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What Makes a Good UI?

Posted by Cliff on from the intuitive-visual-controls dept.

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?"

1 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. By definition: No by bluGill · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A good UI is one that does not cause to you sit up and take notice at all. A good UI is one that lets you sit back and get your work done, without making/allowing mistakes, without making you do anything repetitive, allows fast work, and all this without getting in your way.

    Now creating this interface is often difficult. It is worse because sometimes the best UI for novices is different from the best one for experts. A novice needs a easy to learn interface, while the expert already knows it and just wants something that gets the work done fast.

    Example: An accountant needs more power from from an accounting package than the average Joe. (yet the average Joe needs to send everything to an accountant once in a while!) "Joe" doesn't know how double entry bookkeeping works, and shouldn't have to learn. The accountant needs to know and use it.