Assignment #1 For CSC 5855

Interface Evaluation

Interface Evaluation

Student:   Yue Wu                                        Date: May 29, 96. 
Software Package: ICP Client Tracking System

Task: To know how the ICP Client Tracking System works.

My subject of observation was Carol who is familar with windows applications, and has experience with interface design for patients who have suffered brain injuries.

Total Time Spent observing: 24 minutes.

Narrative Description of the Subject's activities

List times spent on subactivites and the various focus changes.

Time in Minutes Action Problem / Comment

2

Carol selected "Update Client Visits" from the Main Menu List using mouse double click. When the screen moved to Update Client Visit Form, she clicked on the button "Find A Client". On the Dialog Form "Find Client", she typed her first name in the field of first name, and then click on button "Find". Because the "Find Client" Dialog Form didn't disappear right away, she clicked on the button "Find" twice until the form disappeared. After her name showed in the Client List on the Update Client Visits Form, she assumed that either first name or last name can be used to find clients. She also wondered if the system can show all the clients that have the same first name. ( The system does.)

On Update Client Visit Form, she clicked on the button "Add A Client" . When the screen moved to Client List Form, she put a first name in the field of "First Name", and a last name in the field of "Last Name". She tried to put a telephone number in the field of "Home Phone", but the cursor stuck on "(", which is part of the input mask for the field. She kept typing a number on "(", it didn't work. She also tried to move cursor past "(" using the mouse, and the mouse was not sensitive enough to move only one character. Later she used the right arrow key to move the cursor past "(". The arrow key was used again, when she put another phone number in the next field of "Work Phone". In the field of "Zip", she put 19111-1234 in the blank field. The field was not long enough and only showed 111-1234. She wondered where the "19" was. After she filled out all the fields, she clicked the button "Save" to save the record.

After adding a new client, she went back to the Update Client Visit Form. She used mouse to highlight a client name in the Client List, then moved mouse to the field of "Last Visit Date" and tried to edit the date. Since the system was not in the edit mode, it didn't let her edit the date. She didn't notice the words below the Client List box which were "Find a name nd double click to udpate visit date.". After I told her, she thought the words are not clear enough. She double clicked a name in the Client List Box and the cursor automatically went to the field of "Last Visit Date". She updated the date and clicked the button "Save" to save the record. She asked what was the meaning of the button "All Clients" and why the Client List Box didn't have a vertical scroll bar. (The "All Clients" button is used to show all client names in Client List Box when the Client List Box only show the result of find, and the scroll bar shows when the list box can't show all the names.)

She selected "Client List" from the Main Menu List. On the Client List Form, she clicked on the button "Add A Client", filled all the field without problems, and saved the records. She tried the "Update Info." and "Next Client". When she clicked on "Previous Client" button, a message box come out that said "Can't go to the specific record.". She thought it was an error message. (Because the system was showing the first record, it can't go to the specific record.) She tried the "Delete Client", and the message box said "You've just deleted 1 record(s). Choose OK to save your changes or Cancel to undo your changes.". She thought the message was not clear enough to be understood.

Going back to Main Menu Form, she selected report. She clicked on the button "Print Reprot" , the Report Form disappeared, and the report was printed properly.

Modes of Interaction used by the subject

• Subject interacts with fields, list boxes and buttons.
• Subject often uses the mouse. When mouse didn't work, keyboard was used.
• When the system doesn't work the way subject expected, subject thought that something wrong with the system.
• Whenever a message appears, subject thought it was a system error message.

Question the subject about their perceptions of the system

• Is there a vertical scroll bar on the Client List Box?
• Can users search using either first name or last name, and if the system shows all the clients which have the same first names or last names.
• What does the button "All Client" do?

Summary

ICP Client Tracking Sysgem is designed for people who have suffered brain injuries. The interface design of the system is based on the idea of that patients can use it with 2-3 minutes training or without training. The system design is focused on giving specific instructions to tell user how to use the system. For example, using "Add A Client" in stead of "Add" on the add button tells user more clearly what the button does.

Package Features Used by the Subject:

Fields, Buttons, and List Boxs.

Unused Package features (why not?):

Enter or Tab Key to move field by field. (Mouse can be used to move to the specific field)

Disable and Enable Buttons shows the Edit Mode. (Subject didn't notice the change of the button)

Actions facilitated by the package:

All the buttons.

Actions that appeared awkward:

High lighted a name and double clicked the name to enter to edit mode.

Recommend Improvements, give reasons.

There are several improvements that could be made.

• Changing the instruction from "Find a name then double click to update date" to "Find a name then double click on the high lighted name to update.".

Reason: Since the user will be workers in the hair salon, they are not familiar with using application interfaces. Specific instructions can help them to figure out how the system works.

• Changing the message box for the delete warning from "You've just deleted 1 record(s). Choose OK to save your changes or Cancel to undo your changes." to "Delete this client?".

Reason: Short and clear instrurtions are easier to understand.

• Changing the instruction on the button of "All Clients" to "Return to Beginning".

Reason: "Return to Beginning" is clearer than "All Clients".

• Cursor will automatically move from "(" to next character in the date field.

Reason: It makes data entry easier.

• Enlarge the filed of "Zip".

Reason: It only shows part of the field before, users can't see the whole field.

Author: Yue Wu

Last Changed: June 5, 1996