GUI Design Workshop – Course Outline

1. Course Introduction

  • Learn about the course background
  • Identify the course objectives
  • Discuss the course agenda

8. Converting Character-Based Systems

  • Learn the process involved in converting a CUI to a GUI
  • Identify guidelines and rules to follow
  • Discuss different strategies for CUI to GUI migration
  • Lab: Convert character-based screens to GUI windows

2. GUI Introduction

  • Define the term GUI
  • Understand the benefits of good GUI design
  • Discuss GUI challenges and how to overcome them
  • List common reasons for GUI failure
  • List common reasons for GUI success

9. On-Line Help

  • Learn about the various types of help
  • Explain the components of an on-line help system
  • Identify basic principles of help system design
  • Learn when to use each help technique
  • Learn how to provide the appropriate “levels” of help
  • Learn how to incorporate an HTML-based help solution

3. GUI Design Process – User Profiles

  • Explore the concepts of user analysis
  • Identify the characteristics of different user types
  • Learn how user analysis affects GUI design
  • Identify different types of tasks and how they affect the design
  • Lab: Develop a task/user profile matrix

10. Usability Testing

  • Define usability testing
  • Discuss when usability testing should be conducted
  • Explore the usability testing process

4. User-Centric Design

  • Discuss how people think, learn, and work
  • Identify the principles of user-centric design
  • Apply the concepts to interface design
  • Identify online help design basics
  • Lab: Look at effective icon design
  • Lab: Improve a GUI based on user-centric design techniques

11. GUI Architectural Modeling

  • Discuss the GUI design process
  • Discuss techniques used to implement effective GUIs
  • Learn the basics of prototyping and usability testing techniques
  • Learn new GUI modeling techniques
  • Lab: Create a presentation model for a sample application
  • Lab: Create a navigation model for a sample application
  • Lab: Create sample GUI windows to support the new models

5. Window Design

  • Define the components of windows
  • Learn window navigation techniques
  • Learn why SDI is now favored over MDI
  • Understand how to use the four main types of windows
  • Identify the common window attributes
  • Discuss modal vs. modeless windows and their usage
  • Discuss various presentation models and when to use each type
  • Learn when to use tab and multi-form window display techniques
  • Quiz: Match window types

12. Prototyping the Interface

  • Define prototyping
  • List the benefits and costs of prototyping
  • List the purpose and goals of prototyping
  • Define different types of prototyping and when to use each type
  • Describe success factors in prototyping efforts

6. Control Design

  • Learn about the common GUI controls
  • Discuss the appropriate usage and behavior of the common GUI controls
  • Learn techniques for effective menu design and usage
  • Lab: Design a menu for a banking call center application

13. Creating Effective Standards

  • Learn why GUI standards are important
  • Identify the process of defining and implementing standards
  • Learn the contents of standards
  • Discuss how to implement and maintain the standards

7. Applying the Design Principles

  • Review some GUI designs for standards and quality
  • Apply the principles of effective GUI design
  • Labs: Redesign some challenged GUIs

14. Course Conclusion

  • Hear a summary of the course
  • Ask questions and learn the answers