Designing Interfaces

USERS' MOTIVATION TO LEARN

Before you start the design process, consider your overall approach. Think about how you might design its overall interaction style—its personality, if you will.

When you carry on a conversation with someone about a given subject, you adjust what you say according to your understanding of the other person. You might consider how much he cares about the subject, how much he already knows about it, how receptive he is to learning from you, and whether he's even interested in the conversation in the first place. If you get any of that wrong, then bad things happen—he might feel patronized, uninterested, impatient, or utterly baffled.

This analogy leads to some obvious design advice. The subject-specific vocabulary you use in your interface, for instance, should match your users' level of knowledge; if some users won't know that vocabulary, give them a way to learn the unfamiliar terms. If they don't know computers very well, don't make them use sophisticated widgetry or uncommon interface-design conventions. If their level of interest might be low, respect that, and don't ask for too much effort for too little reward.

Some of these concerns permeate the whole interface design in subtle ways. For example, do your users expect a short, tightly focused exchange about something very specific, or do they look for a conversation that's more of a free-ranging exploration? In other words, how much openness is there in the interface? Too little, and your users feel trapped ...