Mobile applications have become one of the most used products on mobile devices. Nowadays, the users of technology applications started developing their user experience very early in their lives! The success or failure of a software product is affected by the users of that product. Accordingly, studying, measuring and improving user experience is crucial for the success of any software product.
Steve Krug’s ‘Don’t Make Me Think!’ is often regarded by developers as an essential reading to make the transition from designing solutions which look nice to designing things that are usable, useful, memorable and simple to learn and use. Throughout this literature review I will progress through the text and cover all the key design principles which are relevant to technical design. Although this text originally had website design in mind, the majority of the core principles are relevant to app design.
According to Steve Krug (pg 12, 2006) a web page should be ‘self evident. Obvious. Self-explanatory’, this is to ensure that the users are able to utilise the app without having to expend too much time thinking about what is they are supposed to be doing. Once a user has to engage their brain in order to understand how the app functions, their user experience is negatively impacted. This is especially poignant in the context of app design due to the abundance of competition of the app store and the significant levels of design quality that the general public are now used to. Krug (2006) regards this as the utmost important property of a successful interface. Ensuring that the user doesn’t have to think instills an air of seamlessness which improves the user experience immeasurably.
Each time the user has to think about how they’re actually going to use the interface they are distracted from the task at hand, therefore it is integral that these instances are kept to a minimum in order to maintain a exquisite level of fluidity which will have the user coming back for more.
Another key principle which Krug (2006) understands is that users rarely tend to read all the content within the interface, instead they scan and choose the first reasonable option which they see. I found there to be 4 values which when transferred, remained applicable to iOS development.
“One of the few very well-documented facts about Web use is that people tend to spend very little time reading most Web pages. Instead, we scan (or skim) them, looking for words or phrases that catch our eye.”
(Krug, pg. 21, 2006)
Creating a clear visual hierarchy aids the eye of the user and if used effectively can guide users to use a creation in the intended way.
Using the conventions of design can also be key to improving the user’s perception of an interface, for instance an arrow in the top left is commonly associated with transitioning back to the previous screen in iOS applications whilst headers are usually featured at the top. Making use of these concepts which users are already aware can aid their navigation through an application.
Making buttons standout as obviously clickable is necessary as users will likely miss important features if they are not aware which elements they are able to interact with.
Minimising the noise on each screen (i.e. unnecessary design elements) is integral to smooth functionality whilst usually improving the overall aesthetic of the design.
Navigation : When using some iOS applications we have very little sense as to how big they are until we’ve used them for a while. Instilling a sense of calm in your user by providing a sense of bearing through persistent navigation as ‘instead of relying on a physical sense…we have to remember where it is in a conceptual hierarchy’ (Krug, pg. 34, 2006). Therefore by implementing simple navigation features such as a tab bar which iPhone users are so accustomed to and navigation controller which allow for users to see their breadcrumb trail settles the user, and makes them feel comfortable whilst exploring an application.
Although breadcrumbs are a good tool and can be a valuable improvement on the navigation of an application, they are not to be used alone. In the instance of an iOS application breadcrumbs and a tab bar work well as a combined duo.
References :
Zarour, M. and Alharbi, M. 2017. User Experience Aspects and Dimensions: Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Knowledge Engineering. 3, pp.52–59.
J. Kim, Design for Experience, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, 2015.
Final Media Project 2019 