HW1: User Interface Hall of Fame and Shame

Due at 5:00pm on Monday, February 11, 2008, by email only.

Help populate the UI Hall of Fame and Shame! Find

• one example of good user interface design, and
• one example of bad user interface design.

For each example:

1. describe the purpose of the overall interface;
2. describe the particular aspect you find good or bad;
3. explain why it's good or bad;
4. if bad, speculate why it might have been designed that way, and suggest a better design if possible; and
5. illustrate with screenshots or photographs.

Details

Your examples should be specific. It's very hard to find a large interface that's completely good or completely bad, so don't try. Instead, focus on a particular feature or aspect of a user interface that makes your case. Avoid fuzzy words like "intuitive" and "user-friendly". Find concrete reasons for your judgement, and relate them to aspects of usability we discussed in the first lecture.

You aren't limited to desktop software. Web sites offer many great candidates for fame and shame. You aren't even limited to traditional computer interfaces. Feel free to go out into the real world and consider consumer appliances, car dashboards, building entrances, traffic intersections, shower controls, etc. (Norman's book Design of Everyday Things includes a lot of examples of this kind, which you may find inspirational.)

What to Hand In

Hand in both your examples as a single email message, using the body of the message for your discussion (in plain text) and including screenshots or photos as attachments. Send your handin to 6831handin@csail.mit.edu and include HW1 in the subject line.