User Interface Design

--Originally published at Hermes's Blog

User Interface Design focuses on anticipating what users might need to do and ensuring that the interface has elements that are easy to access, understand and use to facilitate those actions.

The reaction or the experience of the user when ising software doesn’t only depend on the functionality and the aesthetically design, what more influences the user to feel comfortable or not is the user interface.

 

Gestalt Design Principles

Similarity: occurs when objects look similar to one another.

Continuation: occurs when the eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another object.

Closure: occurs when an object is incomplete or a space is not completely enclosed.

Proximity: occurs when elements are placed close together.

Figure and Ground: The eye differentiates an object from its surrounding area. a form, silhouette or shape is naturally perceived as figure, while the surrounding area is perceived as ground.

User Interface Design

flickr photo by Isaac Kohane https://www.flickr.com/photos/52786697@N00/15857500937 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license

Best practices for User Interface Design

  • Keep the interface simple
  • Create consistency and use common UI elements
  • Be puposeful in page layout
  • Strategically use color and texture
  • Use typography to create hierarchy and clarity
  • Make sure the system communucates what’s happening
  • Think about the defaults

Sources:

https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-interface-design.html

http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm


User Interface Design

Software Maintenance

--Originally published at Hermes's Blog

Software maintenance stands for all the modifications done after the delivery of a software product. A software maintenance is needed in order to mantain our software up to date.

Modifications in the software may be required because of changes in the market conditions, changes in the client requirements or even host modifications.

There are some types of maintenances based on their characteristics:

Software Maintenance

flickr photo by Pia https://www.flickr.com/photos/omgdolls/16382202136 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license

Corrective Maintenance:

This includes modifications and updates done in order to correct or fix problems, which are either discovered by user or concluded by user error reports.

Adaptative Maintenance:

This includes modifications applied to keep the software product up-to date and tuned to the ever changing world of technology and business environment.

Perfective Maintenance:

This includes updates done in order to keep the software usable over long period of time. It includes new features, new user requirements for refining the software and improve its reliability and performance.

Preventive Maintenance:

It aims to attend problems, which are not significant at this moment but may cause serious issues in future.

Sources:

http://swebokwiki.org/Chapter_5:_Software_Maintenance

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/software_engineering/software_maintenance_overview.htm


Software Maintenance