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Home > Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction (5th Edition)

Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-

Computer Interaction (5th Edition)
Submitted by superadmin on Mon, 10/22/2012 - 14:45
HP Activity Categories:
Design of working environment and human-machine interfaces [1]
Resource Type:
Guideline
Abstract:

The text book Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction is one of
the classics within the usability literature. Among others, it is famous for Shneiderman?s eight golden rules
of interface design.

The 5th edition of the book from 2009 is an updated version of the book combining the broad and solid
treatment of the HCI field with coverage of current issues like social media and networking and user-
generated content. Also, many of the numerous examples and figures illustrating design principles and
practices are updated to show leading edge applications and services.

The book treats usability and HCI from different perspectives, covering basic concepts, the development
process, interaction styles, as well as a broad set of design issues. All topics are described using examples
(usually with illustrations in full colour), with a solid foundation in the research literature. Each chapter
starts with a tag cloud showing the most prominent terms discussed in the chapter, and concludes with a
practitioner?s summary and a researcher?s agenda.

There is a companion web site for the book, to which a special access code is provided for six month
subscription to exclusive contents.

References

Developer and source:

Ben Shneiderman, Catherine Plaisant, 2009. Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-
Computer Interaction. Addison Wesley; 5th edition.

Year of development / publication, updates etc:

2009 (first edition was published in 1986)

General Description

Purpose:
The book consists of four parts. Part one is an introduction to usability and HCI, part two looks at the
development process, part three investigates five main interaction styles, while part four addresses specific
design issues.

Through presenting a combination of underlying theory, research results, examples and guidelines the book
aims at presenting a broad field in sufficient depth while still making the material applicable for practitioners.

The book is not aimed at a specific discipline, but the preface contains a guide of the chapters that are most
relevant for different disciplines (like computer science, psychology and sociology, business and information
systems, and technical writing and graphic design).

Type (e.g. observation, questionnaire, interview, checklist, measurement instrument, etc.):

Textbook.

Technical description of method or tool etc

Description of the content/study:

Part one is an introduction to usability and HCI. It presents basic concepts, goals and motivation, as well as
guidelines, principles and theories. The guidelines presented in this part include Shneiderman?s eight golden
rules of interface design.

Part two looks at the development process. It addresses the design process, including methodologies, and
different techniques like ethnographic observations and participatory design, as well as approaches for
evaluating user interfaces, which includes techniques for expert evaluation and usability testing.

Part three investigates five main interaction styles, i.e. (i) direct manipulation and virtual environments, (ii)
menu selection, form fill-in, and dialog boxes, (iii) command and natural languages, (iv) interaction devices,
and (v) collaboration and social media participation. All these styles are presented using a combination of
examples, guidelines and best practices.

Part four addresses specific design issues, i.e. quality of service, function vs. fashion, documentation and
help, information search and information visualization. These issues are to a large extent independent of the
interaction styles presented in Part three, and also the issues are presented using a combination of examples,
guidelines and best practices.

Technical requirements for using the method, tool, etc:

n/a

Measure/Response Type:

n/a

Results obtained and interpretation:

n/a

Evaluation

Advantages:
Combines depth, width and practicality in an excellent way.

Contains practical guidelines.

Contains many examples for current practice.

Covers also new themes and issues.

Addresses a broad audience.

Offers a companion web page.

Disadvantages:

By addressing so broadly, the book runs the risk of really satisfying no one

Although this edition of the book is fairly new, some of the examples are outdated

The subscription to the companion web page is limited to six months

Alternative Methods:

There are quite a few text books on HCI and usability, as well as handbooks containing articles written by
different authors.

Usability (ease of use, efficiency, effectiveness)

Using the book will neither guarantee perfect development processes nor perfect user interfaces, but it will
help avoiding many possible pitfalls.

Ease of use:
high
Efficiency:
high
Effectiveness:
medium
Constraints concerning conditions of use:

n/a

Reliability:

n/a

Validity:

n/a

Required effort (to conduct & to analyse):

n/a
Level of HF expertise needed (required user qualification)
Medium: limited level of expertise required, some training required
Other expertise needed (required user qualification):

n/a

Cost Information

Very low: (<100 €) low costs to purchase or free license, no special devices necessary
Experiences of use by SESAR partners (including references):

n/a

(Selected contents from an earlier edition of this book was used as part of the teaching material in courses on
user interface design taught by NATMIG partners in the 90s)

Reported and/or published experiences of use (including references):

n/a, except for reviews of the book.

Applicability to lifecycle phase (E-OCVM):

Applicable in V1, V2 and V3, but probably best suited for use in V3.

Application Area:

The content of the book is independent of application area to perform usability work and designing user
interfaces. Special challenges within aviation, air traffic control and transportation are not treated
specifically in the book.

Keywords:

Usability, human computer interaction, guidelines, design, evaluation, interaction styles, design issues.

Short Description:

This is a book which treats usability and Human Computer Interaction (HCI) from different perspectives,
covering basic concepts, the development process, interaction styles, as well as a broad set of design issues.
All topics are described using examples, with a solid foundation in the research literature.

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