User Interface Design and Ergonomics - National Open University of ...
User Interface Design and Ergonomics - National Open University of ...
User Interface Design and Ergonomics - National Open University of ...
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unique features in Freeform that make it better suited for use on large displays versus<br />
traditional desktop displays as shown in the figure below:<br />
Figure 18: Showing an example <strong>of</strong> Freeform prototyping screen<br />
3.5.1 ANALYSIS OF PROTOTYPING TOOLS<br />
Each type <strong>of</strong> user interface prototyping tool discussed above <strong>of</strong>fers some unique features<br />
or advantages to designers. However, most tools are designed for very specific purposes<br />
<strong>and</strong> have very little or no support for transitioning between each <strong>of</strong> the different fidelities.<br />
None <strong>of</strong> the tools support mixing <strong>of</strong> all three fidelities within a single prototype. Also,<br />
none <strong>of</strong> the tools are specifically designed for collaborative use on a large display;<br />
however, simply using tools such as DENIM on a large display may <strong>of</strong>fer some benefits<br />
over use on a traditional desktop display.<br />
3.6 WIDGETS<br />
Widgets are reusable user interface components. As stated in Module 1, they are also<br />
called controls, interactors, gizmos, or gadgets. Some examples <strong>of</strong> widgets have been<br />
given in Unit 5 <strong>of</strong> Module 1. Widgets are user interface toolkits. Widgets are a success<br />
story for user interface s<strong>of</strong>tware, <strong>and</strong> for object-oriented programming in general. Many<br />
GUI applications derive substantial reuse from widgets in a toolkit.<br />
ADVANTAGES OF USING WIDGETS<br />
• Reuse <strong>of</strong> development efforts<br />
• Coding, testing, debugging, maintenance<br />
• Iteration <strong>and</strong> evaluation<br />
DISADVANTAGES<br />
• Constrain designer’s thinking<br />
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