Hot answers tagged novice-users
125
There is little need even to explain the idea of interface to users of the program. To them, the program is the interface.
Don't say "the GUI of the program does X". Just say "the program does X".
Don't say "the GUI has a red self-destruct button". Say "the program has a red self-destruct button".
To you, the programmer, it is very important to think ...
22
What about "the visual part of the application, i.e. its buttons, text boxes and other visual elements"?
In a more detailed form, you would also include that it handles:
The process of displaying the elements to the user through a screen,
The interaction of the user with those elements (most commonly known as events, but it's not limited to events).
...
8
Novice users comes to mind, but you can also use terms like non-tech savvy, computer illiterate, or just new computer user. But this doesn't specify the level they are at.
For situations like this I would create a persona that more fully represents the demographic that you want to refer to, and then refer to that persona instead of trying to name a ...
6
It’s impossible to cover “all situations” but collaboratively we might get a good list. For starters I’d like to add child-resistant packages when it comes to medication or possibly harmful cleaning liquid. They require “training” in a way that you need to read the instruction first in order to be able to open the package. However, there are records of ...
6
You answered yourself in your question: you already have users who have shown you that there are OS behaviors that they haven't yet discovered. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the OS's behaviors, standards, and conventions. It simply means that you can't rely on using those as the only way for users to interact with your application.
In your ...
4
It's a great question, but I think one without a great answer.
Common UI elements and paradigms
Nobody can answer whether you can rely on common UI elements and paradigms for every situation. I however can tell you that for apps that I have tested, including tutorial screenshots on the first use that simply point to controls and tell people how to use ...
4
There's a few key reasons I'll go over. For reference I'm referring to "training" here as any sort of help text no matter how involved, not just formal training requiring tests, human teachers etc.
Safety
This is a big one; if safety is a factor, people need to learn how to use it. You don't get in a car and figure stuff out for your first time. It's not ...
2
Difficulty-of-use has deficiencies in acting as a barrier. For one reason it's not explicit, another reason is the knowledge to overcome the barrier can be informally provided (e.g. on the internet, just enough knowledge to be dangerous). Explicit things like keys (both common keys like car keys as wells as special controlled tools that enable access), ...
2
Yes, going on the assumption that you are actually working with physical warehouse equipment that needs servicing (which is completely different to an end user stuck with a printer at home) then I would have the following approach:
1) Reduce the amount of information required to a bare minimum. The first screen should simply be "Enter the serial number" ...
2
Yes, the swipe to delete and other OS specific interactions for the app are nice features to have. So, by all means, go ahead with them. The iOS HCI guidelines are built for this purpose only.
As for the matter of people not realizing the feature, you can have an introduction setup when the user uses the app for the first time. Just give them a walkthrough ...
2
If you want to separate the program from the GUI, then you can use 'Basic interface' vs 'Advanced interface'.
If you merge the concerns (program & interface) then you can do what the calculator application on mac and windows does, have multiple views, 'basic', 'advanced' and more if need be. You can also link it with functionality and say, 'basic ...
1
Neophyte is similar to @GrahamBorland's answer in that the official definitions don't really give it justice:
a beginner or novice: He's a neophyte at chess.
Roman Catholic Church . a novice.
a person newly converted to a belief, as a heathen, heretic, or nonbeliever; proselyte.
Primitive Church. a person newly baptized.
The way it's almost ...
1
Depending on your interpretation of "Barrier To Entry" sometimes in games there is an intentional barrier that serves a purpose.
e.g. Most electronic game players want to dive right in and play so no matter how inviting you make the "instructions" or "tutorial" page many players will never go near it mainly cause we are just way too cool!
Embedding the ...
1
If you want your product to be used by a reduced but more skilled group, then yes, you should design it as complex as it requires to function and fulfill what is has to do, but not more complex than required.
Usually making things easier to use imply a more complex design, more parts, more interactions, more maintenance and more errors, so if you can avoid ...
1
This sounds like a fairly straight-forward Request -> Approval/Decline workflow.
Whenever I've been asked to come up with a computer version of a manual process, the best approach I've found (which may not always possible) is to sit down on-site with someone who knows the manual process inside-out and let them take me through it.
I make notes on the ...
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