What Makes a Good UI?

OSXCPA asks: "While there are plenty of OS business apps from accounting to ERP, they seem to share a common failing with "commercial" software - the user interface is terrible! Has anyone seen an application that has a UI that made you sit up and stare in amazement at the simplicity and effectiveness of it? For the techno-elite, drooly-gui may not be a priority, but I am working on a project (OS) where I have to show real savings (in task performance time and reduced data entry error) on a specialized accounting system via better UI. Am looking for some inspiration. Any ideas? Projects? Books?"

Comments

The Humane Interface

[orasio]

by Jef Raskin

http://www.jefraskin.com/forjef/jefweb-compiled/hu maneinterface/

It's a book that can help you look at interfaces in a different way, with some measures you can make, and some guidelines that an be helpful. Maybe going all the way is not feasible immediately, but it can gie some insight on the subject.

Intuitive Interface

[dmayle]

Whatever you end up reading, I suggest you get some real users to sit down in front of it and test it. You need to be sure that the end user understands what you mean by what you say.

For instance, in this posting, your use of OS for Open Source instead of OSS for Open Source Software was mildly confusing because in the specialized world that is IT, OS, by convention, usually refers to Operating System. If you'd sat down and tested with a focus group, you might not have made this error ;)

Seriously, though, you'll get the best UI you can design if you just sit down with the end users and let them show you what makes sense for them...

Two great resources

[nicke999]

Joel Spolsky's "User Interface Design for Programmers" is a great resource. Recommended highly.

Also try usability guru Jakob Nielsen's site Useit. Although mostly focused on web design it s a good read for anyone designing interfaces.