HCIs - Expertise of the user

Examples of user requirements that should be taken into account when designing a user interface depending on the skill level of the user e.g. a novice or expert user.   

Needs of the user  

The novice user’s priority will be ease of learning/intuitive.  The expert user will want to get the job done in the shortest possible time.

How these could be met 

• Could provide tutorials for novice users / Novices will need easy access to help

• Step by step approach / novice users should never be left wondering what to do next / wizards

• Novice users tend to stick to the mouse/touch screen / Graphical user interface (GUI)

• Novice user will need clear navigation structure / colour scheme making it easier to use i.e. showing routes through a program (hyperlinks)

• Provide shortcuts for experts / command line interface

• Experts often type at high speed and can memorise key combinations/commands (1) and this is faster than using the mouse and clicking on icons or going through a series of windows

• An expert can customise the interface to suit their needs

• Increased numbers of ways of performing the same operation – interfaces have a number of routes and allow the user the choice, i.e. a novice user would prefer to use a drop down menu or click on an icon to print whilst an expert will want to use CTRL/P