Window Layout: Cures for Cryptovision (continued)

When you need a set of nested menu options to meet the user's task requirement, consider the classical hierarchical menu. This layout puts two levels of menu on the same screen as shown in Figure 8. Research shows that the single screen with many options is faster and more easily understood than nested menus. Sequence the groups and option by task flow as much as possible. People get to know their job from the menu groups and sequence. Otherwise, group by subject or function. Avoid alphabetical sequences. Users may have a different understanding of which option name to look for compared to yours. Should they look under N for New Employee or H for Hire Employee?

Figure 8. Just because you're doing GUI design, don't eliminate the classical hierarchical menu for particular situations. If you have modal task flows that always lead back to a "hub" – use the hierarchical menu. Here's a GUI version with charts and hot spots for mouse selection. For best comprehension, keep it to 6 groups or less, no more than 10 items in a single group, with a maximum of 18-24 items total.

Reduce Motor Work

Issue: Have you ever scanned a 160 column print-out and jumped a line? How can you avoid clicking on the wrong line in a scrolled list with several columns? Look at Figure 9. Locate the phone number of Abraham Edwards. Did you appreciate the blank line?

Solution: If a list requires that the user scan between columns, add a blank line after every five or six lines. The blank line serves as a ruler to prevent the eye from accidentally jumping up or down a line. Alternative soul solutions include use of a thin hairline every five or six lines, or you may alter the shade of the background every five or six lines. Use a consistent number of lines to define a group.

Figure 9. When the user must scan across several columns, place a blank line every 5 or 6 lines to prevent jumping between rows. Be consistent in the number of rows in a group. Also, reduce scanning requirements by putting the most frequently used columns close together, if it's logical. In this example, consider putting the phone numbers closer to the name if you know there will be a lot of empty space in the list.

Some corollary solutions to motor demands in screen layout:

• Group command buttons to simplify target identification. Buttons with familiar functions such as OK, Help, and Cancel should appear in a consistent position across all windows. (We recommend the bottom left of the window for OK and bottom right for Help and Cancel.) Users use their visual-kinesthetic memory to locate those buttons rapidly. This frees attention and targeting time for the new, task specific button. See Figure 10.

Figure 10. Keep OK, Help, and Cancel in familiar positions throughout your application. Segregate the task buttons to clarify the task groups and minimize hitting the wrong button.