10 Things That Make Software User-Friendly

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10 things that make software user-friendly
A product that's difficult to figure out, inefficient to use, or poorly supported is not going
to win much of a user base. See whether you agree with these criteria for userfriendliness.
By Jack Wallen
|
in 10 Things,
September 15, 2010, 4:22 AM PST
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Lately, I have touched a nerve with a few
TechRepublic readers regarding the issue of

user-friendliness specifically, user-friendliness
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-things-that-make-software-user-friendly/[11/4/2015 4:50:53 PM]
surrounding the Linux operating system. Of

course, this debate isn't limited to Linux. Userfriendliness can be applied to every operating
system, end-user application, proprietary inhouse application, and more.
But what makes an application user-friendly? Here
are10 criteria by which you should be judging
everything you roll out to your end users, as well
as anything you might be using yourself.
Note: This article is also available as a PDF
download.
1: Simple to install
This applies to everything from operating systems
to browser plug-ins. Installation is the first point of
contact for users, so it had better be a friendly
process. Otherwise, they're going to be jaded the
second they begin using your tool. It doesn't
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3: Intuitive
Software is only as good as its GUI. If the GUI is
not well thought out and well executed, people
will have issues with using the product. A
welldesigned GUI can often overcome a less-thanfriendly underlying structure (or poor coding). But
don't bank all your hope on a good GUI the
software still needs to work as expected!
4: Effcient
Not only should a piece of software work as
expected, it should also be efficient. It should be
optimized for specific architecture, it should have
all memory leaks plugged, and it should work
seamlessly with
underlying structures and
subsystems. From the users' point of view, the
software should be an efficient means to
completing their jobs. Software should not get in
the way of completing a task, nor should it set up
any roadblocks for users. The efficiency of a
piece of software is tied up with its intuitiveness.
A good example is the change Microsoft made to
the Office interface. Switching from the standard
interface to the Ribbon interface caused end

users to waste precious work time simply trying to
figure out where features were located. This was
an inefficient (and inefficiently executed) design
choice.
5: Pleasant, easy-to-navigate GUI

You might be thinking, "The Microsoft Office
Ribbon Interface is horribly NOT intuitive, but it
certainly is pleasant looking." However, the look
and feel of a GUI is a slippery slope that
designers tend to tumble down. When a designer

opts to go with trends instead of what works, it
makes for an unpleasant experience for the end
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down menu design has worked for years but is

long overdue for an update but this update
should not come at the expense of intuitiveness.
A GUI's primary purpose is to make an end user's
job easier... and little more. If that can be
achieved with an edgier design, go for it. But if
your edgy design is counterintuitive and
inefficient, it fails the user-friendliness test.
6: Easy to remove
Along with being easy to install and use, a piece
of software should be easy to remove. Without a
simple removal process, that software becomes
cumbersome. And cumbersome is not userfriendly. As much as developers don't want their
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7: Doesn't need third-party software

One of my biggest problems with the Windows
operating system is that more often than not, it
requires third-party software to keep it running.
This third-party software comes in the form of
antivirus, anti-spyware, and other protectionbased tools. Without these tools, your computer is
vulnerable to whatever the malevolent powers
that be want to throw at you. This is not userfriendly, as it creates levels of
complication that
most average end users can't deal with.
8: Easy to troubleshoot
No software is perfect. And when something goes
wrong with a piece of
software, it's important that
the end user can call support and that support
can resolve the issue. If the software offers
nothing in the way
of troubleshooting, how is the
end user or the administrator going to be able to
keep the software running? Windows 7 attempts
to help the user out when a program crashes and
does a fairly good job with it. In Linux, if you have
problems with an application, you can always run
it from the command line to see some of the
issues presented. There are also third-party tools
that can be used. But again, depending upon a
third-party debugging tool is not user-friendly.
9: Adheres to standards
Standards are created for a reason to make
interconnectivity between applications or
hardware easy. Problems begin to arise when
developers do not adhere to standards. This has

never been so obvious than with Microsoft Office.
Microsoft has practically shunned the world of
universal standards in favor of its own standards.

This causes issues
with other applications
communicating with its software. OpenOffice is
one office suite that does follow standards, but it

often suffers because Microsoft doesn't comply
with standards set by governing bodies.
When
users are affected by a lack of compliance to
standards, they'll face an unfriendly experience
trying to get their tools to communicate with tools
that do follow standards.
10: Effective error handling

What happens when a piece of software
encounters an error? Does it just go away without
warning? Does it try to rectify the issue? Does it
simply time out and then go on about its

business? When a program comes across an
error, it should make the error known, at least to
the developers. It's not the end users'
responsibility to report bugs, but giving them the
option to report bugs can go a long way toward
helping that software improve. When a program
runs into an error and simply bails without
warning or recourse, users are left with their eyes
bugged
out and their hands in the air. At least let
users know there was a problem and what they
can do to help solve it such as sending a bug
report to the developers.
How do you defne user friendly?

Do these criteria fulfill your idea of what makes for
a user-friendly
software experience? If not, what
would you remove or add to this list?
Share your
thoughts with your fellow TechRepublic readers.
About Jack Wallen

Jack
Wallen is an award-winning writer for
TechRepublic and Linux.com. Hes an avid
promoter of open source and the voice of
The Android Expert. For more news about
Jack Wallen, visit his website getjackd.net.
Full Bio // Contact // See all of Jack's content //
//
jlwallen
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Alchemist-Joat
Sep 22, 2010
Intuitive is great. However, there needs to be

documentation. Of course this documentation needs
to explain the features and how to use them. What is
very important (and what seems to be missing from
much documentation) is the documentation also
needs to explain why one would want to use the
features and how any feature interacts with other
features.
Like
Excelmann
Reply
Sep 22, 2010
1. I can use my keyboard to navigate the entire app

as well as execute any and all commands-- not in a
fits & starts mode of constantly having to go to the
pointing device. There is no reason I should ever have
to use the pointing device unless I choose. 2. Web
apps should allow you to go back easy and
effortlessly.
Like
john3347
Reply
Sep 20, 2010
This list is accurate and should be read and absorbed

by every developer in the world. Of these items, the 5
MOST IMPORTANT - and also most ignored - are
intuitive, intuitive, intuitive, intuitive, and INTUITIVE!
One step should logically and intuitively lead to the
next and the user must not need to rely solely on

memory to know how to "find" whatever they are
looking for or wishing to perform within any
application. Developers quickly lose sight of their
audience when they begin to write applications
aimed at impressing the user with how smart the
developer is, instead of making the application
intuitive and easy to learn and use.
Like
kishorebarik26
Reply
Sep 20, 2010
Nice Idea
Like
NickNielsen
Reply
Sep 18, 2010
I just purchased a new USB hard drive, a WD My

Passport SE. 750 GB for under $100 (prices sure have
come down, but that's another discussion). I
connected it to my PC the same way I have
connected all the other external USB drives I have,
and am suddenly faced with Windows' New Hardware
Wizard. WTF? I need to install drivers? Yes, I do,
because WD has a virtual CD on the drive that wants
to manage it for me. What's with this? I bought a
storage device! I don't need it to manage my backups
or anything else! All I wanted it for was to archive
some older (larger) files! The most user unfriendly
part came as part of the driver installation: a) the
instructions for installing the drivers gave a procedure
that couldn't be followed; b) the drivers weren't in
the location specified; and, c) installing the drivers
also installed a startup app...that broke Windows.
When I rebooted, I got an error: "We are unable to
load your profile. You have been logged in to the
default profile. Insufficient system resources to
complete the requested action." (or words to that
effect) Login took 10 minutes. Thought about it, fired
up CCleaner, checked the startup keys, killed the new
app, rebooted, and everything was fine. I finally
found a way to turn off the virtual CD, but that stinkin'
partition is still on the drive and I want it gone. But,
by that time, I had already copied over 100GB onto
the new drive. One of these days, I'll have enough free
space on a couple of other drives (and the time) to
empty the new one. Once I have an empty drive, the
next step is [pre]dd.exe if=/dev/zero of=\\?
\Device\Harddisk2\Partition0 bs=1M --progress[/pre]
followed immediately by [pre]dd.exe
if=empty_dos_table.mbr of=\\?
\Device\Harddisk2\Partition0[/pre] Take that, WD!
edit: )
Like
Reply
nikunjbhatt84
Sep 17, 2010
the 7th point: Doesn?t need third-party software,

seems awkward. if a particular software is made for a
particular task, the developer can not provide facility
to protect the software from malwares. it is the user's
responsibility to keep their devices and OS malware
free by anyway. microsoft has created some called
"standards", and now it has opted off from those
"standards" by implementing the new feature called
"ribbon" in the new ms office suits, and its really hard
to find commands in this new "intuitive" interface for
the old users. shouldnt they provide backward
compatibility (menu)? sometimes i have to design
according to the user/client's preference rather than
implementing easy-to-use-for-users because they are
already familiar with the old interface and they dont
want to WASTE their time to learn new interface. so,
ultimately, if the user is not satisfied with your
designed interface, your work, weather it is more
intuitive and easy-to-use, is of no use. i have also
used linux and it had provided much richer user
interface than windows 7 before almost 8 yrs of
window 7 release. response time should also b
considered. nero, visual studio, photoshop r the big
programs which r resource hog and therefore slow.
platform independent is also important.
Like
prugsa.kilgore
Reply
Sep 17, 2010
Well written assessment. To keep in mind all the time

is that GUI is designed to make the user's job easier.
It has to be easy to install and update. It has to be
intuitive for users to use and navigate from one
screen/task to the other. I agree with one of the
comments that intuitive and user friendliness in the
eyes of the beholder; therefore it is very important
before releasing the product, we must have other sets
of eyes help troubleshooting and play around our GUI.
We all think differently. We have different ways of
accomplishing the same thing differently. Developers
have to be open minded. The more feedback we get
the better GUI product we are going to have. After all,
once the product released customers will be the one
who uses it not us.
Like
a.portman
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
11. Stays out of the system tray. HP, Adobe and

QuickTime, this means you too. People are amazed
when I clear up the startup mess and they find out
their new computer really is fast. 12. Ask if I want a
desktop icon and keep it where I want it. 13. NO
ADDED SPYWARE. 14. Cross platform-ability. I use
windows, web, smartphone and Linux. I would like to

share whatever you do easily. 15. Say what you
do/Do what you say. 16. Offer meaningful support. I
am ok with a forum or a knowledge base, as long as it
has the answers and I can find them.
Like
weston2k
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
Number 9: "Microsoft doesn?t comply with standards

set by governing bodies" - who are you refering to
there? If you had a multi-billion dollar software
company and it's I.P. to protect, would you take the
standards of some self-appointed busy-bodies, or
would you go your own way? More anti-ms clap trap.
Your bio say it all.
Like
RF7000
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
I would also add #11 portability #12 web site and

forum supporting the code. #13 source code
availability (open source) #14 price
Like
brendan
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
Technically if you're main complaint about antivirus

etc is the need to use third party programs, Microsoft
actually offers free versions of all those programs
itself. They can't bundle them with the OS because of
the whole Antitrust ruling but they make them easily
available.
Like
gscratchley
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
as a former collegue used to say "'friendly-ness" is in

the eye of the friend", or, as I infered from one poster:
who is the 'friend' of the developer? I think 'userfriendly' means "just like I would have designed it"
Glen
Like
devshop
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
As an ISV, I couldn't agree more. And here's two

things to add to the list. First, keep the GUI consistent
so that when the user learns to enter data in one form,
the next form is the same. The comfort level goes
WAY up when they can look at the next page and say,
'Oh, just like before!'. Second, if you've got a lot of

"cool" features in the app, don't make the user use
them or even look at them to use the simple parts. For
example, I always include a designer for building
reports in every system. However I make sure there
are plenty of pre-built reports on the Print menu so
that the user doesn't have to spend half a day setting
up a report to simply print their data. The designer is
there (and documented) if they want to spend some
time in the future customizing their reports, but it's
not required for the overall functionality of the app.
Like
garystafford
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
Accurate assessment. Often, the problem is in the

eye of the beholder. We, as developers, consider our
software user-friendly, based on our own opinions,
not those of the customer. We sometimes forget user
= customer. Feedback, feedback, feedback = good
software.
Like
The 'G-Man.'
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
This was an inefficient (and inefficiently executed)

design choice. How so? - new users find it easy to
use and learn the product faster - that was the whole
point. Old version users are the ones that had the
issue - this is a different issue altogether!!
Like
The 'G-Man.'
Reply
Sep 16, 2010
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Userfri
endly.20030128.gif More at
http://www.userfriendly.org/
Like
MichP
Reply
Sep 15, 2010
Windows never was intuitive. My company gave

training sessions on how to get around in Windows
when 3.1 was being adopted. But now most people
have used mice and icons long enough that we don't
think about it. I have learned to right-click to find
options, but there are a lot of people that still never
think of that. Which is why I do NOT want to use a
ribbon in the software I write, no matter how much
Microsoft is pushing it (at least not for several years).

Like
wizard57m-cnet
Reply
Sep 15, 2010
They want their Y2K bug back! Seriously, did you

just reprint a rant on Windows 98, with a few updated
references to Office 2010 and the "ribbon" to give an
appearance of relevance? Virtually every one of your
10 items has been addressed, or is out of your
unnamed target's (Microsoft) control. Let's forget the
first 5. These are already handled almost without user
interaction, or at the most a click OK to proceed.
Number 6 effects not only Windows applications, but
virtually all platforms. So I'll give you that one.
Number 7, relying on third party software...in case
you fell asleep in 1999 or so, the Justice Department
sort of coerced MS into leaving a lot of those out of
Windows, probably at the behest of such behemoths
as, oh, I don't know, maybe Symantec, McAfee, Trend
Micro et al etc. ad nauseum. Yet you rail against it
(3rd party software), then in number 9 you espouse
Open Office for its standards compliance...let's see,
oh yes, you must install and use Java to enable OO to
work with those standards, yet another third party!
Number 8...well, you at least aknowledge some
improvement in Windows, but then you digress to
command line for Linux to aid in troubleshooting?
Thought you were extolling the benefits of GUIs?
Hmmm...ok, that's a half. Finally number 10, I get the
impression that almost all modern operating systems
do a decent job at error handling and reporting. Could
it be improved? Probably. Total score = 1.5 "things".
Like
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TECH & WORK

Power through our confidential survey for the

Contact us about this survey.

Lately, I have touched a nerve with a few

TechRepublic readers regarding the issue of

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-things-that-make-software-user-friendly/[11/4/2015 4:50:53 PM]