Hall of Fame

Usability

Norman and Nielsen stand out as two well published figures who tried to bring reason to bear in the fast moving, and at times anarchic, internet. Their common sense advice was based on cognitive user models and real user trials. In other words, they are not so much designers, as advisors on design, based on real trial evidence. This empirical approach to design was badly needed in a world of subjective judgements, where the whims of designers often overruled the needs of users.

As the internet grew, it was subject to much use and abuse in design. We have all been on the end of the abuse as we have struggled to get to grips with the technology. We shouldn’t be surprised, as computer tools are complex, it’s an evolving field and tasks often need some learning. But good design applies as much to the screen as to physical objects and we should be pleased that some theorists have focused on solving these problems through user-based evidence and trials. Usability is a balancing act between expert designers and testing with experts and real users. All three are often surprisingly scarce in web and e-learning design.

Norman (1957- )

Donald Norman’s touchstone for successful technology is that it should be invisible, hidden from sight. Technology must conform to human needs, not the other way around. This requires user-centred design to humanise technology. An effective interface should render technology invisible. We don't notice it because it works effectively.

He has also applied his critiques to interface design and is a consistent critic of inconsistent and gimmicky web design.

The Psychology of Everyday Things

In The Psychology of Everyday Things, Norman takes a wry look at product design in everyday objects such as VCRs, computers, telephones, car windows, dashboards, doors etc. to show good and bad practice. It’s full of examples explaining why people push when they should pull, click the wrong buttons and generally fail to complete the simplest of everyday tasks.

His advice is straightforward and has plenty of relevance in e-learning and web design. His first rule is ‘Design for usability’. Usability, or ease of use, is paramount. Don’t make navigation difficult. Make things visible – don’t keep the user in the dark. A good example of how this goes wrong in e-learning is the poor use of icons in navigation. Programmes sometimes have graphics that look like icons but are not active, merely illustrative. You click on them and nothing happens. Even worse, you may click on an icon and something unexpected happens. The icon may even be meaningless. In practice, icons usually have to be supported by text.

Mapping is another of his principles in design. To steer a car you turn the wheel to the right to go right and left to go left. This is mapping. Apply this to navigation on the screen. To go forward the arrow should face to the right and left to go back. In general, in navigation, feedback (another Norman design principle) is also important. You need to know when you’ve arrived at a destination.

Computer interfaces

In his later works he tackles, not objects, but computer interfaces. How do new users understand what to do?

First, follow conventional usage, both in the choice of images and the allowable interactions. Convention can constrain creativity but on the whole, unless we follow the major conventions, we usually fail. Those who violate conventions, even when they are convinced that their new method is superior, are doomed to fail. (You cannot successfully introduce a non-QWERTY keyboard today, or reverse the window scroll bar convention. For better or for worse, human culture changes slowly, if at all.)

Use words to describe the desired action (e.g."click here" or use labels in front of perceived objects). Words alone cannot solve the problem, for there still must be some way of knowing what action is to be done and where. This requires a convention of highlighting, or outlining, or depiction of an actionable object. It is also well known that single word labels fail for most people. Thus, road signs often use graphics - an international standard on road sign graphics exists. Alas, most people do not understand those standards. It is also the case that words are understood more quickly than graphics, even a well known, understood graphic. Words plus graphics are even more readily understood.

Follow a coherent conceptual model so that once part of the interface is learned, the same principles apply to other parts. Coherent conceptual models are valuable and, in my opinion, necessary, but there still remains the bootstrapping problem; how does one learn the model in the first place? By conventions, words, and metaphors.

Conclusion

Norman forced us to see design as a force, not only in real-world objects, but also on the screen. We are only now starting to see the importance of his advice in e-learning and web design with interfaces which are truly invisible in the sense that that they are easy to use and do not confuse.

Bibliography

Norman, D. (1986) User Centered System Design
Norman, D. (1988) The Psychology of Everyday Things
Norman, D. (1992) Turn Signals are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles
Norman, D. (1993) Things That Make Us Smart
Norman, D. (1994) Defending human attributes in the age of the machine
Norman, D. (1998) The Invisible Computer

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