Workers Skills Ability Intelligence and Sophisticated Level

Why worker’s skills, ability, intelligence and sophisticated level should be taken into account when designing user interface?

Good product design incorporates a number of timeless principles for human-computer interaction. The principles described in this chapter are critical to the design of elegant, efficient, intuitive, and Aqua-compliant user interfaces. In fact, they drive the design of the OS user interface.

Metaphors

Take advantage of people’s knowledge of the world by using metaphors to convey concepts and features of your app. Metaphors are the building blocks in the user’s mental model of a task. Use metaphors that represent concrete, familiar ideas, and make the metaphors obvious, so that users can apply a set of expectations to the computer environment. For example, OS X uses the metaphor of file folders for storing documents; people can organize their hard disks in a way that is analogous to the way they organize file cabinets.

Mental Model

The user already has a mental model that describes the task your software is enabling. This model arises from a combination of real-world experiences, experience with other software, and with computers in general. For example, users have real-world experience writing and mailing letters and most users have used email apps to write and send email. Based on this, a user has a conceptual model of this task that includes certain expectations, such as the ability to create a new letter, select a recipient, and send the letter. An email app that ignores the user’s mental model and does not meet at least some of the user’s expectations would be difficult and even unpleasant to use. This is because such an app imposes an unfamiliar conceptual model on its users instead of building on the knowledge and experiences those users already have.

Before you design your app’s user interface, try to discover your users’ mental model of the task your app helps them perform. Be aware of the model’s inherent metaphors, which represent conceptual components of the task. In the letter-writing example, the metaphors include letters, mail boxes, and envelopes. In the mental model of a task related to photography, the metaphors include photographs, cameras, and albums. Strive to reflect the user’s expectations of task components, organization, and workflow in your window layout, menu and toolbar organization, and use of panels.

The mental model your users have should infuse the design of your app’s user interface. It should inform the layout of your app’s windows, the selection and organization of icons and controls in the toolbars, and the functionality of panels. In addition, you should support the user’s mental model by striving to incorporate the following characteristics:

• Familiarity. The user’s mental model is based primarily on experience. When possible, enhance user interface components to reflect the model’s symbiology and display labels that use the model’s terminology.
• Simplicity. A mental model of a task is typically streamlined and focused on the fundamental components of the task. Although there may be myriad optional details associated with a given task, the basic components should not have to compete with the details for the user’s attention.
• Availability. A corollary of simplicity is availability. An uncluttered user interface is essential, but the availability of certain key features and settings the user needs is equally so. Avoid hiding such components too deeply in submenus or making them accessible only from a contextual menu.
• Discoverability. Encourage your users to discover functionality by providing cues about how to use user interface elements. If an element is clickable, for example, it must appear that way, or a user may never try clicking it. Be sure to use Aqua controls properly and avoid making controls invisible to inexperienced users.

Direct Manipulation

Direct manipulation is an example of an implied action that allows users to feel that they are controlling the objects represented by the computer. According to this principle, an onscreen object should remain visible while a user performs an action on it, and the impact of the action should be immediately visible. For example, with a drag-and-drop operation (the most common example of direct manipulation) users can move a file by dragging its icon from one location to another, or drag selected text directly into another document.

See and Point

On the desktop, users perform actions by choosing from alternatives presented on the screen. Users interact directly with the screen, selecting objects and performing activities by using a pointing device, typically a mouse, to point at elements on the desktop.

User Control

Allow the user, not the computer, to initiate and control actions. Some apps attempt to assist the user by offering only those alternatives deemed good for the user or by protecting the user from having to make detailed decisions. Because this approach puts the computer, not the user, in control, it is best confined to parts of the user interface aimed at novice users. Provide the level of user control that is appropriate for your audience.

Feedback and Communication

Feedback and communication encompass far more than merely displaying alerts when something goes wrong. Instead, it involves keeping users informed about what’s happening by providing appropriate feedback and enabling communication with your app.

Consistency

Consistency in the interface allows users to transfer their knowledge and skills from one app to another. Use the standard elements of the Aqua interface to ensure consistency within your app and to benefit from consistency across apps.

What is motivation, how motivation places its whole in people/employees performance?

We have discussed a number of factors that contribute to the way people behave at work place and how they react to information technology. All of these factors are important, but often they merely provide background facts about people. Such factors may need a mechanism to transform them into some type of action. In many cases that mechanism is motivation. Motivation is a major reason why a person does certain things and many behavioral psychologists feel that a lot of behavior can be explained in terms of motivational factors. Motivation is often defined as the force that energizes and sustains goal directed behavior. This force may originate from outside the individual such as the opportunity to earn a bonus or other significant reward from internal processes or from a combination of these.  Following activities may be remembered for the motivation of the staff.

1.      Self-actualization needs.

2.      Self-realization.

3.      Self esteem.

4.      Pride.

5.      Confidence

6.      Respect.

7.      Love and belonging needs.

8.      Security from attack.

9.      Hunger

10. Thirst

There are also some other psychological factors which are important for information system design and development. These include flexibility, information over load and optimism, pessimism. These point are also remembered.

1.      Flexibility

2.      Information overload

3.      Optimism

4.      Mental relaxation.

5.      Care for the basic necessities.