The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
9
votes
6answers
154 views
Is it absolutely necessary to show the currently selected language in a language selector?
There are three choices of language. At least on mobile it would be nice if I could save a little space in the footer by omitting the currently active language. This seems risky though as it means the ...
9
votes
2answers
239 views
Whats the best way to present a time duration to user?
We're trying to implement the most effective method of displaying duration it takes for user to complete a puzzle.
Looking for simplicity and accuracy.
I've added two examples that we've been working ...
9
votes
3answers
155 views
Counting to Infinity - Are counters usable?
As the web gets older and bigger the numbers in a lot of counters will tend to increase more and more.
I'm very curious about the implications in usability and user experience:
Are these big numbers ...
9
votes
2answers
470 views
Scrollbars in right-to-left layout
I'm currently developing the Arabic version of an existing iOS app.
iOS always displays scroll bars on the right. Should they be displayed on the left in RTL mode?
With right-aligned content (images ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
What are some examples of well-designed website tutorial/help systems? [closed]
Background
My company is starting to do some long overdue work on our online help/tutorial system, and the goal is to make it more lively, integrated, and interactive. We have a large database of ...
9
votes
3answers
205 views
Login/register: How to balance ease-of-use, number of clicks, and appearance?
I'm working on a new design for the log in or register page, and since we have some very unique constraints, this might be the first time I've done one of these pages that isn't reinventing the wheel.
...
9
votes
3answers
506 views
Usability testing and responsive web design
What are your take on usability testing and responsive web sites? The flow of page objects, hiding and showing different types of menus or the resizing of objects could have a big impact on ...
9
votes
2answers
207 views
How to display search results for different versions of an item?
The Apache Bloodhound defect tracker I'm working on may show historic results in search in a future version. That means even after an item has been altered (like the description text of a Ticket), ...
9
votes
3answers
123 views
What is better than top-posting and bottom-posting?
Chat programs usually put the most recent information or message below others (bottom posting). Forums and feeds put the most recent information above others (top posting). Is any one better than the ...
9
votes
2answers
99 views
Borders editing control usability
I need a simple and intuitive control for editing rectangle borders.
At the moment I have the following:
At the left - preview box and current border selector at the same time. User can click on ...
9
votes
1answer
447 views
Guidelines on designing audio-only interfaces (eg for blind users)?
There are many resources out there that provide accessibility guidelines - hints on making content easy for a screen-reader to parse, or reminders about content that blind users cannot glean. That's ...
9
votes
2answers
229 views
How can I make the purpose of a complex user interface element more obvious?
I am the author of SQL Fiddle, an online environment for testing and sharing database problems. The target audience for my site is for pretty technically-sophisticated users (database programmers, ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Are the Metro UI icons poor for usability?
While looking at Metro UI styles I thought about one of the unique aspects of the icons. Their placement inside circles. E.g.
I can imagine that this provides a target like effect, emphasising the ...
8
votes
7answers
1k views
Why is a manual transmission so complicated? [closed]
While driving I noticed that the gearbox is complicated for a first time users. I find it hard to tell which gear my car is in while driving.
Is there a reason for this design, and is there a better ...
8
votes
5answers
434 views
Accessibility and CAPTCHAs
I want to include a CAPTCHA in my web application, but I also want to make sure that my web application is accessible to individuals with impairments or disabilities. How should I go about doing ...
8
votes
5answers
273 views
Which is easier to use: List of people sorted by FirstName, LastName or LastName, FirstName?
If you have a list of people, is it better to order them by FirstName, LastName or LastName, FirstName?
Telephone books list by last name first:
Outlook lists by first name first:
Is one way ...
8
votes
4answers
279 views
Why are sinks always rounded?
I've noticed a trend recently that some sinks have a flat base, but they seem to be few and far between. Are there any UX reasons why sinks have traditionally always been round?
8
votes
4answers
481 views
How do I improve the readability of body text?
I always find it hard to judge the readability of my site and there is so much conflicting information out there. So I thought I would ask for some options here. Could you please take a quick look at ...
8
votes
3answers
254 views
Using Dropdowns AND Radio Buttons to avoid confusion
For you reference I wanted to point out that this is a Video project.
I am designing a menu in which the user can choose 1 of 4 formats for SD (standard definition) and two options for HD (high ...
8
votes
5answers
220 views
Is it okay to use breadcrumb navigation on some pages and not on others?
Breadcrumbs would be redundant for some of my pages and quite pointless, but effective on others which are a bit deeper.
Is it bad practice to only implement breadcrumbs on some of the pages?
8
votes
4answers
266 views
de-emphasizing cancel
Is it a good idea to de-emphasize the cancel button?
download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups
vs.
download bmml source
8
votes
1answer
357 views
Dice and Domino Dot Convention
I noticed dice and dominos both use the same convention for dot placement. Is there a reason for this? Is there any research on how to layout dots so that they are most readable?
8
votes
4answers
283 views
Does “ink is expensive” apply in a user interface context?
Edward Tufte in the book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information states, more or less, that ink is expensive. Any ink which is not used to actually convey information is chartjunk and it will ...
8
votes
3answers
111 views
Should I verify that the output directory exists or just create it?
In my job, I create apps where I'm converting data and frequently need, among other things, an input and an output directory. Obviously, the input directory needs to exist, but for the output ...
8
votes
2answers
162 views
Why would one limit username format?
Many websites when ask you to create a new "username", will limit you in some way, most often like "username should only contain letters and underscores" or something alike.
This results in inability ...
8
votes
8answers
345 views
Icons vs. Dropdown for primary mobile navigation
I am working on a responsive design in which there are 5 selections in the primary navigation. I'm thinking because there are only 5 I could use icons instead of a dropdown for the primary navigation. ...
8
votes
5answers
561 views
On mobile phones why is the green (call) button at the left and red (hang) button at the right side?
Some old mobile phones have switched position of green/red buttons.
Currently the green button is at the left and red button is at the right side on mobile phones.
Why? That is rationale? Which ...
8
votes
4answers
280 views
email field or username for logging in an application?
What is the best solution for an app : Email or username field?
I like email because:
it's unique
user will easily remember
it's personal (which can be a disadvantage sometimes; Multiple users on ...
8
votes
4answers
153 views
Why did older Windows installs delay before automatic restart?
Every time I need to install an older copy of Windows (today it's Server 2003 Enterprise), I run into the screen where the initial install phase completes and my machine needs to reboot.
The ...
8
votes
3answers
387 views
Do embodied agents improve usability?
When you search a web site from outside using a search engine and having the addendum site:mysite.com you have a good chance to find what you want. At least you get close to what you want to find and ...
8
votes
4answers
213 views
Linking a Navigation menu item to external URL
3 of 7 links on my navigation menu are external links to others websites (same company but other services/not the same domain). Those websites are not the core of the business.
Linking a navigation ...
8
votes
2answers
120 views
What should we ask from a Usability Trainer to identify if he is right for Training us?
This looks a bit odd but we have been identified to get training on Usability and we have to talk with some of the Usability trainers who could provide us training. On the basis of meeting up with ...
8
votes
4answers
572 views
Threaded messaging, simplicity
I am building a many to many messaging system, which means that one user can send a message to 35 other users, and any one of these users can reply, to this message, which then again everyone else can ...
8
votes
2answers
215 views
Is it acceptable to have more than one type of confirmation message?
We're discussing having multiple types. For example, one type would appear at the top of the page and drive users to perform another action:
The other type would appear "inside" a submit button ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Optimum number of choices for menus/navigation
Anyone know any usability or cognitive psychology research done on the optimum number of choices for menus/navigation?
I need some evidence to argue a case against a top level category menu of ...
8
votes
4answers
143 views
Amount of Time To Determine a User Has Stopped Typing
I have a filter form for a list. One of the fields is a text search field. When a user types in the field, I wait until the user has stopped typing for a half second (500 milliseconds), and then ...
8
votes
6answers
2k views
best image to indicate swipe left right
What is the most appropriate image to indicate to users to swipe left or right?
i am using http://cubiq.org/swipeview but i feel like it needs a swipe indicator in the background somewhere.
Edit: for ...
8
votes
3answers
250 views
How can I differentiate Online products vs “Offline” products?
I'm helping re-design a website which has some products that can be purchased online and some which can only be purchased offline in physical stores.
Both the products you can buy and can't buy need ...
8
votes
3answers
694 views
Is it good to leave Select dropdown with default style for better UX and Accessibility?
When I design websites. many time I try make the select drop-down more attractive.
example
By default select drop-down looks slightly different in almost each Desktop and Mobile browser
but ...
8
votes
3answers
115 views
How to handle conflicting updates of a customer record
We are developing a simple web based single-page CRM-like app. I was thinking about what happens when two operators are both editing the details of a customer "John Doe". On the server side we use a ...
8
votes
6answers
211 views
Best way to display whether someone is the right age for a match on an online dating site?
When I visit another person's dating profile, I'd like to see a visual indicator that communicates something about a person's age so I can determine whether they might be a good match for me--without ...
8
votes
3answers
187 views
Tag cloud for web site actions - a no-no?
I am building a website, and my designer came up with the idea of using a (3d) tag cloud to display the different actions a user can take (the site's functionality is somewhat complex, and so ...
8
votes
1answer
191 views
How often do users overlook controls that are revealed by hovering?
Techniques that reveal controls on hover (as used by apps like twitter) have been suggested as a way to simplify an interface and focus attention on content. However I wonder how many people fail to ...
8
votes
2answers
231 views
Should a date field be pre-filled or left blank for hotel and flight booking forms?
Should a date field be pre-filled or left blank for hotel and flight booking forms?
For example should i keep date field un-selected by default like this
or with dates of next 3-4 days. and user ...
8
votes
1answer
208 views
How much text markup is good, before it becomes bad?
In 1997 Jakob Nielsen told us about how users read on the web. (Actually in a typically headline grabbing way, he says they don't and then tells us how they do!)
Nielsen is a big proponent of using ...
8
votes
1answer
918 views
Indeterminate Progress Indicator Styles
When you have an operation that has too many factors to reliably give an estimate of actual progress towards task completion, you'll often find an indeterminate busy/progress indicator.
Through the ...
7
votes
5answers
431 views
Why is high website availability good for UX?
I'm trying to understand how much should I invest in website availability.
What impact does a not so good availability (let's say 95% - 18 days in a year) have in User Experience.
Why is it that ...
7
votes
5answers
249 views
Zebra striping for body text?
The general consensus is that zebra striping a table makes it a little easier for people to keep track of which row they're on...but is this reduction of cognitive taxes only for table rows? I at ...
7
votes
6answers
1k views
Opening website external links in new window — published usability tests
In usability discussions about opening website external links in new windows, with regard to the argument of "keeping users on the site" there are occasionally references to usability studies which ...
7
votes
3answers
142 views
Should survey for canceling subscription be before or after the subscription is canceled?
We want to collect data about why our users cancel our product subscription.
Should we put the survey form on the same page? Since it might be more likely that they will fill it in, but probably at ...
