Understanding Users

The design and usability techniques described in the previous sections have been used in the development of Microsoft Windows and in many of the guidelines included in this book. This process has yielded the following general characteristics about users. Consider these characteristics in the design of your software:

Beginning Windows users often have difficulty using the mouse. For example, dragging and double-clicking are skills that may take time for beginning mouse users to master. Dragging can be difficult because it requires continued pressure on the mouse button and involves properly targeting the correct destination. Double-clicking is not the same as two separate clicks, so many beginning users have difficulty handling the timing necessary to distinguish these two actions, or they overdo it, assuming that everything needs to be double-clicked. Design your interface so that double-clicking and dragging are not the only ways to perform basic tasks; allow the user to conduct the basic tasks using single-click operations, as well as through the keyboard.
Beginning users often have difficulty with window management. They do not always realize that overlapping windows represent a three-dimensional space. As a result, when a window hides another, a user may assume it no longer exists.
Beginning users often have difficulty with file management. The organization of files and folders nested more than two levels is more difficult to understand because it is not as apparent as it would be with physical files and folders.
Intermediate users may understand file hierarchies but have difficulty with other aspects of file management, such as moving and copying files. This may be because most of their experience working with files is from within an application.
Advanced, or power, users want efficiency. The challenge in designing for advanced users is providing efficiency without introducing complexity for less-experienced users. Developing shortcuts is often a useful way to support these users. In addition, advanced users may be dependent upon particular interfaces, making it difficult for them to adapt to significant rearrangement of or changes in an interface.
To develop for the widest audience, include international users and users with disabilities. Address the needs of these users as part of your planning and design cycles to ensure that you can accommodate them.