Useability Flashcards
(18 cards)
Affordance
A property in which the physical characteristics of an object and environment influence its function.
Accessibility
Objects and environments should be designed to be usable, without modification, by as many people as possible.
• four characteristics: Perceptibility, operability, simplicity, forgiveness.
Confirmation
A technique for preventing unintended actions by requiring verification of the actions before they are performed.
• two techniques: Dialog, Two-step operation.
Consistency
The usability of a system is improved when similar parts are expressed in similar ways. • four kinds: Aesthetic, functional, internal, and external.
Desire Line
Traces of use or wear that indicate preferred methods of interaction with an object or environment.
Entry Point
A point of physical or attentional entry into a design.
• key elements: Minimal barriers, points of prospect, progressive lures.
Iconic Representation
The use of pictorial images to improve the recognition and recall of signs and controls. • four types: Similar, example, symbolic, and arbitrary.
Wayfinding
The process of using spatial and environmental information to navigate
to a destination.
• four stages: Orientation, route decision, route monitoring, destination recognition.
Cost-Benefit
An activity will be pursued only if its benefits are equal or greater than the costs.
Design by Committee
A design process based on consensus building, group decision making, and extensive iteration.
Development Cycle
Successful products typically follow four stages of creation: requirements, design, development, and testing.
Form Follows Function
Beauty in design results from purity of function.
Hierarchy of Needs
In order for a design to be successful, it must meet people’s basic needs before it can attempt to satisfy higher-level needs.
• five key levels: Functionality, reliability, usability, proficiency, creativity.
Iteration
A process of repeating a set of operations until a specific result is achieved.
• two basic forms: Design, development.
Modularity
A method of managing system complexity that involves dividing large systems into multiple, smaller self-contained systems.
Ockham’s Razor
Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs, the simplest design should be selected.
Prototyping
The use of simplified and incomplete models of a design to explore ideas, elaborate requirements, refine specifications, and test functionality.
• three basic kinds: Concept, throwaway, evolutionary.
Structural Forms
There are three ways to organize materials
to support a load or to contain and protect something: mass structures, frame structures and shell structures.
