Designing the User Interface is intended primarily for designers, managers,
and evaluators of interactive systems. It presents a broad survey of designing,
implementing, managing, maintaining, training, and refining the user interface
of interactive systems. The book's second audience is researchers in human-computer
interaction, specifically those who are interested in human performance
with interactive systems. These researchers may have backgrounds in computer
science, psychology, information systems, library science, business, education,
human factors, ergonomics, or industrial engineering; all share a desire
to understand the complex interaction of people with machines. Students
in these fields also will benefit from the contents of this book. It is
my hope that this book will stimulate the introduction of courses on user-interface
design in all these and other disciplines. Finally, serious users of interactive
systems will find that the book gives them a more thorough understanding
of the design questions for user interfaces. My goals are to encourage
greater attention to the user interface and to help develop a rigorous
science of user-interface design.
Since publication of the first two editions of this book in 1986 and
1992, researchers in the field of human-computer interaction and practitioners
of user-interface design have grown more numerous and influential. The
quality of interfaces has improved greatly, and the community of users
has grown dramatically. Researchers and designers could claim success,
but user expectations are higher and the applications are more demanding.
Today's interfaces are good, but novice and expert users still experience
anxiety and frustration all too often. To achieve the goal of universal
access, designers will have to continue to work harder. This book is meant
to help them keep up the momentum, and thus to encourage further progress.
Keeping up with the innovations in human-computer interaction is a demanding
task. Requests for an update to my second edition began shortly after its
publication, but I had to wait until a sabbatical year allowed me to set
aside enough time to complete this third edition. I've gone to the library,
the World Wide Web, conferences, and colleagues to harvest information,
and then returned to my keyboard to write. My first drafts were only a
starting point to generate feedback from colleagues, practitioners, and
students. The work was intense and satisfying.
Ways to Use This Book
I hope that practitioners and researchers who read this book will want
to keep it on their shelves to consult when they are working on a new topic
or seeking pointers to the literature.
Instructors may choose to assign the full text in the order that I present
it, or to make selections from it. The opening chapter is a good starting
point for most students, but instructors may take different paths depending
on their disciplines. For example, instructors might emphasize the following
chapters, listed by area:
-
Computer Science: 2, 5,
6, 13, 14,
15
-
Psychology: 2, 4,
9, 10, 14
-
Library and information science: 2, 4,
12, 15, 16
-
Business and information systems: 3, 4,
14, 15
-
Educational technology: 2, 4,
11, 12, 14,
16
-
Communication arts and media studies: 4, 11,
12, 16
-
Technical writing and graphic design: 3, 4,
11, 12, 15,
16
The book's web site provides syllabi from many instructors, and offers
supplemental teaching materials.
Acknowledgements
Writing is a lonely process; revising is a social one. I am grateful to
the many colleagues and students who contributed their suggestions. My
close daily partners at the University of Maryland have the greatest influence
and my deepest appreciation: Gary Marchionini, Kent Norman, Catherine Plaisant,
and Anne Rose. I give special thanks to Charles Kreitzberg and Jenny Preece
for their personal and professional support. Other major contributors of
useful comments include Richard Bellaver, Tom Bruns, Stephan Greene, Jesse
Heines, Eser Kandogan, Chris North, Arkady Pogostkin, Richard Potter, Marilyn
Saltzman, Michael Spring, Egemen Tanin, and Craig Wills. The many people
and organizations that provided figures are acknowledged in the relevant
captions.
I also appreciate the students around the world who sent me comments
and suggestions. Their provocative questions about our growing discipline
and profession encourage me daily.
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Last Updated: 02 March 2001
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