External Design: Topic List

Lecture 8
External Design
Abdisalam Issa-Salwe
Department of Computer Science

Faculty of Information Science and Technology
East Africa University
Topic list
 External and internal system elements

 Input devices
 Output devices
 The Human-computer interface (HCI)
 Input and output design
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East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Department of Computer Science
Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, College of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah University
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Systems Analysis and Design Activities and Deliverables
DESIGN
ANALYSIS
Activities:
Activities:
• Physical Design
• Systems Planning • Prototyping (optional)
• Feasibility Study • Software Construction/Purchase
• Requirements Determination • User Documentation - “Deliverable”
• User Acceptance • Testing
• Prototyping • Training
• User Acceptance
• Conversion
Deliverables:
• Implementing the system
• Requirements Specification
• Prototype (optional) Deliverable:
• Information System

Systems Design Activities
 Economic, Operational & Technical usability

 Security Issues
 Make (in-house versus outsource) versus Buy
 Documentation
 Software testing

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Systems Design Activities (cont…)
 User-Interface Design (GUI design)

 Prototyping
 Training
 Conversion - cutover and parallel
 Implementation - install, activate, institutionalize

External/Internal design
 External design refers to the elements of a
computer system that the user can see
 Internal design refers to the elements of a
computer system that the user does not see
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Elements of Design
 Design is process of describing, organising, and
structuring system components at architectural
design level and detailed design level
Focused on preparing for construction
Like developing blueprints
 Three questions
What components require systems design?
What are inputs to and outputs of design
process?
How is systems design done?
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Inputs for System Design

 Design
Converts functional models from analysis into
models that represent the solution
Focused on technical issues
Requires less user involvement than analysis
 Design may use structured or OO approaches
Database can be relational, OO, or hybrid
User interface issues
8 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Department of University
Computer Science
Issa-Salwe, College of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah
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Analysis versus Design

Computer Science
Design the System Interfaces

 System interfaces enable systems to share and
exchange information
Internal organisation systems
Interfaces with systems outside organisation
New system interfaces with package
application that organisation has purchased
and installed
 System interfaces can be complex
 Organisation needs very specialised technical
skills to work on these interfaces

Computer Science
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User versus System Interface
 System interfaces – I/O requiring minimal human interaction
Goal is *no* human interaction
 User interfaces
I/O requiring human interaction
User interface is everything end user comes into contact
with while using the system
To the user, the interface is the system
When is UI design critically important to an organization?
 Analyst designs system interfaces separate from user
interfaces
 Requires different expertise and technology

Computer Science
Understanding the User Interface
Physical aspects of the user interface

Devices touched by user, manuals,
documentation, and forms
Perceptual aspects of the user interface
Everything else user sees, hears, or touches
such as screen objects, menus, and buttons
Conceptual aspects of the user interface
What user knows about system and logical
function of system

Computer Science
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Aspects of the User Interface
Perceptual
Conceptual
Physical
East Africa University, Faculty of Information Science and13Technology, Department of Computer Science
User-Centered Design
1. Focus early on the users and their work by
focusing on requirements
 Workflow analysis
2. Usability - system is easy to learn and use
3. Iterative development keeps focus on user
 Continually return to user requirements and
evaluate system after each iteration
Human – Computer Interaction as field of study
 Study of end users and interaction with
computers
 Human factors engineering (ergonomics)

Computer Science
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Prototype for Design Details
 Continue to create and evaluate prototypes
during design phase
 Prototypes confirm design choices
Database
Network architecture
Controls
Programming environment
 Rapid application development (RAD) design
prototypes evolve into finished system

Computer Science
Human-computer Interface (HCI)

 HCI is a discipline concerned with the design,
evaluation and implementation of interactive
computing systems for human use, and with the
study of the major phenomena surrounding
them.
 From a computer science perspective, the focus
is on the interaction and specifically on
interaction between one or more humans and
one or more computational machines.

Computer Science
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Human-computer Interface (HCI)
 Originally, computers were "designed by
engineers, for engineers".
 Little or no attention was, or needed to be, paid
to the interface.
 The pervasive use of the personal computer and
the increasing number and variety of
applications and programs has given rise to a
need to focus on the "cognitive locus of human-
computer interaction"

Computer Science
Human-computer Interface (HCI) (cont…)
 The construction of interfaces is both a matter of

design and engineering. There are a variety of
methodologies and practices of interface design.
 The development process also includes the
relationship of interface development to the
engineering (both software and hardware) of the
rest of the system.

Computer Science
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Computer Science
 Ergonomics:
 The science concerned with designing safe
and comfortable machines for humans. For
example, one branch of ergonomics deals
with designing furniture that avoids causing
backaches and muscle cramps. In the
computer field, ergonomics plays an important
role in the design of monitors and keyboards

Computer Science
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 Efficacy of User Interface Design
 Many technological innovations rely upon User
Interface Design to elevate their technical
complexity to a usable product. Technology alone
may not win user acceptance and subsequent
marketability.
 User Experience, or how the user experiences the
end product, is the key to acceptance.
 Here is where User Interface Design enters the
design process.
 While product engineers focus on the technology,
usability specialists focus on the user interface.
Computer Science

 When applied to computer software, User
Interface Design is also known as Human-
Computer Interaction or HCI. While people often
think of Interface Design in terms of computers,
it also refers to many products where the user
interacts with controls or displays. Military
aircraft, vehicles, airports, audio equipment, and
computer peripherals, are a few products that
extensively apply User Interface Design.

Computer Science
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 Dialogue techniques: The basic software
architecture and techniques for human computer
interaction.
 Many technological innovations rely upon User
Interface Design to elevate their technical
complexity to a usable product. Technology
alone may not win user acceptance and
subsequent marketability.
 For greatest efficiency and cost effectiveness,
this working relationship should be maintained
from the start of a project to its rollout.

Computer Science
Graphic User Interface (GUI)

 Abbreviated GUI (pronounced GOO-ee). A
program interface that takes advantage of the
computer's graphics capabilities to make the
program easier to use.
 Well-designed graphical user interfaces can free
the user from learning complex command
languages.
 Many users find that they work more effectively
with a command-driven interface, especially if
they already know the command language.

Computer Science
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 GUI:WIMP: Windows, Icons, Mouse Pull-down menu
 Graphical user interfaces, such as Microsoft Windows
and the one used by the Apple Macintosh. feature the
following basic components:
 Pointer :
 A symbol that appears on the display screen and that
you move to select objects and commands. Usually,
the pointer appears as a small angled arrow. Text -
processing applications, however, use an I-beam
pointer that is shaped like a capital I.
 Pointing device :
 A device, such as a mouse or trackball, that enables
you to select objects on the display screen.

Computer Science

 Icons:
 Small pictures that represent commands, files, or
windows. By moving the pointer to the icon and
pressing a mouse button, you can execute a
command or convert the icon into a window. You
can also move the icons around the display
screen as if they were real objects on your desk.
 Desktop:
 The area on the display screen where icons are
grouped is often referred to as the desktop
because the icons are intended to represent real
objects on a real desktop.

Computer Science
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 Windows:
 You can divide the screen into different areas.
In each window, you can run a different
program or display a different file. You can
move windows around the display screen,
and change their shape and size at will.
 Menus:
 Most graphical user interfaces let you execute
commands by selecting a choice from a
menu.

Computer Science
Documenting Dialog Designs

 Done simultaneously with other system activities
 Based on inputs and outputs requiring user
interaction
 Used to define menu hierarchy
Allows user to navigate to each dialog
Provides overall system structure
 Storyboards, prototypes, and UML diagrams

Computer Science
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Dialogs and Storyboards
Many methods exist for documenting
dialogs
Written descriptions following flow of activities
like in use case description
Narratives
Sketches of screens
Storyboarding – showing sequence of
sketches of display screen during a dialog

Computer Science
Dialog Documentation with UML

Diagrams
 OO approach provides UML diagrams
 Use case descriptions
List of steps followed as system and user
interact
 Activity diagrams
Document dialog between user and computer
for a use case
 System sequence diagrams (SSD)
Actor (a user) sends messages to system
System returns information in form of
messages
Computer Science
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Form Design Issues
 Form layout and formatting
Consistency
Headings, labels, logos
Font sizes, highlighting, colors
Order of data-entry fields and buttons
 Data keying and data entry (use standard control)
Text boxes, list boxes, combo boxes, and so on
 Navigation and support controls
 Help support
Tutorials
Indexes
Context-sensitive

Computer Science
Verification and Validation

 Verification:
 The process of evaluating a system or component to
determine whether the products of a given phase
satisfy the conditions imposed at the start of that
phase. (Mainly a paper-based activity that requires
you to confirm that each stage of the development
conforms to the requirements defined in the previous
stage.)
 Validation:
 The process of evaluating a system or component
during or at the end of the development process to
determine whether it satisfies specified requirements.
(Mainly a confirmation that the implemented
system/component actually works to specification.)

Computer Science
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Group Discussions
 Group 1: What is external system
elements?
 Group 2: Why is needed input
devices?
 Group 3: Why is needed output
devices?
 Group 4: Explain Human-computer
interface (HCI)

Computer Science
Discussion Questions
 What are the main components of a

computer-based information systems?
 Why is systems analysis is necessary?
 What is the role of users during systems
analysis and design?
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Lecture 8

Department of Computer Science

 External and internal system elements

Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, College of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah University

Systems Design Activities

 Economic, Operational & Technical usability

Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, College of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah University

 User-Interface Design (GUI design)

Abdisalam Issa-Salwe, College of Computer Science & Engineering, Taibah University

Inputs for System Design

8 East Africa University,Abdisalam

9 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Design the System Interfaces

10 East Africa University,Abdisalam

11 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Understanding the User Interface

Physical aspects of the user interface

12 East Africa University,Abdisalam

14 East Africa University,Abdisalam

15 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Human-computer Interface (HCI)

16 East Africa University,Abdisalam

17 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Human-computer Interface (HCI) (cont…)

 The construction of interfaces is both a matter of

18 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Human-computer Interface (HCI) (cont…)

20 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Human-computer Interface (HCI) (cont…)

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23 East Africa University,Abdisalam

Graphic User Interface (GUI)

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Graphic User Interface (GUI)

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Documenting Dialog Designs

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Dialog Documentation with UML

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Verification and Validation

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 What are the main components of a

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