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Managing Your Defense Against GUI's from Hell (continued)

Software Ergonomics – Its Role Throughout System Development
Reduce Motor Work	"Motor work" refers to physical movement, like typing. We reviewed a new GUI customer service system for a major credit card service. All their credit card accounts started with the same four digits. So they defaulted the cursor start to the right of the fourth number. A good move. But we learned every call still had four unneeded keystrokes because we pulled in some soul design for reinforcements. Upon dropping our assumptions and interviewing users, we learned that the next two numbers were the same for 99% of callers. So we moved the cursor two to the right and scored a two-stroke reduction. We then avoided tab stops at two objects that were virtually never used, saving another two keystrokes. Those four keystrokes saved over $10,000 present worth in user time. (Yes, they have a lot of service reps who get a lot of calls.)
Reduce Intellectual Work	We often find applications that require more thought and decision-making than necessary. (Battles are lost when the troops don't move.) For example, a large mail-order catalog house upgraded its telephone customer service application to a GUI environment. We interviewed and observed the service reps. We learned that the navigation in the current system failed to handle requests for product returns without considerable thought. First, upon taking the order and getting a customer request to make a return, the rep had to write down the customer ID. Second, the rep "jumped sessions" to the Invoice/Returns module. Third, the rep re-entered the customer ID. Fourth, the rep checked the purchase date for the item and mentally calculated the warranty expiration date. Fifth, the rep exited and returned to the Order module.

System Development Phase	Usability Activities (Simplified)	Consequences of Failure
1. Proposal: Get ideas for a new system.	Performance analysis: Interviews, fault isolation, brainstorming.	Business opportunities are lost.
2. Feasability: Check that system is practical.	Quantify costs/benefits. Check for simple manual solutions.	An expensive system that is impractical, unnecessary, or awkward to use.
3. Definition: Describe system boundaries, high- level functions.	Gather data on existing environment: user characteristics, taskflow, problems. High-level taskflow design.	A system that does not fit the user or environment. An awkward or confusing system structure.
4. Preliminary Design: Select high-end UI architecture.	Design the screenflow architecture to match the task flow design.	The user jumps around the system to get work done.
5. Detailed Design: Design screen layouts, wording, operation, color.	Standardize screen designs. Standardize error messages. Use protocol simulation testing.	Screens that are hard to understand and use.
6. Implementation: Determine best overall user support.	Prepare user support products: online help, user manuals, job aids, training.	Impractical or unusable documents, training, or job aids.
7. Conversion: Put system in place.	Select and execute best conversion strategy: flash cut, dual run.	An awkward and expensive system installation with lingering bad feelings.
8. Performance Review: Verify that system meets objectives.	Establish testing protocol. Gather data: logs, interviews, probes, questionaires, analysis and problem resolution.	System with ergonomic "bugs". Developers never learn from their mistakes.
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