Beyond User Friendly

Robert H. Anderson, Norman Shapiro

Published 1989

This Note describes six dimensions for user-computer interfaces (those that are easy to use, to learn, to teach, to relearn, to unlearn, to avoid harm, and to support) that distinguish among aspects of a program's behavior often confused within the "user friendly" rubric. Some of these dimensions are mutually antagonistic, so priorities and choices must be made, depending on the user's context. The authors apply the six dimensions to aid in understanding the love/hate relationship some software interfaces engender. Through categorizations of user interface traits, such as the example proposed here, they hope to aid both the design and procurement of effective user-computer interfaces for software products.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1989
  • Pages: 18
  • Document Number: N-2999-RC

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Anderson, Robert H. and Norman Shapiro, Beyond User Friendly. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1989. https://www.rand.org/pubs/notes/N2999.html.
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