Designing Effective Output

Keng Siau Department of Management University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Output Design Objectives

Design Design Deliver Assure

output to serve the intended purpose

output to fit the user

the appropriate quantity of output

that the output is where it is needed

the output on time

Provide Choose

the right output method

Output Methods
Printer
Specialty

printers (e.g., color printers) Screens as output Audio output Microform -- microfilm & microfiche CD-ROM and DVDs Electronic output
Email, faxes, bulletin boards

Factors to Consider When Choosing Output Technology

Who
How

will use (see) the output?

many people need the output? is the output needed? is the purpose of the output?

Where What What

is the speed with which the output is needed? frequently will the output be accessed?

How

Factors to Consider When Choosing Output Technology

How

long will (or must) the output be stored?

Under

what special regulations is the output produced, stored, and distributed? are the initial and ongoing costs of maintenance and supplies? are the environmental requirements for output technologies?

What

What

Possible Biases in Presentations of Output

the

way output is used information is sorted of limits of graphics

how

setting choice

Human Biases
bias

is present in everything that humans

create
not

to judge bias as bad

unnecessarily biasing output users aware of the possible biases in

avoid make

the output

Avoiding Bias in the Design of Output

Awareness

of the sources of bias Interactive design of output that includes users Working with users so that they are informed of the outputs biases Creating output that is flexible and that allows users to modify limits and ranges Training users to rely on multiple output for conducting reality tests on system output

Guidelines for Screen Output

Keep Keep

the screen simple screen presentation consistent user movement among screens

Facilitate Create

an attractive screen

Designing Good Web Sites

Pay

attention to

Structure Content Text Graphics Presentation Navigation Promotion