Nielsen Full day training course offered at Usability Week Melbourne
Application Usability: Day 2
Designing workflows for desktop and laptop applications, applying structures, and designing for different types of users
A usable application assembles well-designed screen components, or widgets, to create a seamless experience.
In this course, we’ll explore key workflow concepts and design considerations for different task types, as well as guidelines for specific application types. We’ll also cover how to integrate user-centered design into an application development process for the inclusion of various user types.
Please Note: This course does not cover mobile apps. If you’re designing for mobile devices such as the iPhone, Android, or iPad, consider our seminar on Apps for touchscreen devices.
Topics
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Specific guidelines by application type
- Native applications
- Hosted (client/server and Web) applications
- E-commerce applications
- Collaborative applications
- Problem solving
- Mini-applications (applets) and ephemeral applications
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Designing for different user types, and user interfaces that enhance this
- Modes and views
- Palettes and templates
- Customization
- Explore methods for choosing and integrating the right workflows into your applications
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Key workflow concepts
- Smart defaults
- Control vs. being led
- Progressive disclosure
- Inductive user interfaces and wizards
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Design considerations for different task types and user workflows
- Cyclical tasks
- Answering known questions
- Researching and buying
- Explore a user-centered application development lifecycle
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Application usability guidance
- Making the user interface seem fast and responsive
- International and multi-language considerations
- Accessibility
- Transmedia considerations: Integrating a website and an associated application
- Address internationalization issues and accessibility concerns
- Customized applications that cater to different user types
Format
The basis of the course is a lecture format with a couple of group exercises to reinforce the learned principles and guidelines.
The course also includes:
- Findings from our own usability studies
- Videos from usability testing showing people's behavior in response to a design
- Screenshots of designs that work and don’t work, and why
- Opportunities to ask questions and get answers
Companion Course
Application Usability: Day 1 is a companion course to Application Usability: Day 2. Each course can be taken independently. Application Usability: Day 1 covers:
- How user research can best inform application design
- Which screen element (widget) to use in which circumstance and when to deviate from standards and style guides
- How to choose between different widgets that perform similar functions
- Design patterns that users expect for common tasks and how they interpret these patterns
Instructor
Garrett Goldfield
Garrett Goldfield is a User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group with 20 years of practical experience. At Nielsen Norman Group, Goldfield has consulted for clients in a broad range of industries, including e-commerce, automotive, health care, financial, media, telecommunications, education, art and non-profits, as well as highly specialized B2B sites. Read more about Garrett
Garrett Goldfield is a User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group with 20 years of practical experience. At Nielsen Norman Group, Goldfield has consulted for clients in a broad range of industries, including e-commerce, automotive, health care, financial, media, telecommunications, education, art and non-profits, as well as highly specialized B2B sites. Read more about Garrett