Chapter 8 Designing the Human Interface Chapter Overview Designing the human interface is an important systems design activity. This chapter introduces students to form and report design, interface and dialogue design, and dialogue diagramming. Form and report design is a key ingredient for successful systems because users often equate the quality of a system to the quality of its input and output methods. Because of this, students need to understand the role of active user involvement in the form and report design process. A key to designing usable forms and reports is consistency. Students can gain the skills needed to design consistent, usable forms and reports by learning the guidelines of formatting information, using color, highlighting, and avoiding the biasing of information. This chapter also introduces students to the process of designing interfaces and dialogues. The guidelines for designing forms and reports also apply to the design of human–computer interfaces. Additionally, form and report design and interface and dialogue design have similar processes and deliverables. Instructional Objectives Specific student learning objectives are included at the beginning of the chapter. From an instructor’s point of view, the objectives of this chapter are to: 1. Illustrate the process of designing forms and reports, and the deliverables for their creation. 2. Describe how to apply the general guidelines for formatting forms and reports. 3. Illustrate how color can be used to improve the usability of information. 4. Illustrate how to format text, tables, and lists effectively. 5. Explain how the formatting of information can bias users’ understanding. 6. Describe how to assess usability and illustrate how variations in users, tasks, technology, and environmental characteristics influence the usability of forms and reports. 7. Explain the process of designing interfaces and dialogues and the deliverables for their creation. 8. Illustrate how to apply the general guidelines for designing interfaces and specific guidelines for layout design, structuring data entry fields, providing feedback, and system help. 9. Illustrate how to design human-computer dialogues, including the use of dialogue diagramming. 10. Discuss the importance of human interface design as it relates to Internet-based electronic commerce applications. Classroom Ideas 1. During a lecture, an effective way to teach the various information formatting concepts is to use the tables and figures in the chapter to contrast proper and improper designs. 2. An alternative to lecturing on the chapter’s contents is to lecture from the Review Questions, Problems and Exercises, and Discussion Questions at the end of the chapter. Selected questions can be posed to students to help focus a discussion on specific concepts. 3. Another very effective in-class exercise is to ask students who have been on systems development teams to compare their experiences to the concepts presented in this chapter. This discussion is a good way to elaborate on alternative ways for designing forms and reports. Since some organizations have standards for form and report design, ask students to bring these standards and example forms or reports to class. If standards do not exist, have students bring examples of forms and reports from the same or different systems, showing inconsistencies that can result from not having standards. 4. If you have access to practicing systems analysts, an insightful activity is to invite them into your class to discuss how they design forms and reports in their organization (e.g., processes, types of development and prototyping tools, etc.). As with item 3 above, have your guest(s) discuss any standards the organization has for form and report design. Also, ask your guest(s) to discuss how form and report designs are reviewed or approved, especially if there is a human factors review involved. 5. If you have access to a CASE tool or a visual development tool (e.g., Visual Basic), it is often fun and informative for you to rapidly construct several forms or reports interactively with the class. Alternatively, if you can hold your class in a computer classroom where every student has their own PC and development software, have your students create designs for some fictitious system. Even though you provide students with the same specifications, it is a very interesting exercise to have students share their designs with the other class members. After performing this exercise, discuss why some of the designs were different, but still conform to the design guidelines from the chapter and the specifications that you gave them. Next, discuss how this all relates to usability, consistency in design, and so on. 6. Ask students to bring to class (better yet, give a copy to you in advance so you can make transparencies from them) example forms and reports. Students receive and use invoices, order forms, class registration documents, ride share cards, airline tickets, and a host of other computer input and output. Using the guidelines presented in this chapter, critique these forms and reports. Ask your students to redesign these documents to better satisfy the chapter’s guidelines. 7. Your lectures and exercises should stress the similarity of form and report design and interface and dialogue design, to emphasize the importance of the right information, in the right amount of detail, at the right time. Lecture Notes Figure 8–1 highlights two important design phase activities: human interface design and database design. This chapter introduces students to several guidelines for designing forms and reports and interfaces and dialogues. Also, students are introduced to human-computer design issues relating to Internet-based applications. Designing Forms and Reports Form and report prototypes are produced at the end of the analysis phase. Forms and reports are related to the DFD and E-R diagrams produced during requirements structuring. Forms and reports are associated with data flows on data-flow diagrams; the data on these forms and reports also correspond to the entities’ data elements. Form interaction is a standard method for gathering and displaying information on the Internet. When designing forms and reports, a prototyping approach is generally used. During this process, the analyst gains an understanding of the intended user and task objectives, structures and refines the information into a prototype; and reviews and modifies the prototype with the end users. Table 8–1 lists several questions to ask when designing forms and reports. Figures 8–2 and 8–3 show two different methods of designing a form. Design specifications are the human interface design activity’s major deliverables. Narrative overview, sample design, and testing and usability assessment are the design specification’s three major sections. Figure 8–4 illustrates a design specification. Table 8–2 summarizes the guidelines for designing forms and reports. Useful guidelines include using meaningful titles, including meaningful information, balancing the layout, and designing an easy navigation system. Figure 8–5 contrasts a poorly-designed and well-designed form. Table 8–3 lists several commonly used highlighting methods. While highlighting should be used sparingly, it can be used to notify users of errors, provide warnings, and draw attention to keywords, commands, high-priority messages, and data that have gone outside normal ranges. Blinking and audible tones are used to highlight critical information, and highlighting methods should be consistently selected and applied. Figure 8–6 illustrates several types of highlighting. Table 8–4 presents several guidelines for displaying text; these guidelines concern the case, spacing, justification, hyphenation, and abbreviation of text. Figure 8–7 contrasts a poorly-designed help screen with its improved design. Table 8–5 presents the general guidelines for displaying tables and lists, including using meaningful labels; formatting columns, rows, and text; and formatting numeric, textual, and alphanumeric data. Figure 8–8 contrasts a poorly designed form and an improved form design. When choosing between tables and graphs, tables are best when the user needs to locate a single data value; graphs are generally best when analyzing data over time. Figures 8–9 and 8–10 illustrate this point. Designing Interfaces and Dialogues Interface and dialogue design defines the manner in which humans and computers exchange information. When designing interfaces and dialogues, a prototyping methodology is generally used. A design specification is the primary deliverable from the system interface and design activity. Figure 8–11 shows a design specification outline; subsection 2b is a new addition to the design specification, requiring the development of dialogue sequence diagrams. Figure 8–12 shows a paper-based form; Figure 8–13 shows a computer-based form. When designing computer-based forms, their design should be similar to their paper-based equivalent form, standard screen navigation should flow from left-to-right and top-to-bottom, data fields should be grouped into logical categories with labels describing each category, and flexibility and consistency should be built into the form. Figure 8–14 contrasts a poorly designed navigation flow with a more appropriate flow. Table 8–6 provides a checklist for validating the usability of user interface designs. Table 8–7 presents the guidelines for structuring data entry fields. These guidelines govern entries, defaults, units, replacements, captioning, formatting, justification, and help. Table 8–8 illustrates display design options for entering text. As data are entered, several types of errors may occur. Providing an audit trail can help make identification of such errors easier. Table 8–9 describes several of these errors, including appending, truncating, transcription, and transposition. An objective of interface design is to reduce these errors. Table 8–10 lists several techniques that are used to detect data errors before saving or transmission; these tests include class or composition, combinations, expected values, missing data, pictures/templates, range, reasonableness, self-checking digits, size, and values. Figure 8–15 illustrates how a check digit is calculated. System interfaces should provide feedback; types of system feedback include status information, prompting cues, and error and warning messages. Table 8–11 provides examples of poor and improved error messages. The design of a help system is an important interface design issue. Table 8–12 provides the SOS guidelines for designing system help; these guidelines are simplify, organize, and show. When designing the help feature, help is provided at the system, form, or field level. Providing field-level help is also called “context-sensitive” help. Figure 8–16 contrasts a poorly designed help screen with an improved design. Table 8–13 identifies several types of help, and Figure 8–17 shows a hyper-based help system from Microsoft Internet Explorer. A dialogue is the sequence of interactions between a user and a system. Dialogue design consists of designing the dialogue sequence, building a prototype, and assessing usability. Consistency is the primary dialogue design guideline; dialogues should be consistent in sequence of actions, keystrokes, and terminology. Table 8–14 presents the guidelines for the design of human-computer dialogues. These guidelines govern consistency, shortcuts and sequence, feedback, closure, error handling, reversal, control, and ease of use. Figure 8–18 illustrates a dialogue diagram; dialogue diagramming is a formal method for designing and representing human-computer dialogues using box and line diagrams. Only one symbol appears on a dialogue diagram, a box with three sections. Each box corresponds to one display. A dialogue diagram can represent sequence, selection, and iteration; Figure 8–19 illustrates these three concepts. Building prototypes and assessing usability are often optional activities. Graphical development environments speed prototype development. PVF WebStore: Designing the Human Interface Designing the human interface for an Internet-based electronic commerce application is a crucial and critical design activity. A prototyping process works well when designing the human interface for an Internet electronic commerce system. Although human interface design guidelines for Internet-based applications are still evolving, several guidelines are presented in the textbook. These guidelines include using cookie crumbs, lightweight graphics, form and data integrity rules, and template-based HTML. Table 8–15 identifies common errors that occur when designing the interface and dialogues of Web sites. Table 8–16 identifies common errors that occur when designing the layout of Web pages. Key Terms Checkpoint Solutions Review Questions Solutions 8-1. Describe the prototyping process of designing forms and reports. What deliverables are produced from this process? Are these deliverables the same for all types of system projects? Why or why not? Answer: Designing forms and reports is a user-focused activity that typically follows a prototyping approach. First, you must gain an understanding of the intended user and task objectives by collecting initial requirements during requirements determination. After collecting the initial requirements, you structure and refine this information into an initial prototype. Structuring and refining the requirements are completed independent from the users, although you may need to occasionally contact users to clarify some issue overlooked during analysis. Finally, you ask users to review and evaluate the prototype. After reviewing the prototype, users may accept the design or request that changes be made. If changes are needed, you will repeat the construction-evaluate-refinement cycle until the design is accepted. Usually, several iterations of this cycle occur during the design of a single form or report. The major deliverables produced from the process of designing forms and reports are the creation of design specifications. A design specification includes a narrative overview, a sample design, and a testing and usability assessment section. Some specification information may be irrelevant when designing some forms and reports. For example, the design of a simple “Yes/No” selection form may be so straightforward that no usability assessment would be needed. Also, much of the narrative overview may be unneeded, unless it was used to highlight some exception that must be considered during implementation. 8-2. To which initial questions must the analyst gain answers to in order to build an initial prototype of a system output? Answer: The initial questions are listed in Table 8–1; these questions include: (1) who will use this form or report; (2) what is the purpose of the form or report; (3) when is the form or report needed and used; (4) where does the form or report need to be delivered and used; and (5) how many people need to use or view the form or report? 8-3. How should textual information be formatted on a help screen? Answer: The guidelines for formatting a help screen are based on the general guidelines for formatting text. The general guidelines for formatting text are presented in Table 8–4; these guidelines govern case, spacing, justification, hyphenation, and abbreviations. 8-4. What type of labeling can you use in a table or list to improve its usability? Answer: The following labeling guidelines can improve the usability of a table or list: (1) all columns and rows should have meaningful labels; (2) labels should be separated from other information by using highlighting; and (3) redisplay labels when the data extends beyond a single screen or page. 8-5. What column, row, and text formatting issues are important when designing tables and lists? Answer: The guidelines for formatting columns, rows, and text in a table or list include: (1) sorting in a meaningful order (e.g., ascending, descending, or alphabetic); (2) placing a blank line between every five rows in long columns; (3) sorting vertically similar information displayed in multiple columns (that is, read from top to bottom, not left to right); (4) placing at least two spaces between columns; (5) allowing white space on printed reports for the user to write notes; (6) using a single typeface, except for emphasis; (7) using the same family of typefaces within and across displays and reports; and (8) avoiding overly fancy fonts. 8-6. Describe how numeric, textual, and alphanumeric data should be formatted in a table or list. Answer: The guidelines for formatting numeric, textual, and alphanumeric data in a table or list include: (1) right justifying numeric data and aligning columns by decimal points or some other delimiter; (2) left justifying textual data and using a short line length, usually 30–40 characters per line (this is what newspapers use, and it is easier to speed read); and (3) breaking long sequences of alphanumeric data into small groups of three to four characters each. 8-7. Provide some examples where variations in user, task, system, and environmental characteristics might impact the design of system forms and reports. Answer: User-related concerns include experience, skills, motivation, education, and personality. Task-related concerns include time pressure, cost of errors, and work duration. The system platform is a system-related concern, and lighting, sound, and task interruptions are environment-related concerns. 8-8. Describe the process of designing interfaces and dialogues. What deliverables are produced from this process? Are these deliverables the same for all types of system projects? Why or why not? Answer: The design process is a user-focused activity that typically follows a prototyping approach. First, you must gain an understanding of the intended user and task objectives by collecting initial requirements during requirements determination. After collecting the initial requirements, you structure and refine this information into an initial prototype. Structuring and refining the requirements are completed independent from the users, although you may need to occasionally contact users to clarify some issue overlooked during analysis. Finally, you ask users to review and evaluate the prototype. After reviewing the prototype, users either accept the design or request changes. If changes are needed, you will repeat the construction-evaluate-refinement cycle until the design is accepted. Usually, several iterations of this cycle occur during the design of a single interface or dialogue. Design specifications are the primary deliverables; these documents include a narrative overview, sample design, testing and usability assessment, and dialogue sequence outline. 8-9. List and describe the functional capabilities needed in an interface for effective entry and navigation. Which capabilities are most important? Why? Will this be the same for all systems? Why or why not? Answer: The functional capabilities include cursor control capabilities, editing capabilities, exit capabilities, and help capabilities; Table 8–6 summarizes these capabilities. When designing the navigation procedures within your system, flexibility and consistency are primary concerns. Users should be able to freely move forward and backward or to any desired data entry fields. Consistency extends to the selection of keys and commands. Each key or command should have only one function, and this function should be consistent throughout the entire system and across systems if possible. The most important capabilities will vary from system to system. For a given system, consistency is the most important capability. System capabilities will, unfortunately, vary from system to system. 8-10. Describe the general guidelines for structuring data-entry fields. Can you think of any instances when it would be appropriate to violate these guidelines? Answer: Table 8–7 summarizes the guidelines for structuring data entry fields. Some of the design guidelines may be violated in certain circumstances. For example, a help system might be omitted from a very simple system or a system designed to be used by a single user or small group. 8-11. Describe four types of data errors. Answer: Sources of data errors include appending, truncating, transcripting, and transposing. Appending adds additional characters to a field; truncating loses characters from a field; transcripting errors enter invalid data into a field; transposing reverses the sequence of one or more characters in a field. 8-12. Describe the types of system feedback. Is any form of feedback more important than the others? Why or why not? Answer: Three types of system feedback are discussed in the chapter; these include status information, prompting cues, and error or warning messages. No single method can be deemed “most” important because each is critical to an effective design. 8-13. Describe the general guidelines for designing usable help. Can you think of any instances when it would be appropriate to violate these guidelines? Answer: Table 8–12 presents the general guidelines for designing usable help. Some of the design guidelines may be violated in certain circumstances. For example, a help system might be omitted from a very simple system or a system designed to be used by a single user or small group. 8-14. What steps do you need to follow when designing a dialogue? Of the guidelines for designing a dialogue, which is most important? Why? Answer: The three major steps in dialogue design are: (1) design the dialogue sequence; (2) build a prototype; and (3) assess usability. A case could be made for the importance of all steps. Yet, designing the dialogue (with the input of the user) is likely the most important step because this is where you collect and structure the users' requirements. 8-15. Describe what is meant by a cookie crumb. How do these help prevent users from getting lost? Answer: A cookie crumb is a technique for showing users where they are in a Web site; a series of tabs are placed on a Web page showing the users where they are and where they have been. By showing users where they are in a Web site, cookie crumbs keep users from getting lost; users can just click on a hyperlink to return home. 8-16. Describe why you might want to use lightweight graphics on some Web pages and large detailed graphics on others. Answer: Often users do not want to wait for large, color images to download, especially if they have a slow modem. If the time is excessive, the users will often leave the site. Lightweight graphics download much faster and give the user a thumbnail sketch of the product. If the user wishes to view a larger image, she can click on the thumbnail sketch to see a larger graphic. 8-17. Why is it especially important to eliminate data-entry errors on an electronic commerce Web site? Answer: If data errors are caught quickly, this helps keep erroneous data from being permanently stored in the company’s database. 8-18. How can style sheet- based HTML help to make a large electronic commerce site more maintainable? Answer: Style sheet-based HTML processes and displays common attributes of higher-level, more abstract items. When a common attribute changes, this change requires updating only the style sheet, as opposed to making many changes. For instance, if your company manufactures handbags, the styles of these handbags will differ but the available colors are probably the same. If a new color, suppose chocolate, is added then only the available colors require updating. Problems and Exercises Solutions 8-19. Imagine that you are to design a budget report for a colleague at work using a spreadsheet package. Following the prototyping discussed in the chapter (see also Figure 1–17), describe the steps you would take to design a prototype of this report. Answer: The students should describe a process as outlined in Figure 1–17 (Chapter 1). Essentially, they should begin by eliciting from their colleague a definition of the problem and the basic requirements for the budget report. These requirements would include the content, how they want to use the data (e.g., what comparison or decisions they will make from the data), and any other expectations they have about the style of the report. They should then develop an initial, working prototype using the spreadsheet package. Next, they should use this spreadsheet prototype to revise and enhance the system iteratively with their colleagues. When ready, the prototype can then be converted to the operational system. Certainly! Here’s a concise outline of the steps to design a prototype for a budget report using a spreadsheet package: 1. Identify Requirements: Gather and understand the specific needs and requirements for the budget report from your colleague, including the key metrics, categories, and any specific formatting preferences. 2. Draft Initial Layout: Create a basic layout of the report in the spreadsheet, including sections for income, expenses, and summaries. Use placeholder data to represent where actual data will be entered. 3. Include Key Components: Add essential elements like headings, tables, charts, and formulas. Ensure that the structure supports the necessary calculations and data visualization. 4. Review and Refine: Share the initial prototype with your colleague for feedback. Adjust the layout, design, and formulas based on their input. 5. Test Functionality: Verify that all formulas and links are working correctly with sample data. Ensure the report is accurate and easy to understand. 6. Finalize Design: Make final adjustments to improve readability and usability. Incorporate any additional feedback and finalize the report for actual use. By following these steps, you'll create a functional and user-friendly budget report prototype. 8-20. Consider a system that produces inventory reports at a local retailer. Alternatively, consider a system that produces student academic records for the records office at a university. For whichever system you choose, answer the following design questions: Who will use the output? What is the purpose of the output? When is the output needed, and when is the information that will be used within the output available? Where does the output need to be delivered? How many people need to view the output? Answer: Inventory reports are used by managers and stocking employees, and perhaps store owners, depending on how large the retailer is. The output’s purpose is to give an accurate picture of the levels of various inventory items, for purchasing or other decisions. The output would likely be needed at regular intervals (e.g., weekly), but would only be available after ordering and sales information is updated (so that updated inventory levels would display). Assuming this is a smaller retailer, the output would only be needed either on the computer screen, or perhaps as a printed report for reconciliation purposes. In a smaller retailer, the information is really only applicable to managers and a few employees in charge of stocking shelves. 8-21. Imagine the worst possible reports from a system. What is wrong with them? List as many problems as you can. What are the consequences of such reports? What could go wrong as a result? How does the prototyping process help guard against each problem? Answer: The worst possible reports come so late that the information is be useless, the reports contain information that the user does not need, and they do not contain the information that the user really needs. The information presented has errors and is inconsistent from page to page and from report to report. The layout is difficult to read and understand, and the reports are inflexible, prohibiting the user from changing the information to his liking. As farfetched as this sounds, these types of problems happen frequently with poorly designed reports. The consequences are that the users of these reports will not be able to use the reports in any meaningful way. They ultimately become frustrated with the reports and, eventually, stop looking at them. If they are unable to find the information they need in some other way, their decision making and performance suffers. Ultimately, the organization’s performance suffers. The prototyping process helps guard against these problems because users and system personnel can work together to ensure that the reports are useful; they present useful information in an effective format, and they are delivered in a timely manner. 8-22. Given the guidelines presented in this chapter, identify flaws in the design of the Report of Employees shown. What assumptions about users and tasks did you make in order to assess this design? Redesign this report to correct these flaws. Answer: The report lacks a clear title, meaningful column labels consistent spacing of rows, logical sequence of information, proper segregation of column data, and left-justification of alphabetic text. The long ID numbers are hard to read. The data is also ambiguous (it could be M-D-YY or D-M-YY). Employee Report Jan 02, 2008 Employee ID Last Name First Name Title 0-124-543 Chang Jennifer VP Marketing 2-345-645 Eagar Kim Project Manager 2-342-456 Graham Emily Systems Analyst 4-564-234 Hoffman Matt Software Engineer 7-875-468 Shelley Nick BI Analyst 4-446-789 Smith John HR Manager 4-678-899 Walters Mark Receptionist 4-452-378 Wright Jared Network Operations Engineer 8-23. Consider the design of a registration system for a hotel. Following design specification items in Figure 8–11, briefly describe the relevant users, tasks, and displays involved in such a system. Answer: The users for a hotel registration system include the hotel employees working at the front desk and, perhaps, the people working at the concierge desk and the guests, depending on how the system was designed. The system’s primary purpose is to assist in quickly and effectively registering guests to the hotel. The people at the concierge desk use the system to register guests when the front desk has an overload. They might also use the system to check on or change a guest’s information. The hotel might even let prospective guests use the system directly to either register or check on their registration. Such a system might display information on room availability and rates, places for the user to enter guest information, and a map to show the guest how to get to his/her room and where to park his/her car. 8-24. Obtain a report of some information, either from your employer (e.g., a budget or project report) or from your school (e.g., your student academic record). Evaluate the design of the report using the general guidelines in Table 8-2. Answer: Answers will vary. Evaluations should be based on the guidelines in Table 8-2. To evaluate the design of a report using general guidelines similar to those in Table 8-2, follow these steps: 1. Clarity: Check if the report is easy to understand. Is the information presented clearly with well-defined sections and headings? 2. Accuracy: Ensure that the data presented is accurate and correctly calculated. Verify any figures, formulas, or statistics. 3. Consistency: Look for consistency in formatting, terminology, and style throughout the report. Are fonts, colors, and layout uniform? 4. Relevance: Assess if the report includes only necessary and relevant information. Is extraneous data omitted? 5. User Orientation: Determine if the report is designed with the end-user in mind. Is it organized in a way that helps the user easily find and interpret the information? 6. Visual Appeal: Evaluate the visual aspects of the report. Is it visually appealing and professional, with appropriate use of charts, tables, and whitespace? By reviewing these aspects, you can gauge how well the report adheres to effective design principles. 8-25. Design one sample data-entry screen for a hotel registration system using the data entry guidelines provided in this chapter (see Table 8–7). Support your design with arguments for each of the design choices you made. Answer: It should be fairly easy for students to design a simple display for hotel registration data-entry. Such a display would basically require the user to input the prospective guest’s name, address, telephone number, method of payment, information about payment (e.g., credit card number or check number), whether or not they have a car and, if so, the license plate of the car and the state in which the car is licensed, length of stay, whether the guest wants a smoking or non smoking room, and so on. It is not important that the students capture all the necessary information on their sample displays; rather, it is important that their displays conform to the guidelines outlined in Table 8–7 and that they can argue logically for the design choices they have made. Sample Data-Entry Screen Design: 1. Title: "Hotel Registration" 2. Fields: • Guest Name: Text Box (Required) • Date of Birth: Date Picker (Optional) • Phone Number: Text Box (Format: (###) ###-####) • Email Address: Text Box (Format: [email protected]) • Check-In Date: Date Picker (Required) • Check-Out Date: Date Picker (Required) • Room Type: Drop-Down List (Standard, Suite, Deluxe) • Number of Guests: Number Box (Minimum: 1) • Credit Card Number: Text Box (Masked Input) • Expiration Date: Date Picker • Cardholder Name: Text Box (Required) • Billing Address: Text Box (Optional) 3. Buttons: • Submit • Cancel Justifications: • Text Boxes & Date Pickers: Ensure accurate and user-friendly data entry. • Drop-Down List: Prevents input errors. • Masked Input: Secures sensitive credit card data. • Number Box: Validates numeric entries. Summary: Design focuses on ease of use, validation, and security. 8-26. Describe some typical dialogue scenarios between users and a hotel registration system. For hints, reread the section in this chapter that provides sample dialogue between users and the Customer Information System at Pine Valley Furniture. Answer: One potential dialogue scenario for a hotel registration system might be: a request to view room availability and relevant rates, select a room and rate, input guest information, input and verify payment information, select printing of receipt, leave the system. 8-27. Represent the dialogues from the previous question through the use of dialogue diagrams. Answer: There are a number of ways that students can design their dialogue diagrams for their sample hotel registration data entry system. It will probably be helpful for them to use as a guide the dialogue diagram in Figure 8–20, which is for the Customer Information System at Pine Valley Furniture. The students may wish to place the data entry display within the broader information system at the hotel, much like in the chapter the request to view year-to-date customer information was placed within the dialogue diagram of the overall Customer Information System. It is not important that all the pieces of the students’ system are included, nor is it necessarily important how they choose to diagram the interaction; rather, it is important that the students’ diagrams show logical, simple navigation and the appropriate components (i.e., top, middle, and bottom) of each box representing screens. 8-28. Think of an online retailer you’ve recently used or considered using for a purchase. Why is good design of that retailer’s interface important for the retailer? Visit the online retailer and evaluate the interface, highlighting several good things and several bad things. Answer: Good design of an online retailer’s interface is crucial to their success because the interface is the only interaction an online consumer gets with the company. The interface needs to be usable and signal secure processes and other credibility-related attributes in order for users to confidently transact. Answers regarding the specific retailer evaluated will vary. Discussion Questions Solutions 8-29. Discuss the differences between a form and a report. What characteristics make a form or report good (bad) and effective (ineffective)? Answer: A form is a business document that contains some predefined data and may include some areas where additional data are to be filled in. In contrast, a report is a business document that contains only predefined data. A properly designed form or report conforms to the guidelines presented in Table 8–2, meaning the form or report uses meaningful titles, includes meaningful information, balances the layout, and is easy to navigate. In contrast, a poorly designed form or report violates one or more of these guidelines. 8-30. Discuss the various ways that information can be highlighted on a computer display. Which methods are most effective? Are some methods better than others? If so, why and when? Answer: Methods of highlighting include blinking and audible tones, color differences, intensity differences, size differences, font differences, reverse video, boxing, underlining, all capital letters, and offsetting the position of nonstandard information. When to use a particular highlighting technique is dependent on the situation. For instance, boxes are used to separate and distinguish different categories of data; capital letters and different fonts help distinguish labels from the actual data. An audible tone can be used to signal an illegal operation, and intensity differences can be used to identify summary data, such as totals. 8-31. What problems can occur if a system fails to provide clear feedback and error messages to users? Answer: A lack of feedback may cause a user to become frustrated and confused. An additional problem is the collection of erroneous data and the storage of this data in the company’s database. 8-32. Use a search engine to find recommendations for good design of web interfaces. How are these recommendations similar to those discussed in this chapter? How do they differ? Answer: Answers will vary. Most recommendations found online will coincide with those found in this chapter, though many recommendations will center almost fully on web interface design. Recommendations for good web interface design often include: 1. Clarity and Simplicity: Ensure content is clear and the interface is straightforward, avoiding clutter. 2. Consistency: Use consistent design elements and terminology across the interface. 3. Responsiveness: Design interfaces that work well on various devices and screen sizes. 4. Accessibility: Make the interface accessible to users with disabilities. 5. User Feedback: Provide clear feedback for user actions (e.g., form submissions). Similarities to Report Design: • Clarity: Both emphasize presenting information clearly. • Consistency: Both recommend uniform formatting and terminology. • User Orientation: Both focus on designing with the end-user in mind. Differences: • Responsiveness: Unique to web design, addressing various devices and screen sizes. • Accessibility: Specific to web design, ensuring usability for individuals with disabilities. These guidelines reflect a shared focus on effective communication and usability but differ in their application to digital versus static formats. Case Problems Solutions 8-33. Pine Valley Case Exercises Solutions a. What data will the Customer Profile Form need to collect? Using the guidelines presented in the chapter, design the Customer Profile Form. Answer: Pine Valley Furniture has several types of customers, including corporate, student, home office, and family. Profile forms should be developed for each of these customer types. A basic, suggested profile form for a family customer is provided below. This form collects basic information about the customer, such as location, family data, and purchasing history. This information can be used to build special promotions, such as targeting parents with children graduating from high school. The state, occupation, monthly income, media channel, first purchase date, and monthly store visits fields can be implemented as drop down lists, enabling the store representative to select from a list or a range of possible answers. Also, the married, children, and first time customer fields can be implemented as Y/N fields. b. Using the guidelines presented in the chapter, design the Products by Demographics Summary Report. Answer: A suggested report is provided below. c. Using the guidelines presented in the chapter, design the Customer Purchasing Frequency Report. Answer: A suggested report is provided below. d. Modify the dialogue diagram presented in Figure 8–20 to reflect the addition of the Customer Profile Form, Products by Demographics Summary Report, and the Customer Purchasing Frequency Report. Answer: The dialogue diagram requires several minor modifications. First, the analyst should insert a Create Customer Profile dialogue box; this dialogue can be a menu option on the Individual Customer Information screen; its page number is 2.2. From the Customer Profile display, the user should be able to reference the main menu (page number 1) and the Individual Customer Information (page number 2). From the Reports display (page number 5), the user should be able to access the Products By Demographics Report (page number 5.1) and the Customer Purchasing Frequency Report (page number 5.2). Each of these displays should provide the user with access to the Report display (page number 5) and the Main Menu (page number 1). 8-34. Hoosier Burger Case Exercises Solutions a. What data will the Delivery Customer Order Form need to collect? Using the design guidelines presented in the chapter, design the Delivery Customer Order Form. Answer: The Delivery Customer Order Form should collect at a minimum, the customer’s name, delivery address, and information about the order. A suggested form is provided below. b. What data will the Customer Account Balance Form need to show? Using the design guidelines presented in the chapter, design the Customer Account Balance Form. Answer: At a minimum the Customer Account Balance Form should show the customer’s account activity for the most recent period. It would be a good idea to show the delivery numbers, whether or not the delivery order was paid for at the time the delivery was made, the customer’s current account balance, and any payments made to the account. Also, the form should provide the Hoosier Burger employee with the customer’s basic information so that he/she can verify that the proper customer’s account is being viewed. A suggested answer is provided below. Since students are very creative, they will identify several innovative ideas for the customer form. Your students may suggest including several buttons on the form, one of which can provide access to detailed delivery information. Although not shown on this form, the students may recommend that the Customer Account Balance Form reflect whether or not the customer’s account is past due, as well as when the next payment is due. c. Using the design guidelines presented in the chapter, design the Daily Delivery Summary Report. Answer: A suggested answer is provided below. d. Using the design guidelines presented in this chapter, design the Low-in-Stock Report. Answer: A suggested answer is provided below. 8-35. Pet Nanny Case Exercises Solutions a. What data should the Pet Enrollment Form collect? Using the guidelines provided in the chapter, design the Pet Enrollment Form. Answer: A suggested answer is provided below. The basic form should collect information about the pet, its owner, its veterinarian, and special care instructions. b. What data should the Pet Service Form collect? Using the guidelines provided in the chapter, design the Pet Service Form. Answer: A suggested answer is provided below. c. Using the guidelines provided in the chapter, design the Pick Up and Delivery Schedule Report. Answer: A suggested answer is provided below. d. Using the guidelines provided in the chapter, design the Daily Boarding Report. Answer: A suggested answer is provided below. Petrie’s Electronics Case Question Solutions 8-36. Using the guidelines from this chapter and other sources, evaluate the usability of the page design depicted in Figure 8-1. Answer: Answers will vary. Analysis should include mention of meaningful titles and information, a balanced layout, navigation functions. Since this is a web interface, the analysis could also include discussion of items from Table 8-16 regarding layout of web pages. Evaluation of Page Design Usability: 1. Clarity: Ensure the page has a clear and descriptive title, such as "Hotel Registration", to immediately inform users of the purpose. 2. Field Layout: Check for logical grouping of fields (e.g., Guest Information, Reservation Details, Payment Information) to improve user flow and ease of navigation. 3. Input Controls: Verify that input controls like text boxes, date pickers, and drop-down lists are used appropriately for different data types to prevent entry errors. 4. Validation: Ensure that fields have appropriate validation (e.g., required fields marked, proper formats for phone numbers and emails) to enhance data accuracy. 5. Accessibility: Confirm that the design is accessible, with readable fonts, sufficient contrast, and keyboard navigability. 6. Feedback: Check for user feedback mechanisms (e.g., error messages, confirmation on submission) to guide users and confirm successful actions. Summary: Usability is evaluated based on clarity, logical field layout, appropriate use of input controls, data validation, accessibility, and feedback mechanisms. 8-37. Chapter 8 encourages the design of a help system early in the design of the human interface. How would you incorporate help into the interface as shown in Figure 8-1? Answer: Answers will vary. Suggestions might include an explanatory link near the progress bar, or a prominent link for “Help” in the navigation bar along the top. Incorporating Help into the Interface: 1. Help Button: Add a clearly labeled "Help" button or icon on the page, preferably in a consistent location such as the top-right corner. 2. Context-Sensitive Help: Implement context-sensitive help that provides information relevant to the current field or section. This can be accessed via a help icon or tooltip next to each field. 3. Help Menu: Include a "Help" menu option that opens a comprehensive help section or user guide. 4. Inline Help: Provide brief, inline instructions or placeholders within fields (e.g., "Enter your full name"). 5. Search Functionality: Integrate a search bar in the help section to allow users to quickly find answers to specific questions. Summary: Incorporate a "Help" button, context-sensitive help, a help menu, inline instructions, and search functionality to enhance user support and accessibility. 8-38. Describe how cookie crumbs could be used in this system. Are cookie crumbs a desirable navigation aid for this system? Why or why not? Answer: Cookie crumbs could be included along the top of the main content area. They are a desirable navigation aid for the system because they aid in navigability, showing users where they are in the structure of the system. Use of Cookie Crumbs (Breadcrumbs): 1. Implementation: • Display Path: Show a trail of links representing the user's navigation path, such as "Home > Reservations > Hotel Registration". • Location: Place the breadcrumb trail at the top of the page. 2. Benefits: • Navigation Aid: Helps users easily backtrack or navigate to previous sections. • Context: Provides context by showing the current page’s position within the site hierarchy. 3. Desirability: • Desirable: Yes, for a hotel registration system, as it simplifies navigation and improves user experience, especially in multi-step forms or complex systems. Summary: Cookie crumbs (breadcrumbs) enhance navigation by showing the user's path, making it a desirable feature for better usability in a hotel registration system. 8-39. The page design depicted in Figure 8-1 links to an Order History page. Sketch a similar layout for the Order History page, following guidelines from Chapter 8. Answer: Answers will vary. A suggested layout should be similar in every way (consistent along the top and the side bar) except for the main content area. In the main content area, the order history data should be displayed in a clearly-organized table, according to guidelines in the chapter. Order History Page Layout: 1. Title: "Order History" 2. Breadcrumbs: "Home > Order History" 3. Search Bar & Filters: For searching orders and filtering by date, status, or ID. 4. Order Summary Table: • Columns: Order ID, Date, Customer Name, Status, Total Amount • Pagination: For multiple pages. 5. Order Details Button: "View Details" for each order. 6. Help Button: For assistance. Summary: Provides clear navigation, search functionality, and easy access to order details. 8-40. Describe how the use of template-based HTML might be leveraged in the design of the ‘No Customer Escapes’ system. Answer: Answers will vary. HTML templates could be used to standardize the presentation (and editing) of the top navigation bar, the sidebar, and the (supposed) footer of each page. Leveraging Template-Based HTML for ‘No Customer Escapes’ System: 1. Consistent Design: Use templates to ensure a uniform look and feel across all pages (e.g., headers, footers, navigation). 2. Efficiency: Speed up development by reusing HTML structures and styles for similar pages, reducing manual coding. 3. Maintainability: Simplify updates and maintenance; changes to a template automatically reflect across all pages using it. 4. Customization: Allow for easy customization of individual pages by modifying template sections without affecting the entire layout. Summary: Template-based HTML provides consistency, efficiency, and ease of maintenance in the design of the ‘No Customer Escapes’ system. Solution Manual for Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design Joseph S. Valacich, Joey F. George, Jeffrey A. Hoffer 9780133546231
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