Do Users Always Benefit When User Interfaces are Consistent?
| Autor: | Ken Dye, David Allen Caulton |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1997 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | People and Computers XII ISBN: 9783540761723 BCS HCI |
| DOI: | 10.1007/978-1-4471-3601-9_4 |
| Popis: | Do users always learn a new program faster if its UI is consistent with a previously learned user interface? Most UI style guides claim they do. A study is described that refutes this claim by demonstrating a case where a version of Microsoft Project that is less consistent with Microsoft Office is more usable to expert Office users than one that is more consistent with Office. It is proposed that the inconsistent version is more usable because Microsoft Project is a different class of application — more vertical — and thus different UI techniques are appropriate. It is argued that users benefit from consistent interfaces where programs perform similar functions over a wide range of user goals, but in more vertical applications and where the user’s goals are different, appropriateness to purpose is more important than consistency. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|