Glossary » g

game balance

the proper set of features to ensure a good level of fairness, challenge, and interest in a game. Three types of balance need to be considered:

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game flow

the pace and sequence of events in a game, the range of choices in the game progression and perceived risk in each choice.

game mechanics

the rules of interaction in a game, the specific controls and immediate feedback.

gameplay

the style and experience of interaction in a game; the phenomenological experience as opposed to the mechanics of the interaction. The mood, pace, storyline, challenge, and interest.

Gantt chart

a diagram used in project management, where the x axis is time and the y axis shows tasks to be performed to complete the project. Each task is displayed as a horizontal bar spanning the time period during which it…

gap analysis

the analysis of the difference between a technology’s capabilities and the user’s needs. This is usually informed by a user needs analysis (usually the result of user observation and requirements analysis) and is used to produce usability objectives and a…

garden path

a sequence of actions a user takes that each seem to be leading to the desired outcome but don’t produce the desired result in the end, such as navigating thru a series of apparently-relevant website links without finding the desired…

gateway pages

web pages that are intended as entry points to a website from external sites. In addition to the homepage, a site may have additional gateway pages that are intended for specific topics or types of users.

gauge

a read-only display for indicating a quantity. Gauges are the read-only equivalent of sliders.

gaze awareness

the ability to tell what someone is looking at by watching the direction of their eyes. In videoconferencing systems, gaze awareness may be an important aspect of effectively communicating. For videoconferencing, gaze awareness is a more relaxed design principle than…

GDSS

group decision support systems. Computer systems that are designed especially to support the decision process, especially in meetings (such as Electronic Meeting Rooms). These systems typically support aspects of the decision process such as brainstorming, idea organization, evaluation, prioritization, and…

gee whiz factor

that aspect of a design which shows off a technical skill or a sensational design that makes people say “that’s neat!”, but really has no useful purpose.

gestalt principles

principles of perception that address the interpretation of arrangements and relationships of objects; the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Some of the common principles are:

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gesture

an input method commonly used in pen-based systems -or- a physical movement used in communication such as a hand motion or a facial expression.

1. input method – gestures are pen movements that can be recognized as various symbols…

ghost indicator

an outline image or faded image of an object being dragged, indicating its target location when the dragging ends, while the original image remains at its original location during dragging. Sometimes used when dragging the scroll thumb, windows, or icons.…

ghosting

making an item fade when it is disabled (as when menu items are dimmed when they are currently unavailable); usually called dimming. An uncommon term, not to be confused with ghost indicators.

GID

graphical input device; a piece of hardware for pointing and selecting items on a graphical display, such as a mouse, joystick, tablet, or trackpad.

glance

a view that automatically closes after a brief delay, thus freeing the user from the overhead of determining when and how to close the view. Used in videoconferencing, a glance enables a person to quickly check on the availability of…

glare

light that interferes with viewing a display, especially light reflected from the surface of the display. Glare can be reduced in several ways:

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glass teletype

a term used for screen-based terminals (such as a vt100), emphasizing their similarity to a teletype and thus their relatively limited functionality.

glyph

any image used in a button or message box; also, a symbol (a diamond, a cross, a smiley face) with a feature that can vary (e.g. size, angle, color) to represent the value of a variable — used in graphs…

gnomon

a miniature view of the principal axes in a 3D coordinate system used to indicate the orientation of the current view in a 3D graphics system. (originally referred to the shadow of the pointer on a sundial)

gold plating

adding extra unnecessary features for their coolness factor rather than a perceived need.

GOMS

a family of techniques for modeling and representing the knowledge necessary for a person to perform a task. GOMS is an acronym that stands for Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection Rules, the components of which are used as the building…

GPSS

group process support systems. Groupware designed to support a process, as opposed to a conversation. Workflow systems are the typical example. Industrial processes are another good example — for instance, by coordinating the efforts on an assembly line to avoid…

grab handles

also called hotspot, birdie, or handle; small boxes on the edge of a selected object that can be grabbed and moved to drag or resize the object (or sometimes perform another manipulation, such as rotating the object).

grabber pointer

a pointer in the shape of a flat hand with fingers closed, used to grab and drag graphical objects (different from the hand with fingers spread, which is usually used to pan within the view).

graceful degradation

the quality of a system or design such that when something goes wrong, it happens a little at a time and with plenty of opportunity to take action to correct the problem or at least protect against its worst consequences.…

graceful flow

a design principle which advocates that a user’s experience in interacting with a computer should involve a smooth and graceful dialog. In terms of the user’s task, this means that response time should be rapid and user errors and error…

grammar analysis

an approach to analyzing interaction sequences by writing grammar-style rules to describe them and then checking those rules for consistency and simplicity. For instance, a simple set of grammar rules for text editing might include:

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greeking

in prototypes, the representation of text as incomprehensible words, greek or latin filler words, X’s, lines, or scribbles. Also called mumble text. The idea is to give a feel for how the page will look and be organized without needing…

green screen

an informal term for a monochrome computer monitor displaying a character interface (with green phosphor, though common equivalent monitors are amber or black-and-white). Commonly used to indicate that an outdated system is being referred to, especially legacy mainframe or DOS…

grid

(graphic design) a system of templates used as a framework to create a document with uniform layouts between pages while still allowing each page to adapt to its content. The grid defines positions for standard elements on the page, margins,…

group box

a box that is simply a line or beveled line around a group of controls, usually in a dialog box. The group box is not interactive — it is used solely to help make it clearer to a user how…

group calendar

allows scheduling, project management, and coordination among multiple people, and may provide support for scheduling equipment as well. Typical features are to detect when schedules conflict for people or finding a meeting time that will work for everyone. Group calendars…

group-enabling technologies

systems that add group support to single-user applications, by providing, for instance, telepointers, overlays for collaborative annotations, shared windows, chat facilities, and methods for finding and connecting to other users.

groupware

any type of software designed for groups and for communication, including email, videoconferencing, workflow, chat, and collaborative editing systems.

This technology may be used to communicate, cooperate, coordinate, solve problems, compete, or negotiate. While traditional technologies such as the telephone…

GUI

graphical user interface, pronounced “GOOEY”. A user interface that presents information graphically, typically with draggable windows, buttons, and icons, as opposed to a textual user interface, where information is presented on a text-based screen and commands are all typed.

It’s…

guided tour

a form of help system that is a presentation walking through the steps of using the software and demonstrating features along the way.

guidelines checklist

a type of usability inspection; a list of rules for interface design to confirm are followed in a user interface being evaluated. These rules may include broad principles such as simplicity, may be empirically-derived results for improving speed and accuracy,…

gulf of evaluation

the psychological gap that must be crossed to interpret a user interface display: interface -> interpretation -> evaluation. In other words, the process of perception.

gulf of execution

the psychological gap that must be crossed to manipulate a user interface appropriately: goals -> plans -> action specification -> operate interface. In other words, the processes of motor control. The idea here is that representations on the screen should…