of a group of

actions gives the operators the
satisfaction of accomplishment.

A sense of relief, the signal to drop
contingency plans and options for their minds.

And this indicates
that the way ahead is clear

to prepare for
the next group of actions.

So, now in this case, it is telling that
whenever you are

having some group of actions
to be taken one after another.

And at the end, obviously, some design a
dialogue to yield that you have done

successfully completion, you have done
something wrong, whatever the cases are there.

So, the design dialogue to yield the
closure.

So, that the user can get the idea that
whether the series of actions,

whatever they have done, what is the
ultimate status.

And accordingly, if the status is
positive, if it is telling that yes,

the operation
has been successfully completed, then

the user can go for
the next series of actions.

Offer simple error handling.

So, in this case, what will happen?

As much as possible, design the system,
so the user will not make a serious error.

So, whenever user will give some wrong
input, so accordingly the dialogue box

should be communicated, so that user will
not make such serious error in the system.

But errors may obviously can occur any
time.

So, if an error is made, the system should
be able to detect it and offer simple,

comprehensible mechanisms for handling the
error.

Next one is the permit easy reversal of
actions.

So, this feature relieves anxiety since
the user knows that error can be undone.

And easy reversal of actions encourages
exploration of unfamiliar options.

So, what will happen?

Let us suppose we have deleted one file
accidentally.

But if I know that, to retrieve the file,
the reversal of that deletion operation is

there, the options are there, then
obviously we can treat ourselves as more

innovative
and can go for some exploration of new

options in the
available in the respective interface.

The units
of reversibility may be a single action,

a data
entry or a complete group of actions.

So, support internal locus of control.

So, experience operators strongly desire
the sense that they are in charge of the

system and that the system responds to
their actions.

So, design the system
to make users the

initiators of actions
rather than the responders.

So, user who will be
using the software, they

should be initiating
of different actions.

Not
like that, the software will be initiating

the actions
and users will be only the responders.

So, that is why those users who will be
using our software, they should be the

initiator of multiple different actions as
when required.

So, reduce short term memory load.

The limitation of human information
processing in short

term memory
requires the displays to be kept simple.

Multiple page displays to be consolidated
and window motion frequency be reduced.

And sufficient training
time be allotted for

codes and
mnemonics and the sequences of actions.

So, obviously, the interface should be
designed in such an intelligent way,

wherever
we are having multi-page, multi-page

information that
should be consolidated.

So, the user
can easily memorize and can handle

the situation even
having a very short memory.

So, that is why information processing in
short term memory requires the displays to

be kept very simple,
very much responsive and

the consolidated information must be
there.

And then window motion frequency must be
reduced and sufficient training time be

allotted for codes, mnemonics and sequence
of actions to be carried out.

So, these are the different golden rules
for the user interface.

So, we have discussed them in the details.

I think we are getting this issue and
thanks for watching this video.

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