Category — user interface tools

It has been reported that doctors and nurses have been using ipads in their daily profession, but according to medcitynews.com, which I found through PC Magazine, a growing number of these doctors and nurses are giving up their tablets. The question is why?

Situation

The article indicated that the iPad rated highly with “therapists, dietitians, [and] case managers” and this was mainly attributed to the fact that the ipad was used with these professionals mainly as a means of patient education. For those that have more typing activities, a desktop or laptop may prove to be more suitable. According to the article, some of the medical professionals had data entry difficulties with the iPad.

The iPad brings up a keyboard on the screen so the user can type information, and one disadvantage posed by the article was that half of the information is then covered up and it posits that this aspect of the UI design could have been one reason for the returns.

UI design is not just about looks

UI design concerns itself with how the user interface looks and how it also “feels”. It could have been that for some users the “feel” of the UI design was too “compact” so that they could not see the information they needed. An important aspect of a UI design is usability. Usability refers to the degree in which a user is able to effectively interact with the UI design.

The article mentioned that the newest iPad was going to have a UI design that addressed the size of the keyboard on the screen so this may influence the number of medical professionals returning the tablets.

Google has a lot of neat products but I particularly like the UI design of its search because it is user-friendly and helpful in many ways.  We are so used to using Google search in everyday life that we take its UI design for granted. In fact, it is hard for me to imagine that the search’s UI design could be any different. But every once in a while the scale of Google search astounds me.

Here is one example. I was typing up “where to stay in Dresden” in the search box, and before I completed the text the autocomplete suggested “where to download free music” and “where to buy amazon gift cards”. This is the feature of the Google search UI design that makes me smile because the suggestions are often funny and rarely relevant to what I am actually looking for.

Despite appearing silly, the autocomplete feature of the Google search UI design is not silly at all. It takes into consideration global searches performed by millions of people around the world. Whenever we have a question or a doubt we turn to the almighty Google for help. There is nothing that we are afraid to ask because the search UI design is completely anonymous. The autocomplete feature summarizes all of the wishes and problems around the word by suggesting search terms.

The Google search UI design filters the results by our area. I can assume from the suggestions above that the majority of people in my area are looking for places to download free music and buy amazon gift cards. What will Google search’s UI design suggest if I type in “how to”, “it is wrong to” or “is it difficult to”? We can actually learn about the thoughts and problems of people in our area by being curious and asking such questions, and this is only one example of the Google search UI design’s capabilities…

On Thursday, Apple announced the introduction of the iBook, a development that could significantly change the way students learn. The iBook promises to make reading a more interactive process. With the change in user interface designs of e-books, it is interesting to consider how user interface prototyping can be used to create other learning tools. If you are thinking of using interface prototyping to create your own educational software, app, or website, there are some things to consider in the interface prototyping stage.

Learning should be engaging

In the user interface prototyping stage of your project, you should remember that software has the potential to go beyond the two-dimensional text book. With user interface prototyping, you can experiment with different interactive elements. There are some types of user interface prototyping software available that let you include video and sound to your interface design. If you are interface prototyping for a touch-screen device, take advantage of the engaging qualities of this medium. You can use functions that enable students to zoom in on images and highlight text that they find interesting. With one iBook textbook, students are even able to dissect a virtual frog.

Why is user interface prototyping for education important?

With user interface prototyping, you can create a rough outline of your design at the very beginning of a project. User interface prototyping can therefore be used to optimize the concept of your e-learning application and to optimize navigation and layout. There are some types of user interface prototyping software that enable you to carry out usability testing. This is extremely important for educational tools. By seeing how students engage with the website, app or software you have created with interface prototyping software, you can discover usability issues that may arise. You can then optimize your design with interface prototyping software to ensure that your educational tool is as interactive, fun and engaging as possible. This helps ensure that education is as effective as possible – and fun at the same time.

Social networking websites are dominating the internet. As domains such as Stumbleupon, Twitter and Facebook are becoming portals through which we explore other websites, it’s hard to ignore their business potential. Whether you want to set up your own social network, are interested in advertising through these sites, or are impressed by the layouts of these pages, it’s a good idea to take inspiration from these user interfaces. One way you can explore what elements you should take from social networks is through user interface design tools. With user interface design tools, you can prototype your website design before you invest time in programming. The prototypes you make with user interface design tools can then be shown to end users so they can give you feedback on what works for them.

How to get the most out of your user interface design tool
When you are creating prototypes with your user interface design tools, bear in mind that social networking sites revolve around the user.  This is reflected in the user interfaces of these sites, where users are invited to customize their profiles. When you are working with user interface design tools, you should remember that users can become overwhelmed by the information they have access to. What’s important is that the information is simplified and easy to find. The best websites therefore offer easy-to-use search functions and navigation tool bars. Another element that’s particularly successful in social networking sites is call to action buttons. Remember that sites such as Twitter and Facebook want to encourage their users to participate and provide content for the website. With user interface design tools you can emulate these elements of social networking sites. User interface design tools give you the potential to test out call for action buttons and see where on the screen they have the most impact and what size they should be or what the wording of the calls to action should be.

User interface design tools are all about usability
There are a great many features that you can take as inspiration from social networking sites and create with user interface design tools. The most important aspect is usability. Remember that these sites are focused around the users and therefore simplicity is key. User interface design tools let you focus on the users of your website and can be a great help if you want to see how your users will react to your new site design. User interface design tools can be used to experiment with your ideas and create the most user-friendly experience for your audience.

There are many different categories of user interface design tools. Just as there are many different types of user interface design, so too are there many different user interface design tools. While there are tools for designing many types of interfaces, I want to focus on tools for designing graphical user interfaces for software applications like websites, mobile apps or enterprise tools, in short: GUI design tools. In general, a GUI design tool uses software visualization methods to draft the visual design and/or interactive functionality of an application. These tools can be high-fidelity or low-fidelity user interface design tools, desktop or web-based user interface design tools, and can be stand-alone or integrated with other applications. Some types of user interface design tools are able to prototype the interactive functions of software concepts.

High-fidelity user interface design tools are often used to produce prototypes that are very detailed and close to the look and feel of the final product. In contrast, low-fidelity user interface design tools offer a quick way to visualize software in basic images, usually without much visual design, in some cases allowing the user to ad interactivity to the low-fidelity UI prototypes to use them in usability testing.

Desktop-based user interface design tools are applications that can only be run once software has been installed on a computer. They are platform-dependent, and some can only be used on a limited range of operating systems. They are useful if you wish to work offline and on your own. Web-based user interface design tools allow users to work online, usually without installing any software. This often makes teamwork much easier if the user interface design tool includes collaboration functions, for example allowing multiple users to edit and/or comment on interface design prototypes.

Stand alone user interface design tools are often simpler to use and get started with than integrated user interface design tools. Stand alone tools can also be a more cost-efficient option since integrated tools are usually more expensive and often come with components or functions that may not be needed, especially if you wish to focus on one element of the development process. Integrated user interface design tools usually combine features from different stages of the development process, which may include a requirements elicitation, testing and quality-analysis phase or project management functions.

There are a number of user interface design tools on the market that may be an appropriate option, depending on what elements you wish to focus on and what stage you are at in the prototyping process. The most important thing to remember is that these user interface designs should match your respective requirements and the purpose of your prototyping or design efforts.

In one of my earlier posts I looked at the benefits of using an online wireframe tool, which range from easy access, collaboration and sharing opportunities to absence of maintenance requirements. In this post I will cover potential limitations of a online wireframe tools, how significant they really are and what you can do to handle them.

Many would say that an online wireframe tool’s biggest advantage, its universal availability over the Internet, can pose a threat when the Internet speed is insufficient. That is frequently a reason why web-developers prefer desktop applications: they feel that an online wireframe tool might operate slower than its desktop equivalent. How much of a problem is that in reality? With a bit of research, it is easily determined that the average speed of Internet connection is ever increasing. Only in 2009, for example, South Korea averaged at 14.6 Mbps, being the first, and the US – at 3.9 Mbps, being number 18. A humble 500 Kbps is usually enough to work successfully with an online wireframe tool, which is available practically anywhere in the US and in most other industrialized countries.

Another concern of online wireframe tools’ opponents is that an online wireframe tool is dependent on the Internet connection, and Internet coverage is not universal. According to recent Internet usage statistics data, there are over 2 billion people online in 2011, and in North America alone nearly 80% of the entire population is connected. People can access the Internet from a variety of spots across the globe. Recently years have seen a movement called “travel as a way of life” rise: people can now travel and work anywhere provided they have a laptop. Internet coverage is taken as standard pretty much everywhere. So if you were to go on vacation and had to use your online wireframe tool, you would probably have no difficulty.

Another issue I would like to address is how an online wireframe tool deals with sudden access interruptions. No doubt, at times equipment fails or Internet problems occur. What happens to the results of your work then? One of the ways that some online wireframe tools have chosen to deal with this is that they allow users to continue working until the connection is restored. All the changes are kept in the browser, and as long as the browser is not closed, the project will be saved as soon as the connection is back. Other online wireframe tools have a frequent auto-save function to keep potential loss of work at a minimum. Even if the power went out and the user had had no chance to save the work, it will be stored safely on the server in the same condition present at the moment of last access.

One of the anticipated directions  with regard to the major operating systems is the unification  between desktop OSes and their mobile counterparts.  One does not need to be a soothsayer or have a crystal ball to make such a statement as there are already clear indications that this is currently underway. The developer previews of the upcoming Windows 8 borrows the ‘Metro’ user interface design introduced in Windows Phone 7 for a dual mode OS that is optimized for both desktops and tablets. As for the Macintosh platform the latest iteration ‘Lion’ has ported a number of ideas taken from iOS over to the desktop. The result of this is that some Mac apps that are optimized for Lion end up with a user interface design that is also tablet friendly. Arguably the best example of this is iPhoto ‘11, which when viewed in Lion’s full-screen mode features a user interface design that could be mistaken for an iPad app.

How can one put the Mac OS X user interface design on an iOS device?

The trend seems to mostly be one of desktops taking user interface design lessons from their mobile counterparts. However there appears to be some user interface design elements from the desktop that at least some users want on their mobile devices. Users of jailbroken iOS devices, for example, can now tweak their device to clone the user interface design of Mac OS X by way of a mod called Ultimatum. This goes beyond just the look of the user interface design as Ultimatum is more than just a theme. In terms of functionality Ultimatum gives users a fully usable Mac OS X menu bar, dock (scrollable in this case), Finder windows, widgets, login lockscreen and more. So far Ultimatum has only been shown running on an iPhone though the app might be more useful running on the larger screen of the  iPad.

This is the first part of my two-part blog post on persuasive design vis-a-vis user interface design.

What are Some of the Underlying Principles of Persuasive User Interface Design?

When incorporating persuasive design into a user interface design strategy it is important to keep a few underlying principles in mind, the first of which I briefly alluded to in the first part of this blog post:

• The first underlying principle is how the motivation and ability of a user determines whether or not they perform a specific task.
• The second underlying principle of persuasive user interface design is that user behavior can be classified in terms of duration and as either negative or positive.
• Using the behavioral sciences a user interface designer can derive insights used to augment the motivation or ability a user has when interacting with a UI design.
• Triggers (also called Call-to-Actions) are single user interface design elements that are added to a UI design to specifically increase the motivation and/ or ability of a user.
• The fifth underlying principle of persuasive user interface design is timing. Triggers have to be presented not only the right place in the UI design but also at the right time. Or in other words when a users motivation will have peaked, such as after putting items in a shopping cart a buy button would be ideal at this point in time.

What are Some Examples of Persuasive Design in User Interface Design?

An example of persuasive user interface design is how DropBox features triggers that call users to recommend the service to others and thus receive extra free storage. Other web apps such as Foursquare are taking gamification to heart by rewarding users points and more to use the service. Health and fitness apps, such as Nike+, are also including persuasive design to help keep users fitter. Persuasive user interface design is great when used to boost positive behavior. Conversely speaking persuasive user interface design can also be used to encourage negative behavior that can affect a user’s health, happiness or money.

Linux is usually the first thought that comes to mind when one thinks of a free and legal operating system. For a lot of consumers one might even be able to switch the word Linux with Ubuntu, the popular Linux distribution. Despite the strengths of Unix-based OS and modern user interface design one of the major drawbacks of Linux has been the dearth of software options, at least relative to Windows and Mac OS. However both of these options cost, if one intends on procuring them legally!

The ReactOS, one could say, is effectively the lovechild of Linux and Windows. It is open source, like Linux, but is a re-write of the Windows kernel. The project effectively began in 1996 at a time when Linux didn’t have user-friendly distributions like Ubuntu (and, it must be noted, a much less complex iteration of Windows). The project, lacking a Mark Shuttleworth type benefactor like Ubuntu, is still only an alpha release though plans are underfoot for a beta release within a couple more iterative design cycles.

In terms of user interface design the ReactOS looks like Windows 2000 with a sprinkling of UI design elements ported over from Linux (such as icons). This makes it immediately accessible to most users who are already familiar with the functionality and user interface design of the Windows operating system. I’d even venture to say that to many a user the UI design would be indistinguishable from an earlier version of Windows, particularly now that Windows XP, Vista and 7 are out there.

As a Mac user I will be following up on ReactOS if only to activate the dual-boot functionality of Mac OS X without having to fork over a wad of cash for a Windows license proper.

To date, the iPad has had no trouble pounding its tablet competitors into submission, sometimes  even extinction.  The most recent evidence of this phenomenon is the demise of Hewlett Packard’s webOS Touchpad, a mere seven weeks after its release. The webOS flop, despite critical acclaim for its user interface design and functionality, was an embarrassment to Hewlett-Packard, and it has left many wondering if there will ever be a viable tablet that can take on the iPad.

Speculations as to why the iPad reigns supreme over the tablet kingdom vary, but many suspect that the iPad’s success has more to do with Apple’s loyal fan base than with the superiority of its functionality or user interface design.  Apple has the uncanny ability to capitalize on its rabid base of users’ undying willingness to eat up any dish the company serves, tablets included. On the other end of the spectrum, many believe that PC users still fail to see the point of a tablet when they already have a laptop and a Smartphone. This failure of the user to identify the tablet’s importance creates a kind of tablet gap, a dark void in which companies try to solve the PC user’s tablet-related existential crisis with various tablets to no avail. Designers stuck in the tablet gap seem more adept at churning out products that PC users just don’t want to buy.

The void created by the tablet gap has become a thorn in the side of Apple’s competitors, but Google may have found a legitimate solution to the problem. In tandem with its moves to buy Motorola Mobility, a hardware manufacturer, it is rumored that Google will also be releasing its Ice Cream Sandwich iteration of Android as early as this fall. If the rumors prove to be true, the one two punch of new software plus hardware manufacturing capabilities just might be the missing link between the Smartphone and the laptop that Apple competitors (and PC users alike) have been looking for.

The Ice Cream Sandwich platform is a follow-up to the Android platform and will allegedly unify the Android Gingerbread user interface design (available on Smartphones) and the Android Honeycomb user interface design (available for tablets) in order to make the features of all platforms available on all devices, a multitasking, multi-interfacing interface. Consequently, PC users may be able to see the benefit of a tablet that runs the Ice Cream Sandwich update, opening themselves up to the idea that tablets can be useful and functional, not just frivolous. If Google can create the right tablet hardware to case this software ice cream dream, they may be able to take a big chomp out of Apple. The tablet world could get a whole lot more interesting in the coming months.