User Interfaces: When and Who should be designing them and why?

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     As is true of all of us, I get new apps. I sign up for new services via websites. Some interfaces work well. Others make me want to tear out my hair (and I don’t have that much remaining). What is the difference?

     First, I may — eventually — want to fine-tune my interactions with the app/site. I may — eventually — want to go through every exciting and fantastic feature that is available. I do NOT want to have to go through five menus and three submenus to set my address.

     Consider it like a layered cake. On that bottom layer, we have all of the basics. Open a file, save a file, add basic profile information, add a financial source. All of this should be so easy that someone who has never used the interface can do it without having to dig into the interface. Perhaps the app/site can keep track (I know — cookies — love them/hate them) of what is your status. First time user? Experienced user? It may provide a very friendly question/answer interface to let you get started. There may also be video and/or text tutorials to get you past that first level — but NOT for that first level. If you don’t present an easy enough interface to a first-time user for them to get started, go back to GO, do NOT collect $200.

     So, what are those basics? If you wrote the app/website, you don’t really know. For you, everything is obvious and beautiful and why doesn’t everyone just immediately love it for what it is? Ask your grandfather to sit down with the app. Answer questions as they go — but record every question. Observe every “false” movement — why did they do that? Isn’t it obvious that they should have done this other thing — well, no, it apparently isn’t obvious. Obvious for you is not obvious for everyone.

     Back in older days (not quite back to the “once upon a time” days), programs (not even apps/applications at that point) would have a command line interface. (Of course, underlying operating systems usually still do — but most users will never see it.) The goal was to make it easier for more people. Visual user interfaces, and (little “w”) windows were created — but there were usually “escape modes” for experienced users to access the basic commands and their options. These are still often used during scripting for batch (large sets of users for which you want the same set of actions done) situations.

     My Master’s thesis (this WAS in “once upon a time” regions) was for a “Human-oriented User SHell interface (or “HUSH”). It was command line based but you could enter a “?” at any time and it would give help as to what was possible, and what options did, at any point in the command. (Never actually implemented due to bureaucratic reasons.) Did you have to use the help? No. It gave you help only when you wanted it. That made it better for experienced users and the help was good for first, or early, users.

     As is true for many situations, we have a spectrum of users — from first-time users to highly experienced. Each level has different needs and expectations. The basic premise holds, however. Very inexperienced users should NOT need help to do basic things. Experienced, highly advanced, users should not be slowed down in their use with anything that they might know already.

     The interface for highly experience users can be done by the developers. The interface for first-time users should NEVER be designed by the developers.