UI Methods and ArchitectureMethods

The links to PDFs should be working now—March 21, 2005

This topic focuses on HCI techniques that are useful in system specification and user interface design. These techniques make use of object technology and, in particular, the use of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) for diagramming. UML constructs are introduced as they are used in each of these techniques.

Presentation

Much if not all of the content in this portion of the site is also used in classroom-based teaching. To improve the rate at which I get this content published on the site, I'm going to provide these as topic notebooks published on this site as PDF files. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, you can download the application at no cost from Adobe.

HCI Methods

The following method descriptions form the core of a combined HCI and object-technology approach to specification and user interface design. These methods adapt well to a variety of situations. I am publishing these notebooks here as quickly as I can write them. Sorry for the delays!

Use Cases and Software Requirements Specification

• Use Case Basics: an introduction to use cases and their use in specifying functional requirements. This notebook is a good introduction to the topic for everyone including UI designers, programmers, business analysts, and managers.
• Sequence Diagrams for Use Case Authoring: describes a graphic approach to representing use case scenarios with advantages both for teaching use case writing and in day-to-day practice. This notebook is good for anyone who must write use cases.
• Concept Modeling for Analysis and Specification: describes what a concept model is, how it relates to a use case model, and why it is advantageous to create some form of concept model when writing use cases. This notebook provides an introduction to the topic appropriate for all who must write use cases as well as decision makers responsible for development process.
• Organization Process Modeling: introduces the use of use case modeling and activity diagrams in representing and thinking about work performed by groups of people. This notebook is recommended for anyone who writes use cases as well as those who must describe, change, or otherwise work with business process. This later category includes development process or any cooperative work.
• User Interface and Use Case Authoring: introduces techniques for including presentation requirements in use cases without contaminating use case scenarios with unnecessary UI design assumptions. This notebook is recommended for anyone who must write use cases as well as UI designers and project decision makers.
• Pragmatics of Use Case Authoring: discusses pragmatic issues of interest to anyone who must write, review, or manage use cases.
• Analysis and Specification Review: provides a concise review of use case and software requirements specification topics.

Usability and User Interface

• Usability: provides an overview of usability in user interface design and implementation. This notebook includes an overview of the major techniques currently in-use for the usability evaluation of designs, prototypes, and implementations. This notebook is recommended for all stakeholders of a system development effort.
• Basic User Interface Design Patterns: provides a concise catalog of user interface design patterns for use in writing use cases and designing user interface based on use cases or any task-modeling-based approach.
• Contextual Interview and Observation: finding out what the user is doing. Contact with actual end-users of a system can be difficult to arrange and costly for the sponsoring organization. Prepartion for this time in the field as well as the use of that time is crucial. This topic explores ways to maximize the benefits of time spent with users. Coming soon.
• Prototyping: a concrete realization of the system specification. Suggestions for a range of techniques appropriate for non-programmers and programmers. Coming soon.
• Storyboarding: a concrete realization of use cases and scenarios. Emphasis is on simplicity in construction without sacrificing explanatory power for the user/reviewer. Storyboarding should dovetail with effort expended in use case and specification authoring—this topic explores ways of doing just that. Coming soon.
• Heuristic Review: interface review by principle. An economical approach to usability assurance typically able to uncover most severe usability problems. This method is so cost-effective that virtually every project should make use of it. Coming soon.
• Usability Test: interface review through controlled use. More expensive—often much more—than heuristic review, this technique provides greater confidence in results in high-risk situations. Coming soon.

Other Related Software Engineering Topics

• Test Cases: how to specify test cases in relation to a use case (task) model. A pragmatic approach to coordinating test case authoring and maintenance between specification writers, business analysts, and quality assurance engineers. Coming soon.
• System Specification: what to build in terms of who and what a system must support. The approach described here is a UML-based approach to system specification and can be generated using today's UML tools. Coming soon.