Glossary » i

I-beam pointer

a pointer in roughly the shape of a capital “I”, used in text-editing to select the insertion point or to specify a range of text by dragging over it.

icon

in computer terminology (as opposed to graphic design terminology), an icon is a small image used most often to represent files or label a button. Much discussion goes into how icons should be designed: the use of line, color, and…

IDE

integrated development environment; a software development tool that integrates a wide variety of tools, such as syntax-directed editors, debuggers, and screen layout tools.

idiom

a common practice or conventional approach to something, often based on a metaphorical comparison to real-world activities. A standard that is followed and provides familiarity and consistency for users.

idiot-proof

a less-than-friendly term for a user-friendly system, emphasizing its minimal learning curve for novices and robustness in preventing and handling user errors.

immersive interfaces

an interface that heavily involves users by bringing them into the world of the interface both conceptually and perceptually, as in virtual reality, e.g. by surrounding their visual senses (as with VR glasses), giving them stereo sound, and providing an…

in-car interfaces

applications designed for use in a car, such as radios, mobile phones, and GPS systems. Some interface design factors include safety, visual display (if any), rapid use, low cognitive overhead, and hands-free use.

incremental search

a search that progressively finds a match for the search string as each character is typed, as opposed to a delimited search.

indication

showing what item would be selected if the user were to click. Analogous to hiliting the current selection, indication highlights as the user mouses over items, helping the user to accurately make selections.

indicator

something that displays information without being able to directly modify it, especially a type of widget that displays status information. Examples include gauges and progress indicators.

indirect user

someone who does not actually use a product but who is directly affected by the product’s usability. For instance, a telemarketer or customer service agent may work with software while interacting with a customer, and the customer would be an…

individual differences

people vary in a number of ways that can have an impact on the design of a user interface, and rather than trying to design for “the average user”, it is often better to understand how people vary to design…

individualization

modifying a system to suit the needs and preferences of a single individual user.

industrial design

the field that designs physical artifacts such as consumer electronics (TVs, VCRs, stereos), toys, computers, and appliances. Industrial design focuses on the physical form and interactive properties as opposed to the electronic functioning of the system. In computer design, in…

information anxiety

stress caused by the inability to access or understand the information you need, caused by information overload, lack of clear organization to information, insufficient information, excessively difficult presentation of information, etc.

information appliance

a device for accessing or manipulating information, special-purpose in contrast to a general-purpose computer. The idea is a machine with computing power but designed and used like other consumer electronics, such as stereos, TVs, and toasters. It serves a limited…

information architecture

the organization of information; the field which studies how to organize information most effectively to help people find and use the information. For instance, how should websites be organized? What is the best way to design website navigation? How should…

information design

a broad term for the design tasks of deciding how to structure, select, and present information (inclusive of information architecture, information visualization, and information retrieval).

information efficiency

the minimum amount of information the computer needs from the user divided by the amount of information the specific user interface requires from the user, with values ranging from 0 to 1. A good interface has an efficiency close to…

information filtering

selecting subsets of information to deliver to the user, based on user preferences, relevance of the information, and past information usage. Information filtering is quite similar to the information retrieval field, except that information is viewed as being sent to…

information foraging

a theory of people’s information-consumption behavior, where people are viewed as foraging for information like animals foraging for food. People tend to stay in one place (e.g. on one website) and exhaust the supply of information before moving on. This…

information overload

a state of having too much information, such that a person is overwhelmed. When information is available in enormous quantities (as on the web) and not clearly structured, people have difficulty finding relevant information and grasping important principles embedded in…

information processing model

in cognitive psychology, the idea of breaking down human behavior into 3 primary systems: perception, cognition, and motor control (action). These systems are similar to the computer’s input, processing, and output. Cognition, in this model, can do hidden mental processing…

information race

a method of measuring optimal task times in an application by having 2 expert users compete to complete the task as fast as possible.

information retrieval

the field of study that examines how people find information and how tools can be constructed (such as search engines and catalogs) to help people find information. Studies examine how the organization of information affects its retrieval, the types of…

information scent

or information residue; cues (“scent”) used in an information display that help people locate and navigate to relevant information.

For instance, the label “bugs” provides a hint that the content it labels contains information about insects or possibly software bugs…

information visualization

the study of how to effectively present information visually. Much of the work in this field focuses on creating innovative graphical displays for complicated datasets, such as census results, scientific data, and databases. An example problem would be deciding how…

informed consent

permission from a participant in a user study to participate and to have data collected about them, with that permission hinging on the fact that they have been fully informed of the nature and risks of the study and their…

ink text

words entered into a pen-based computer that are saved as electronic ink, not recognized and converted (NewtonOS term).

input device

the way a person talks to a computer; a piece of hardware used for entering information into a computer, including commonly used peripherals like keyboards, mice, and joysticks, but also including microphones and even eye movement devices.

insertion point

the place where text will appear when a user types, usually marked by a cursor.

installer

an application that copies software to a user’s computer (or server) and sets up and customizes the software for that particular user. Because installers are used only once and have the potential to interfere with a user’s system configuration, they…

instant messaging

IM; a technique of sending a message: the sender specifies the recipient and typically types a simple text message; the recipient has a window pop up automatically that displays the short message. This differs from email in that the interface…

instructional design

the design of an educational system, focusing on how people learn and how learning can be facilitated. An instructional designer will set educational objectives for the system and design the interaction to avoid straying from those objectives. A wide variety…

intelligent cut and paste

applied to text editing, a version of cut and paste that simplifies selection and saves keystrokes. When a word is selected and cut from a sentence, instead of leaving spaces on either side of the word, one of the spaces…

intelligent tutoring system

ITS; educational software that tailors the instruction based on the learner’s behavior, providing an appropriate level of instruction or even determining how a learner’s model of a domain is incorrect and choosing instruction and exercises specifically designed to help correct…

inter-observer reliability

or inter-coder reliability; the degree to which 2 observers record the same data (or in some cases, draw the same conclusions) in the same circumstances. Lack of reliability in observations can indicate that observers are missing important details, that they…

interaction design

the design of how a user communicates, or interacts, with a computer. Interaction designers focus on the flow of interaction, the dialog between person and computer, how input relates to output, stimulus-response compatibility, and feedback mechanisms.

This is in contrast…

interactive fiction

storytelling where the reader is involved in making choices. The reader may choose what order to read in, may choose what path to take in the story (thus altering the plot), or may actively participate in problem-solving (usually puzzles) in…

interlacing

displaying images by drawing only a partial image first, consisting of alternate lines, or every 3rd or 4th line, then filling in the remaining lines progressively. When images are displayed slowly, such as large gifs slowly downloading off the internet,…

interlock

an error-prevention mechanism that forces operations to occur in sequence, the first of which makes the second operation safer, such as a TV set that can’t be dismantled without first turning it off (as per Don Norman).

internal frame

in MDI (multiple document interface) applications, an internal frame is a child window within the primary window and can never be moved outside the primary window.

internal validity

the degree to which the design of a study allows you to accurately attribute an observation to a specific cause rather than alternative causes. An undesirable alternative cause for your result is known as a “confound”.

An example is to…

internationalization

or i18n (the letter “i” followed by 18 letters, followed by “n”); the design or modification of software for an international audience.

Three approaches to internationalization are common:

…

internet appliance

a device designed to simplify use of the internet and simplify setup compared to a general-purpose computer. Buttons and other controls are minimized and built in to the hardware. The application may permit any kind of web browsing or may…

interstitial advertising

(web) advertising that interrupts the flow of interaction on a website; in particular, advertising that appears at the destination of a link that must be viewed before some desired content is available.

interview

gathering information about users by talking directly to them. An interview can typically gather more information than a questionnaire and go into a deeper level of detail. Interviews are good for getting subjective reactions, opinions, and insights into how people…

intrusiveness

the property of a perceptual signal that enables it to draw attention from other activities. Perceptually, a sound or a bright flash can draw attention from people even when they are attending to something else. This property is useful for…

intuitive

a term used loosely to refer to user interfaces that are easy to understand without training. An interface may sometimes be intuitive due to some inborn perceptual skill (e.g. loud noises make us pay attention) or at least some common…

inverse video

or reverse video; the use of inverted graphics (black for white and white for black) to indicated selected regions, usually used to refer to inverted text on alphanumeric terminals, but also inverted menu items and icons that are selected.

inverted pyramid process

An iterative process oriented around exploring a wide variety of alternatives. Rather than build a single prototype and testing, in the inverted pyramid process, you build lots of low-cost alternatives, such as thumbnails, evaluate them, then refine to the next…

inverted pyramid writing style

the basis of the journalism style, in the inverted period you begin by stating the bottom-line, then expand out into the details. This enables the reader to skim the text quickly for the main idea.

ISO 13407 Human-Centered Design Process

a standard established by the International Standards Organization for how user research should be involved in designing products.

The standard specifies an iterative cycle of these 4 activities:

…

ISO 9000

a set of international standards for quality management. The standards help ensure that an organization produces quality products and services and runs the organization well. The main themes are to apply a systematic process, measure performance and make decisions based…

ISO 9126 Software Engineering Product Quality

a standard that defines specific terms for evaluating software quality, under these 6 categories: functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability.

ISO 9241

“Ergonomics requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs)”; a set of international standards for using computers, including hardware, visual display, and interaction guidelines, developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

ISO TR 18529

“Human-centered lifecycle process descriptions”, a standard developed by the International Standards Organization that defines a “Usability Maturity Model”, a set of practices in the design lifecycle to be human-centered and involve appropriate evaluation.

The standard defines individual components within these…

isometric joystick

a joystick that doesn’t move when pressure is applied to it; the isometric joystick is sensitive to the force a person is applying. When used to control a pointer, as when embedded in the keyboards of many laptops, the isometric…

ISP

internet service provider; a service that provides access to the internet for users, usually through a telephone dialup.

iterative

repeating. An “iteration” is a single loop through a cycle, such as the design-prototype-test cycle.

iterative design

the idea that design should be done in repeated cycles where, in each cycle, the design is elaborated, refined, and tested, and the results of testing at each cycle feed into the design focus of the next cycle.

This is…