Category — website usability

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.

Rumors about the UI design of Samsung Galaxy S3 started right after the release of the previous generation. There is nothing surprising about the fact. Samsung is known for fast development and innovation cycles so everyone is impatient to see what else the company will impress the public with. The interesting rumor about the new Samsung model is that its UI design will be completely buttonless.

Completely buttonless UI design, you may think? The only button that Samsung Galaxy S2 has is the home button at the bottom of the screen, which helps the user to return to home screen from any menu or window. Even though it is hard to imagine a phone’s UI design without a single button, Samsung Galaxy S2 is nearly there. What benefits would the removal of the home button have for the Galaxy’s UI design?

Firstly, absolutely no buttons adds to the “coolness” factor. The phone would look very smooth and uncluttered. The absence of buttons is also said to provide a comfortable experience when the phone is pressed against one’s face when calling. Another change to the UI design that is being discussed is the new user interface with five columns instead of four. If that change is implemented then Galaxy S3’ UI design would become more similar to Galaxy Note’s UI design, which already has five columns.

The latest rumor has it that the home button is likely to stay, after all. However, Samsung is currently working on the next generation and the new phone with the updated UI design may come out as soon as the beginning of summer. If this rumor is true, testers are likely to leak photos of the new UI design soon enough for us to stop wondering.

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.

Ubuntu, a free and open Linux-based computer operating system, released their newest version to the developer, designer and user community on 10/10/10, appropriately dubbed the 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.  Ubuntu developer Mark Shuttleworth describes meerkats as “light, fast, and social” and this latest rendering of Ubuntu is meant to mirror that sentiment with a sharper and quicker user interface design, dubbed Unity, which is consistent with Ubuntu’s overall interest in ensuring usability, stability, and security for its various users across the globe.  Some additional 10.10 updates include:

•    Major updates to open-source operating system, i.e. multitouch support
•    New functionality for personal-cloud services, known as Ubuntu One
•    Increased availability of support for cloud apps, set to drive web 2.0 apps
•    New default font suitable to improve usability
•    New photo manager:  Shotwell replaces F-Shot
•    Microblogging client Gibber updated to support Twitter’s change to OAuth user authentication

Ubuntu 10.10 has strengthened its cloud services and widened its variety of apps.  It is continuing to evolve into a viable competitor for Apple; indeed, there has been a trend of Apple users switching to Ubuntu for PC, giving up the familiar Apple UI design features in favour of the openness of the Ubuntu world.  So far, version 10.10 has been met with positive reviews not only from general users, but also from developers and designers developing software applications for the Ubuntu environment. And since Ubuntu releases new versions of its operating system almost every six months, the tech world will be waiting to see where it goes next.

Online analytics is becoming increasingly important to improve the usability of various user interface designs because it is a quick and professional way to ensure that the right content is being disseminated to the right audience.  Using or implementing fully-integrated and successful online usability testing programs is important because it gives companies a competitive edge in a software world that is evolving to new sophisticated heights.  The easier a company can make it to discern how to best deliver their services to a target group may ensure their survival and success in the future.

Team Work Across Global Offices – twago

twago is a Berlin based company which focuses on outsourcing and offshoring of online services. The overall goal is to achieve the best performance for the best price for the customer. The more precisely you know what specific task you would like to have done, e.g. programming, web design, user interface design, etc., the better it is. You simply post your project with a detailed description on the platform and receive proposals from all over the world from up to 20,000 providers. These service providers can be companies or freelancers. You can find a service provider who best fits to the individual project. Whether you are looking for a service provider from around the corner to meet up face to face or you prefer a freelancer from a specific country, twago offers the possibility to find the right service provider with suitable skills. You choose the one that best fits your needs and preferences. And the best of all: Using twago is easy. You just have to register, post your project and award it to your provider of choice. Should you need any help or special service the kind twago employees are ready to support you. You can try it out at: http://www.twago.com.

If media plays a central role in your technological activities then take note: Finnish-based Dazzboard wants to offer you the opportunity to build a media bridge between your phone and PC. Dazzboard claims to be “the ultimate media webtop, providing users with seamless drag and drop connectivity for photos, music, videos between any device and service on the Internet” (dazzboard.com). Dazzboard enables users to convert media files from their cell phone or other mobile device to their computers. Music, photographs, videos, and other apps can be integrated on various digital user interfaces with Dazzboard as the bridge builder and the internet as the bricks and mortar.  However, there is a catch: Currently Dazzboard services are only accessible via Internet Explorer and Firefox and it is not compatible with any Apple products. So far it’s only supported by PCs, with support extending to Windows 7, Windows Mobile and Android smartphones.  Still, some avid PC users are even touting it as a better, more dynamic version of iTunes.