Humane Interface, The: New Directions for Designing Interactive Systems

1-5. Interface Design in the Design Cycle

Project methodologies often fail to take full advantage of what is known about interface design. This omission can be the result of bringing in interface designers long after much of the opportunity for improving the quality of interaction between user and product has been lost. Designs are most flexible at their inception. If interface designers are consulted only after the software has been designed and the software tools chosen or when the software is nearly complete, the correct advice—namely, to start over—is unacceptable. The budget and most of the schedule have already been expended, and the option of throwing away much or all of the design and the completed code makes the project managers look ...