With today's technology and tools, and our motivation to create really effective and usable

interfaces and screens, why do we continue to produce systems that are inefficient and 

confusing or, at worst, just plain unusable? Is it because:

• We don't care?

• We don't possess common sense?

• We don't have the time?

• We still don't know what really makes good design?

• But we never seem to have time to find out what makes good design, nor to properly 

apply it. After all, many of us have other things to do in addition to designing interfaces

and screens.

• So we take our best shot given the workload and time constraints imposed upon us. The 

result, too often, is woefully inadequate.

• Interface and screen design were really a matter of common sense, we developers would 

have been producing almost identical screens for representing the real world.

• Example bad designs

– Closed door with complete wood

– suggestion : glass door

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE USER INTERFACE

 A well-designed interface and screen is terribly important to our users. It is their 

window to view the capabilities of the system.

 It is also the vehicle through which many critical tasks are presented. These tasks 

often have a direct impact on an organization's relations with its customers, and its

profitability.

 A screen's layout and appearance affect a person in a variety of ways. If they are 

confusing and inefficient, people will have greater difficulty in doing their jobs and

will make more mistakes.

 Poor design may even chase some people away from a system permanently. It can 

also lead to aggravation, frustration, and increased stress.

The Benefits of Good Design

 Poor clarity forced screen users to spend one extra second per screen.

o Almost one additional year would be required to process all screens.

o Twenty extra seconds in screen usage time adds an additional 14 person