Wiki

(from P39 to P)

• Familiarity
• Simplicity: thinking about the typical streamline of a task.
• Availability: avoid hiding key features and settings too deeply in submenus or making them accessible only from a contextual menu (which is not always able to be triggered) People should be able to find all the available features in your application. Don’t hide features by failing to make commands available in a menu. Menus present lists of commands so that people can see their choices rather than try to remember command names. Avoid providing accessto features only in toolbars or contextual menus. Because toolbars and contextual menus may be hidden, the commands they contain should always be available in menu bar menus as well.
• Discoverability: Encourage users to discover functionality by providing cues. If an element is clickable, for example, it must appear that way. Avoid making controls invisible to inexperienced users.

For implied actions to be apparent, the user must be able to recognize the objects involved, the manipulation to be performed, and the consequences of the action.

Some applications attempt to assist the user by offering only those alternatives deemed good for the user or by protecting the user from having to make detailed decisions. (Windows is a very bad example)

The key is to provide users with the capabilities they need while helping them avoid dangerous, irreversible actions. For example, in situations where the user might destroy data accidentally, you should always provide a warning, but allow the user to proceed if they choose.

Users want to know that a command is being carried out

• Name consistency
• Graphic consistency: Do icons mean the same thing every time they are used?

Use a preview function if necessary.

• making most actions easily reversible. (People need to feel that they can try things without damaging the system or jeopardizing their data. Create safety nets,such as the Undo and Revert to Saved commands)
• Warn users when they initiate a task that will cause irreversible loss of data. If alerts appear frequently, however, it may mean that the product has some design flaws. When options are presented clearly and feedback is timely, using an application should be relatively error-free.