design-ui

Line-by-line Instructions

What are the most important facts that a developer should know about the user interface of this system?
Write a few sentences to point out the most important points that another developer should know about your UI design. Include any points that are likely to be misunderstood, or that have changed.
What are the ranked goals for the user interface of this system?
Consider how the sample UI design goals relate to your project. Add, edit, or delete goals to fit your project. Order the goals from most important to least important.
What is the central metaphor of this UI design?
The central metaphor is the most general concept in the user interface. Usually, you can describe the central metaphor by naming some real world document, business tool, or physical object that your system is inspired by. E.g., a note taking application might work like an electronic notebook, a personal finance application might work like a smart checkbook, and a MP3 player might use the metaphor of a real world CD player.
What existing systems have user interfaces similar to the UI you want to build? What specific aspects are similar?
Name a few existing systems that have an overall UI design that your project will be similar to. These might be competing systems or legacy products offered by your company.
What UI design standards, guidelines, and styles are you following?
Link to any published UI standards, guidelines, or styles that you plan to follow. These are available from the vendors of popular window systems: e.g., Apple, Microsoft, and Sun. There may also be government or corporate standards: e.g., Section 508.
What types of users will use this system?
The user-needs document lists out each type of user. You should simply link to it here.
Customization: If you choose not to create a user-needs document, copy selected parts of the description of the users to this document.
What types of tasks will those users perform?
The user-needs document lists out user stories. You should simply link to it here.
Customization: If you choose not to create a user-needs document, copy selected parts of the user stories to this document.
Screens
First, make a list of UI zones. Each UI zone will have a set of screens that share some characteristics.
Second, list the individual screens within each UI zone. Briefly describe the main purpose of each screen.
Before going further, evaluate your UI model by trying to work though your use cases. A very rough UI mockup can help with this.
Finally, come back to add more detail to the descriptions and mockup.
What are your assumptions about the output devices?
Briefly list important assumptions about the output device. If you are not making many assumptions, state that. If the software product runs on specific hardware, give the specifications of the display. If your user population has a range of popular output devices, describe the minimum, expected, and any specifically spported high-end output devices.
What are your assumptions about the input devices that you will use?
Document this aspect of your UI design in the same way that the output device was documented.
What are your assumptions about the amount of time users will spend on tasks?
Often users expect that the product will enable them to accomplish specific tasks within a short amount of time. And, the definition of "short" keeps changing all the time. E.g., people were once very impressed with 28Kbps modems, now they expect web pages to load within 2 seconds. Understanding and documenting user expectations about task completion times is an important part of managing customer expectations and it will drive some UI design decisions.
User Interface Checklist
Use this checklist to help check your work and evaluate your UI design with respect to your stated goals. If there is any question that you cannot answer, or must answer negatively, go back and revise the design.

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Further Reading