Re: Modal Dialogs on the Macintosh

[Steve_Mitchell-R1946C@email.sps.mot.com]

>> On Fri, 28 Apr 1995 09:24:30 Didier Guillon wrote:
>>I think we have to share our kwnowledge on this subject,
>> because it is not an easy one.
>>Any article, but practical advice would be welcome.

There is a book that really gives insights into
UI design specifically for the Mac. It is:

TOG on Interface, by Bruce Tognazzini
Addison Wesley 1992, ISBN 0-201-60842-1

I learnt as much about Mac UI design from this book
(and the columns of which it is largely a compendium)
than everything else I've read specifically on the
subject of Mac UI design. Apple made Tog feel so
wanted after he wrote this valuable book that he
left Apple and went to work for Sun.

Also good is "The Elements of Friendly Software 
Design" by Paul Heckel, Warner Books. 1984. This
book is pre-Mac and written by a PC programmer,
but uses a film-making analogy for UI design.
You may or may not find it dated, and there is
a second edition which I have not seen.

The guru on usability in general is Donald A Norman,
now an Apple Fellow. His most famous book is "The
Psychology of Everyday Things", Doubleday, NY. It
was published in paperback as "The Design of Everyday
Things". He does not address software issues in
particular, but remember that "No program is an Island".

More researchy is "The Art of Human-Computer Interface
Design" edited by Brenda Laurel, Addison Wesley, 1990,
ISBN. 0-201-51797-3. In spite of the title, this book
focuses on the Mac.

If you are developing commercial software you should
be thinking about your development process. You 
would not be wasting your time reading a book or a
few articles on rapid prototyping. And if you are
working with others, you should read about team
building as well.

A key point to remember is that for most applications,
it is the User Interface that the Customer is paying
for, because that is most of what the User sees. A
second point is that you therefore want to get the
User in your feedback loop as quickly and "permanently"
as possible; for example, initially with sketches,
then story boards, then prototypes to play with. If
you expect your User to tell you what the application
should look like, get something into his/her hands to
play with; you'll get plenty of feedback. If you want
to know how well a series of modal dialogs will sit
with the Users, mock them up and have them try them out.
Tog on Interface, and the Human Inteface Guidelines
give some specifics on these and other subjects.

_Steve