Choice & Use of User Interfaces

Choice & Use of User Interfaces

1. Adapted Interface

   • Colours, images, font sizes, cursor sizes, screen resolution and many other elements can all be adapted to better support the user.
   • Disadvantages
     • This requires an understanding of the user needs in order to adapt it, which can be a time consuming task. This is particularly true for a device being used my multiple users who each need the interface adapted differently.
   • Advantages
     • This fits the needs of the user very effectively. This can ease confusion for inexperienced users and improve accessibility for those with individual needs, such as those with visual impairments.
   • Is a interface that changes layout, options and even its presentation to better support the technology its on

2. Menu Based Interface

   • This is used at self service, ATMs
   • This type of user interface presents the user with a menu that contains a list of options. The user navigates through various submenus by choosing the relevant option in order to perform the function they want.
   • Advantages
     • This is a very easy-to-use interface. The simplicity of the interface, with limited possible actions & clear options makes it very user friendly.
     • The interface is very easily adapted to different users. In particular it is easy to translate into various languages and the options can be spoken rather than just being visual.
   • Disadvantages
     • A menu based interface can be very frustrating for users if there are a lot of different levels of submenus as this can take a long time to navigate. Especially when compared to a CLI.
     • Options are limited, so more complex actions cannot be performed and if the required option is not available then you will not be able to complete your task.

3. Graphical User interface

   • Short for GUI
   • Most operating systems have GUIs aswell as mobile OSs
   • This type of user interface is designed around graphical icons and images. We commonly know this as a WIMP interface. This stands for Windows, Icons, Menus & Pointers
   • Advantages:
     • It is easy to use, especially for beginner users. Users do not need to learn any complex commands in order to use the interface. Instead navigation is very intuitive relying on users moving a cursor on screen and clicking to indicate an action.
       • t is easy to move data between different software applications. Dragging and dropping or copy & pasting really simplify this process and make it easy to use.
   • Disadvantages
     • It uses a lot of processing power and main memory to run. This can cause problems with older systems that don’t have a lot to spare.
       • It can be frustratingly slow to perform certain tasks for experienced users. Many tasks require a number of actions to complete, which in a command-line interface could be complete in just one.

4. Command Line Interface

   • But now used more maintaining a network
     • MS-DOS being he most popular
   • Advantages
     • Experienced computer users who know the various commands used in a CLI find it much quicker to complete tasks than navigating around a graphical user interface.
     • The simplicity of this interface means it requires much less memory & processing power in order to run. This means it can run on weaker computer systems. It also takes less space on the hard disk.
   • CLIs were the most used as computers werent powerful enough to display grpahics
   • Disadvantages
     • The interface is not intuitive at all. You cannot figure it out just by giving it a go and will require some training to make even the basic use of it.
     • You need to know the various commands in order to operate the computer system. This makes it very difficult to use for beginner and inexperience computer users.