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Human factors in office automation
W.O. alit2
Many would wish to argue with some of the details in this book. But overall it is a worthwhile useful handbook which is badly needed.
QED Information Sciences Inc, 1981, pp 212, fl9.50
T.F.M. Stewart
Although visual display terminals are the prime interface between people and the computer systems they use, the information presented on the screens is often badly organized and confusingly laid out. This handbook aims to bring together human factors research and experience to provide a practical handbook for the display designer.
Human factors in office automation
Handbook of screen format design
The book is easy to read and is itself clearly laid out and structured. It begins with introductory chapters setting out the important general considerations. In particular GaIitz emphasizes the overriding importance of consistency and standards in screen design. He also points out the inevitability of trade-offs and argues for human requirements taking precedence over machine processing requirements. Guidelines are presented for four distinct types of screen design - data entry screens, inquiry screens, interactive screens and menu screens. Each of these chapters (and indeed the entire book) is well supplied with practical examples. Further chapters cover the use of colour and the design of source documents, an often overlooked topic. Finally the author outlines a ten-step approach to screen design: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. IO.
Review screen design documentation and services. Identify systems inputs and outputs. Identify unique user requirements. Describe data elements. Develop transactions. Develop final paper screens. Define computer screens. Test screens. Implement screens. Evaluate screens.
The most significant part of this programme is the requirement to test out screens in practice. The use of rules, guidelines and previous experience greatly improves screen design but the key to success is practical, realistic evaluation. In the first chapter, Galitz makes the point that in one system he studied, inefficient screen design which wasted one second of the user’s time per screen cost the organization 0.7 man years per year. That surely is worth taking some trouble over and merits proper and disciplined evaluation.
DISPLAYS.
JULY
1982
W.O. Galitz
Life Office Management Association Inc, 1980, pp 237 + xvi, g11.50 This book aims to fill a vacuum in the current literature on office automation by bringing together into one comprehensive work all that we know about human factors in office automation. Although this is the first book to attempt this synthesis, there have been numerous publications dealing with specific issues. The author, Bill Galitz, therefore draws on a substantial body of literature and most chapters contain a number of useful references. The book is well written in a clear easy-to-read style. There are chapters on numerous topics including human factors, job design, office tasks, environment, system and interface design. There are many checklists and simple recommendations which practically oriented readers will welcome. However, the evidence is sometimes relatively limited - one brief experiment. Of course over-simplifications are necessary in order to provide clear guidance. In general these are probably reasonable although I would question the author’s certainty about the superiority of orange phosphors. More seriously, he recommends a light level of 150-200 lx for VDT viewing without making it clear that additional task lighting is required when reading documents. My own experience suggests that an illumination level of 350-500 lx can be entirely appropriate for viewing both VDT and paperwork. There are some other detailed points in dialogue design which could be questioned. However, it is a tribute to the good sense contained in the book that such queries are relatively minor. Indeed, since the author has explained the evidence or reasoning behind his conclusions, new evidence only invalidates the detail, not the major issues. The author makes the plea for others to take up the challenge and provide more data to fill the gaps. Nonetheless this book is a useful and readable introduction to a most important topic for the future. T.F.M. Stewart
181
Many would wish to argue with some of the details in this book. But overall it is a worthwhile useful handbook which is badly needed.
QED Information Sciences Inc, 1981, pp 212, fl9.50
T.F.M. Stewart
Although visual display terminals are the prime interface between people and the computer systems they use, the information presented on the screens is often badly organized and confusingly laid out. This handbook aims to bring together human factors research and experience to provide a practical handbook for the display designer.
Human factors in office automation
Handbook of screen format design
The book is easy to read and is itself clearly laid out and structured. It begins with introductory chapters setting out the important general considerations. In particular GaIitz emphasizes the overriding importance of consistency and standards in screen design. He also points out the inevitability of trade-offs and argues for human requirements taking precedence over machine processing requirements. Guidelines are presented for four distinct types of screen design - data entry screens, inquiry screens, interactive screens and menu screens. Each of these chapters (and indeed the entire book) is well supplied with practical examples. Further chapters cover the use of colour and the design of source documents, an often overlooked topic. Finally the author outlines a ten-step approach to screen design: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. IO.
Review screen design documentation and services. Identify systems inputs and outputs. Identify unique user requirements. Describe data elements. Develop transactions. Develop final paper screens. Define computer screens. Test screens. Implement screens. Evaluate screens.
The most significant part of this programme is the requirement to test out screens in practice. The use of rules, guidelines and previous experience greatly improves screen design but the key to success is practical, realistic evaluation. In the first chapter, Galitz makes the point that in one system he studied, inefficient screen design which wasted one second of the user’s time per screen cost the organization 0.7 man years per year. That surely is worth taking some trouble over and merits proper and disciplined evaluation.
DISPLAYS.
JULY
1982
W.O. Galitz
Life Office Management Association Inc, 1980, pp 237 + xvi, g11.50 This book aims to fill a vacuum in the current literature on office automation by bringing together into one comprehensive work all that we know about human factors in office automation. Although this is the first book to attempt this synthesis, there have been numerous publications dealing with specific issues. The author, Bill Galitz, therefore draws on a substantial body of literature and most chapters contain a number of useful references. The book is well written in a clear easy-to-read style. There are chapters on numerous topics including human factors, job design, office tasks, environment, system and interface design. There are many checklists and simple recommendations which practically oriented readers will welcome. However, the evidence is sometimes relatively limited - one brief experiment. Of course over-simplifications are necessary in order to provide clear guidance. In general these are probably reasonable although I would question the author’s certainty about the superiority of orange phosphors. More seriously, he recommends a light level of 150-200 lx for VDT viewing without making it clear that additional task lighting is required when reading documents. My own experience suggests that an illumination level of 350-500 lx can be entirely appropriate for viewing both VDT and paperwork. There are some other detailed points in dialogue design which could be questioned. However, it is a tribute to the good sense contained in the book that such queries are relatively minor. Indeed, since the author has explained the evidence or reasoning behind his conclusions, new evidence only invalidates the detail, not the major issues. The author makes the plea for others to take up the challenge and provide more data to fill the gaps. Nonetheless this book is a useful and readable introduction to a most important topic for the future. T.F.M. Stewart
181