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AskTog: First Principles
v.06 Apr 2005 01:30 :2 versions ::: asktog.com

 
Principals:  Jakob Nielsen   Don Norman   Bruce Tognazzini 
 

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This Months Issue of AskTog
Principles:
Anticipation
Autonomy
Color Blindness
Consistency
Defaults
Efficiency of the User
Explorable Interfaces
Fitts's Law
Human-Interface Objects
Latency Reduction
Learnability
   Limit Tradeoffs
Metaphors
Protect the User's Work
Readability
Track State
Visible Interfaces
Ask Tog, November, 1998

First Principles

The following principles are fundamental to the design and implementation of effective interfaces, whether for traditional GUI environments or the web.

 cf.

corti@:15 Jan 2004 22:16

GUI = Graphical User Interface : c'est-

gilbert.rotzetter@:10 Dec 2001 00:00

What is a "traditional GUI environment" ?

Bring to the user all the information and tools needed for each step of the process.

 cf.

marina_flores@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

Un exemple d'anticipation serait par exemple la fonction qui se trouve en bas de page de plusieurs moteurs de recherche: 1 2 3 4 5...., ainsi l'utilisateur a la possibilit

celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

Je ne suis pas du tout d'accord avec ta proposition.Cela me fait penser au syst

marina_flores@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

Comment avoir un profil de chaque utilisateur? Je pense qu'un site devrait offrir une vari

delia.piave@:22 Jul 2001 00:00

Ce principe peut

anonymous@:20 Jul 2001 00:00

Give users some breathing room.
 cf.

As a simple example, workers, failing status information, will tend to maintain heightened pressure on themselves during slow periods, until the moment the work actually runs out.

 cf.

sigmund:04 Jun 2004 10:16

this is not a very relevant comment

celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

En effet, je pense que cela signifie que l'utilisateur doit

carolina_ballert@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

J'ai compris

mathias.romailler@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

Est-ce qu'il y aurait une

This will stress and fatigue them unnecessarily, so that when the next rush occurs, they may be lacking the physical and mental reserves to handle it.

  • Keep status information up to date and within easy view

Users should not have to seek out status information.
 cf.

baubau79@:13 Dec 2001 00:00

Je n'ai pas tr

delia.piave@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

Coucou!!!!

marina_flores@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

T'es bien r
[TPweb00_01]

gilbert.rotzetter@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

Merci pour ton commentaire Yann !

yann01@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

Les explorateurs indiquent l'

Even a higher percentage may have temporary alterations in perception of blue under varying conditions.)

Color Blindness

  • Any time you use color to convey information in the interface, you should also use clear, secondary cues to convey the information to those who won't be experiencing any color coding today.
 cf.

anonymous@:14 Jan 2002 00:00

je n'ai pas trop bien compris la diff

baubau79@:14 Dec 2001 00:00

Merci Micaela!! Je ne savais pas de l'existence de sites pour personnes aveugles, je trouve cela vraiment int

micaela.guarnieri@:14 Dec 2001 00:00

Par contre il y a des sites qui s'occupent en particulier des personnes qui ont des probl

baubau79@:13 Dec 2001 00:00

Je trouve que ce principe est tr

celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

Il faut faire attention au fait que certaines couleurs se voient

marina_flores@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

Un bon exemple de fond clair secondaire, soit le jaune, avec l'

(There are, in fact, significant differences in their effects, but those differences have no real effect on design.) While tritanopia is far more rare, it nonetheless rules out dependence on yellow-blue differentiation without secondary cues.

Secondary cues can consist of anything from the subtlety of gray scale differentiation to having a different graphic or different text label associated with each color presented.

Consistency

The following principles, taken together, offer the designer tremendous latitude in the evolution of a product without seriously disrupting those areas of consistency most important to the user:
  • Levels of consistency: The importance of maintaining strict consistency varies.
 cf.
  • Invisible structures.
    •  cf.

    celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    Un exemple de structure invisible est l'interface du site de Gilles. En effet on doit draguer toute la page pour trouver un lien!
    Mais je serai

    anonymous@:18 Jun 2001 00:00

    Un exemple de structure invisible est peut-

    carolina_ballert@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

    une m

    anonymous@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

    what's an invisible structure?
  • In-house consistency.
    •  cf.

    anonymous@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

    Qu'est-ce que c'est?

      "Invisible structures" refers to such invisible objects as Microsoft Word's clever little right border that has all kinds of magical properties, if you ever discover it is there.

     cf.

    celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    J'essaye avec des mots simples:alors tu vois (euh non tu ne vois justement pas!)une structure invisible, n'est pas visible...Je m'explique s

    marina_flores@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    Bien s
    [TPweb00_01]

    virginiesalamin@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

    y-a-t'il un exemple concret de structure invisible ? (avec des mots simples...)

    No amount of study and debate will substitute.

    Defaults

    • Do not use the word "default" in an application or service.
     cf.

    celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    Ces boutons "default" sont effectivement perturbateurs, car ils n'indiquent pas ce qu'ils effectuent comme fonction. Au lieu de nommer le bouton "default" il faut le nommer par la fonction qu'il va effectuer. Ex: si en pressant sur ce bouton ma page va se colorier en rouge, on le nommera: "coloriage". le message est qu'il faut nommer un chat, un chat.
  • Defaults should be "intelligent" and responsive.
    •  cf.

    anonymous@:14 Jan 2002 00:00

    qui peut mieux m'expliquer ce principe?

    People cost a lot more money than machines, and while it might appear that increasing machine productivity must result in increasing human productivity, the opposite is often true.
     cf.

    delia.piave@:23 Jul 2001 00:00

    Cette assertion est vraie pour la bureautique en g

    It typically takes more than one second to acquire the zero key.

     cf.

    wbaggi@:18 Jun 2001 00:00

    Je pense qu'il veut dire cela: si une personne veut cuire quelque chose au micro-onde,

    carolina_ballert@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

    Je ne comprends pas cet exemple.

    They do a fast estimate and, given the variability of water content and bacon thickness, end up with as likely a successful result with a lot less dickering up front, again increasing human efficiency.

    • Keep the user occupied

    Since, typically, the highest expense in a business is labor cost.
     cf.

    anonymous@:14 Jan 2002 00:00

    Ce principe je le trouve important

    This lets the new user and the user who just wants to get the job done in the quickest way possible and "no-brainer" way through, while still enabling those who want to explore and play what-if a means to wander farther afield.

    • Sometimes, however, you have to provide deep ruts.
     cf.

    baubau79@:13 Dec 2001 00:00

    Je n'arrive pas tr

    Sometimes they want to find out what would happen if they carried out some potentially dangerous action.

     cf.

    celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    le sous-principe signifie que les actions doivent

    perrine.nobs@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

    Je n'ai pas r

    A study a few years back showed that people in a hazardous environment make no more mistakes than people in a supportive and more visually obvious environment, but they worked a lot slower and a lot more carefully to avoid making errors.

    • Always allow a way out.
     cf.

    celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    Il faut toujours donner une possibilit

    If you are working with complex transactions using a standard web browser, turn of the menu bar and all of the other irrelevant options, then supply our own landmarks and options.

    Fitts’s Law

    • The time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target.
     cf.

    celine.champion@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    Les fonctions plus visibles (elles doivent donc

    delia.piave@:20 Jul 2001 00:00

    J'ai de la peine

    Fitt's law indicates that the most quickly accessed targets on any computer display are the four corners of the screen, because of their pinning action, and yet they seem to be avoided at all costs by designers.

    Use large objects for important functions (Big buttons are faster).

    Use the pinning actions of the sides, bottom, top, and corners of your display: A single-row toolbar with tool icons that "bleed" into the edges of the display will be many times faster than a double row of icons with a carefully-applied one-pixel non-clickable edge along the side of the display.

    Human-Interface Objects

      Human-interface objects are not necessarily the same as objects found in object-oriented systems.

     cf.

    perrine.nobs@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

    En fait, si j'ai bien compris, c'est des dessins qui montrent

    gilbert.rotzetter@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

    Est-ce que quelqu'un a compris ce qu'est un "human-interface object" et un "object-oriented". Merci.
  • Human interface objects that can be seen are quite familiar in graphic user interfaces.
    •  cf.

    marina_flores@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    C'est vrai que certains dessins rendent une interface (plus) atractives mais ceci d

    perrine.nobs@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

    Ici aussi je n'ai malheureusement pas trouv

    Latency Reduction

    • Wherever possible, use multi-threading to push latency into the background.
     cf.

    delia.piave@:23 Jul 2001 00:00

    Cette technique a ses limites dans le sens que l'utilisateur va devoir une fois ou l'autre attendre. A1ors que
  • Trap multiple clicks of the same button or object.
    •  cf.

    delia.piave@:22 Jul 2001 00:00

    Lorsqu'une commande n

    In practice, all applications and services, no matter how simple, will display a learning curve.

    • Limit the Trade-Offs

    Usability and learnability are not mutually exclusive.
     cf.

    anonymous@:10 Dec 2001 00:00

    Pourtant l'usability implique un minimum d'apprentissage non ?

    gilbert.rotzetter@:10 Dec 2001 00:00

    Pourtant, l'usability implique un apprentissage minimum non ?

    First, decide which is the most important; then attack both with vigor.

     cf.

    marina_flores@:03 Aug 2001 00:00

    Je pense qu'il faut aussi donner des renseignements concernant le site m

    delia.piave@:22 Jul 2001 00:00

    Pour garder ses client il faut mettre en avant l'utilisabilit

    Ease of learning automatically coming at the expense of ease of use is a myth.

    Metaphors, Use of

    • Choose metaphors well, metaphors that will enable users to instantly grasp the finest details of the conceptual model.
     cf.

    baubau79@:13 Dec 2001 00:00

    Autre point que je trouve important: faire attention

    celine.champion@:04 Aug 2001 00:00

    Un contre exemple pertinent me semblerait le service email de l'uni de Fr., les images (m

    It does so, however, not by acting as a transport mechanism, but as a synchronizer: Documents in the desktop briefcase and the briefcase held on portable media are updated automatically when the portable media is inserted in the machine.

    Protect Users’ Work

    • Ensure that users never lose their work as a result of error on their part, the vagaries of Internet transmission, or any other reason other than the completely unavoidable, such as sudden loss of power to the client computer.
     cf.

    celine.champion@:04 Aug 2001 00:00

    je pense effectivement que c'est totalement inexcusable que les programmes n'aient pas encore un syst

    Do not trust your young eyes to make size and contrast decisions.

     cf.

    marina_flores@:10 Aug 2001 00:00

    On parlant de readability qu'est-ce que vous en pens

    perrine.nobs@:14 Jun 2001 00:00

    Oups.. non en fait l'adresse que je vous ai donn

    perrine.nobs@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

    Si vous ne comprenez pas trop ce principe, je vous conseille d'aller voir ce site..http://www.radiofribourg.ch .. il vous donnera toute de suite une id

    Track State

    • Because many of our browser-based products exist in a stateless environment, we have the responsibility to track state as needed.
     cf.

    gilbert.rotzetter@:10 Dec 2001 00:00

    Donc si j'ai bien compris, le cr

    We may need to know:
      • Whether this is the first time the user has been in the system
      • Where the user is
      • Where the user is going
      • Where the user has been during this session
      • Where the user was when they left off in the last session

    and myriad other details.

    In addition to simply knowing where they’ve been, we can also make good use of what they’ve done.
    • State information should be held in a cookie on the client machine during a session with a transaction service, then stored on the server when they log off.
     cf.

    celine.champion@:04 Aug 2001 00:00

    Je pense effectivement que ce serait une id

    Doctors can be 95% of the way through a complex transaction, log off, log in again six weeks later from another part of the world, and the service will ask them if they want to be taken right back to where they were.

    Visible Interfaces

    • Avoid invisible navigation.
     cf.

    celine.champion@:04 Aug 2001 00:00

    Je pense qu'une navigation visible est permise par les sites qui gardent un "index" constamment affich

    perrine.nobs@:13 Jun 2001 00:00

    Ici,j'ai compris que cela signifiait que le mode de navigation doit

    carolina_ballert@:12 Jun 2001 00:00

    les yeux ferm

    Most users cannot and will not build elaborate mental maps and will become lost or tired if expected to do so.

    The World Wide Web, for all its pretty screens and fancy buttons, is, in effect, an invisible navigation space.
     cf.

    gilbert.rotzetter@:10 Dec 2001 00:00

    Cet espace est tellement gigantesque, impossible d'avoir une vue d'ensemble !!

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    Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000 Bruce Tognazzini
    All rights reserved.
     cf.

    corti@:06 Jul 2001 00:00

    Test et rappel pour rendre ce "partage de l'intelligence d'un document" plus vivant encore:

    Document Comments

     

    toitoi 05 May 2005 16:59
    un commentaire qui n'am
    2136 
    edmundo 15 Feb 2005 09:58
    et si tous ces principes
    1813 
    sigmund 04 Jun 2004 10:13
    this is a brand new comment, but not relevant to the topic
    1243 
    corti@ 14 Jan 2002 00:00
    [TPweb00_01]
    corti@ 27 Oct 2001 00:00
    Rappel:
    141 
    toto 07 Dec 2003 01:19
    I don't really know
    567 
    scrutinizer@ 21 May 2003 15:49
    juste un test sur les r
    309 
    corti@ 27 Oct 2001 00:00
    Rappel:
    135 
    corti@ 06 Jul 2001 00:00
    Dernier test et rappel pour rendre ce "partage de l'intelligence d'un document" plus vivant encore:
    98 
    corti@ 06 Jul 2001 00:00

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    C'est un peu bizarre! on n'arrive pas
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    Est-ce que quelcun a d
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    En fesant les quelques commentaires, je me suis apper
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