Fundamentals of Software Engineering

Chapter 3. User Interface Design

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In far too many instances, user interface design often boiled down to putting input fields wherever they would fit irrespective of all else. While that may have been the most expeditious approach for the developers, it rarely resulted in the most usable application. Of course few software developers are ever taught the basics of user interface design and while this chapter won’t make you an expert, you’ll be a step ahead of most by the time you’re done reading!

What is usability?

Usability is the software equivalent of flossing¹ - everyone knows it’s important, but it’s usually one of the first things to get cut from a project. You may be lucky enough to have UI experts at your disposal but odds are you’ll shoulder some (or all) or the work. Despite what some people think, usability matters, at least if you’d rather not cause users to run screaming from your application. While most developers are ...