User Interface Design: Making Wireless Applications easy to useThe number of available WML pages is growing at an extraordinary paceIn January 2000 approximately 25000 WML pages were available, and by September 2000 this number had grown to 4.4 millionSo the end users have many choices to find the information they want.They choose among other things, that they find easy to use.WML- based web sites provide usage sensitive servicesIf customers find it too difficult to use , they can readily to find user friendly site.Usable products and services can achieve an 80 percent increase in revenue because usability influences customer buying decisions

Web site Design: Computer Terminals versus mobile terminalsUser interface design for display on a computer terminal is very different from for display on a mobile terminal for several reasons:The device is differentThe network is different The user is differentThe device is different Websites are designed to be shown on desktop computers that have highly capable displaysThese computer monitors can display millions of colors 1600 pixels wide by 1200 pixels highWebsites have highly capable input devices (such as mouse or track ball) which enable any group of pixels on the web page and select them.

WAP designed for use wide variety of mobile terminals, from pagers to PDAsSome handsets have text only displays 4 lines and 12 character per lineMobile terminals are less capable with pointing devices

The network is different- web sites designed with an internet connection speed from 28.8 kilobits/sec to more than 1 megabit/secMobile data speed from 100 bits /sec to 14.4 kilobits /sec

The user is different- mobile user may not have desk top computing experienceApplications need to enable user to complete the tasks quickly and efficientlyThe interface should be different- designing applications for display on a mobile terminal is very different from computer terminalsWebsites cannot carried directly from internet to mobile

The normal implementation of a WAP scenario looks like this

Designing a usable WAP siteUsability has many aspects- refers to how easy to learn the user interface by the userRefers to how efficient, flexible, and powerful the user interface is to use for expert usersHuman factor- is a discipline dedicated to improving the many components that define usabilityHuman factors professionals design products that people use and the environmentsUsability is a fundamental feature of any mobile internet service

Designing usability early into the process requires at least two things:An overall development process that is focused on the end user and employs structured usability techniquesKnowledge and application of known user interface design principles and guidelinesEasy to use sites will aid in attracting and keeping customers

Structured usability methodsThe following characteristics of user interface can signal problems with usability: designed by software people, not human- computer interaction specialistsdeveloped by strict top down, functional decompositionnot developed to meet written, measurable usability specification not prototyped as it was being developed not developed means of an iterative refinement process .not empirically evaluated

The same characteristics apply to almost all user interfaces, including WAP user interfacesDesigning and developing internet services is a fast moving businessService providers that constantly evaluate their applications, adapt to the trends.A far easier and faster technique is to adapt your service to make it more usable in the design or prototype stages.

The Design TeamA multidisciplinary team should be established to handle the design of the mobile internet application.No one individual or department will have the necessary skills to design a usable interface.The design team should include members with skills such as development, writing, human factors, usability assessment, visual design, task analysis, and business processes. It should also include representative users. These users will help maintain a user centered design focus

The design process

The design process design process contain a number of phasesPhase 1. DefinePhase 2. DesignPhase 3. PrototypePhase 4. TestPhase 5: Iterative

Phase 1: DefineIn this phase, the service is defined, and the requirement are gathered.Service definition gathering design affecting pieces of informationThe design affecting pieces of information include following itemsUser profileTask analysisPlatform capabilities and constraintsFor designing WML- based services

User profile know your user more valuable and easier to use for the target populationA user profile is a description of the target population couched in terms of the characteristics Creating the profile involves gathering data about the user skills, knowledge, and background

Partial user Profile Data summary

Users of the mobile Internet tend to share several Characteristics:They are unlikely to have training on your service so keep your application intuitive (sensitive)-awareThey are impatient- so enable value to come out as quickly as possibleMost buy phones for phone calls- so do not expect them to be adapt at using mobile internet servicesThey are busy doing other things-so do not expect them to spend time for learning how to use your applicationThey will forgot or avoid complex navigation - so keep your navigation scheme simple

Task Analysis how users perform tasks that are relevant to the application u are designingIt involves understanding which methods are used, why they are important, how the information flows, what the user does, and what can be automatedThe effective task analysis is carried out by watching users perform those tasks that are relevant to your application and documenting what they do.Alternatively, customer interviews, focus groups, surveys, and so on can be used.

Some questions that should be answered through a task analysis include the followingWhat tasks do users perform?What tasks are most critical?What steps are taken to perform tasks?What are users goals for performing tasks?How frequently do users perform tasks?What tools are used to complete tasks?What output is generated from user tasks?

Phase 2: DesignMobile internet is very different from the wired Internet. The device is different, the network is different, and the users are different.Application Design Goals - Designers of successful wireless applications will break away from those wire line perceptions:People use browsers to browse, or casually search the Internet for informationFinding value requires effort, takes time and us usually impersonal (unfriendly)Content is broadly scoped and often staticPeople expect unlimited access and free content

Be targeted valuable information to a wireless userBe fast - quickly find the informationBe personal Be simpleBe urgentBe timelyAdapt to the way people workUse the web to do your users work for them

Guide users to the appropriate content- menus should take the form of a hierarchical, branching tree structureWith each Menu level, menu items can be organized in several ways:AlphabeticallyTemporallyAccording to the magnitude (small,medium,large)Consistently (if the items appear in multiple places, keep the order the same)According to frequency of use

Personalize your Application customizes the application for the end userKnow Your User Use the information collected in the definition phase about your target audience to accomplish the following goals:Target the information you presentAdapt your application to the way your customers workPresent information that is relevant to a mobile userReduce key strokes- every key click reduces potential user number base of an application by 50 percentThe following methods can be used to reduce keystrokes:Personalize your applicationProvide value at every level

Optimize navigation to the most important contentKeep the content targetedAllow users to select from listsTake users directly to the informationGenerate and test multiple competing designs- generate several designs and then evaluate them with end usersThe most effective design combines two or more competing designsReduce screen clutter (confusion, disorder)Follow known design guidelinesTranscoders to automatically convert HTML-based Web sites to WML-based web sites

Phase 3: PrototypePrototypes serve many important functions and are the critical part of the development processThey provide an effective tool for communicating designAlso enable designers to better visualize design, task flow.

Phase 4: TestTo find out before release whether your customers can actually use your applicationUsability testing involves giving your application to representative usersUsability test process can take place in instrumented laboratories with hidden cameras, one way mirrors, intercom systems, observation rooms and sophisticated recording equipmentAllow the users to perform tasks on their own. Avoid hints or helpTry to provide only general hints finally give full guideline

Phase 5:IterateAn iteration refers to Refinement of the services definition and design, resulting in an updated prototype and a subsequent usability test to identify new issuesIterative design enables testing to occur different stages

User Interface Design GuidelinesGuidelines for wide range of user interfaces, including WML-based user interfacesGeneral design Guide lines-Top 10 guidelines by Lund(1997)1. Know thy user , and YOU are not thy user- reiterates the important of understanding the userIt appears simple on the surface, but in practice it is difficult to implementAllow the users to watch interviews of the users and observe them at workDesigners should maintain an early and continual focus on the users.As developer of a product , you have more knowledge about the system, its design, and the subject matter to be an average userFocus on end users rather than on yourself and the members of your company.

2. Things that look the same should act the same. Consistency, consistency, consistency user to carry knowledge about how your interface works from one part of the system to another, so reducing how much users must learn to use your system easily and effectively3. The information for the decision needs to be there when the decision is made provide users with all of the relevant information you have to aid them in making the decisions required by your systemPrevent errors when possible. When it is not possible to prevent errors, error messages should actually mean something to the user and tell him or her how to fix the problemEveryone makes mistakes, so every mistake should be fixable allow users to recover from errorsDont overload the users buffers - Minimize the need for a mighty(powerful) memoryKeep it simpleEvery action should have a reaction.The user should always know what is happening the user should always know what the system is doingif the system requires a long time to complete a task, it should provide status messages to the user10. The more you do something, the easier it should be to do your interface should be easy to remember

Variability of WAP Devices supports to wide variety of devicesWap devices have much smaller displays, less capable input devices, and relatively limited cpu memoryAlso operate over a network with less connection stability, and less predictable (expected) availability WAP devices classified into 3 categories:Two-way pagers limited graphics capabilities, limited cpu & memoryPhones- text based display, limited display and memoryPersonal digital assistants support text and graphics improved input mechanism-keyboard, pointer

Variability of WAP Browsers WML gives browsers a great deal of flexibility

WML design GuidelinesAllow the users to complete their tasks quicklyKeep your application as simple as possibleWhenever possible, avoid requiring users to enter textReduce keystrokesDesign for smaller phones; there will be more of them, and they are among the most constrainedAvoid unwrapped linesDo not expect the browser menu on devices with phone.com browsers to be easy to useAvoid complicated screensIf a list constrains (restrict) more than two or three items, ensure that it is obvious to the user that scrolling is required Allow users full control over items that they receive via push notification

11. If a card is referenced by or contains a menu , consider adding a title that informs the user where they are within your application12. For searching be permissive with user entered text13. For searching give users access to full results and provide a means for narrowing a large result list14. Provide help for all application screens and in a step wise fashion

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