Book: Systems Analysis and Design       

Author: Shelly, Cashman and Roseblatt

Reference no.: QA 76.9 S84 S94 2003

Quotation (chapter126)

            “The best user interfaces are the ones that users don’t notice. They make sense because they do what users expect them to do.”

User Interface Inputs and Outputs Design

User interface or (UI) describes how user interacts with a computer system. It consists of all the hardware, software, screen, menu and features that affect the tow-way communications between the user and the computer. UI is simply the parts of the computer and its software that you see, hear, touch or talk to. It’s a two-way communications because you don’t just want to see or hear what the computer puts in front of you but you also want it to tell you what you’d like to do.

The best UI is “No UI” because it implies that the user and the computer have to interact to make something happen. The UI should be easy for the user to use to avoid annoying them. The computer programmer should smart enough to advise a way to accomplish the right thing without the use helping them out. And the less UI is better UI because the simplest the UI the easy and useful it to the users. You don’t have to pay much attention to the UI, you can spend more time doing your work instead for looking everywhere for the right button or key to press. It’s almost transparent that you can see right through the interface to your own work.

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) which is user interface is based on basic principles of human-computer interaction. It describes the relationship between computers and people who use them to perform business-related tasks. As a system analyst, you will design user interfaces for in-house developed software and customize interfaces for various commercial packages and user productivity applications. Your main objective is to create a user-friendly design that is easy to learn and use.