CHAPTER 3 User Authentication 76 instead of emailing the current password, assign users a temporary password that they can change as soon as they log in. Alternatively, users may be emailed a link to reset their password ( Figure 3.36 ). CONFIRM USER IDENTITY WITH SECURITY QUESTIONS If the web application stores sensitive information, additional layers of security may be necessary to verify the identity of the user claiming to have lost log in information. Additional identifi cation questions may include information that only the account owner knows, such as the last four digits of his or her Social Security number, account number, and so forth ( Figure 3.37 ). The identifi cation FIGURE 3.36 Agile Commons (hosted by HiveLive) emails the link to reset the password after verifying the email address (a). Clicking the link displays the reset password page (b). (a) (b) 77 may also require users to answer one or more security questions set up during registration. Related design patterns Users may realize that they have forgotten their username and/or password when they are prompted to log in. Therefore, options to retrieve them should be presented along with fi elds that are required to log in (LOG IN). Fogot Username/Password FIGURE 3.37 Advanta, a credit card company, asks for several identifi cation-related questions before resetting user ID and password. This page intentionally left blank 79 INTRODUCTION An important decision for designers is what users should see or which page they should be taken to after they log in to the application. For web applications that allow access without logging in (e.g., consumer e-commerce applications), users either remain on the same page or are taken to the next page in the sequence. For example, if users decide to log in on a prod- uct details page, they remain on the same page. However, if they log in dur- ing the checkout process, they are taken to the next page in the sequence — the shipping information page. On the other hand, applications that require users to log in before accessing their functionality may show one of the following, depending on the nature of the application: ■ An INBOX, where users can see a list of items to view or act on. ■ A CONTROL PANEL, which serves as a launch page to access application functionality. ■ A DASHBOARD, with an at-a-glance view of the most important perfor- mance indicators. ■ A PORTAL, which aggregates information from several sources and serves as a launching place for information and applications users may access. PORTAL pages often incorporate some aspects of CONTROL PANEL and DASHBOARD in order to enable users to quickly access functionality and content supported by one or more applications. Application main pages are typically personalized based on user profi les, interests, and information needs with the intention of presenting the most relevant content and fi ltering out the not-so-relevant information. However, PERSONALIZATION driven by business rules or some form of social fi ltering may not be able to accurately predict the information users may need. Thus, applications often offer users CUSTOMIZATION options to allow them to Application Main Page CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 4 Application Main Page 80 tailor the application to their preferences and compensate for personalization shortcomings. Customization is not limited to information and task-related needs; it often extends to a choice of colors, logos, themes, fonts, and page layouts. An often-overlooked design aspect of many web applications is what fi rst-time users will see (BLANK SLATE). This is particularly important for applications that rely on users to fi ll in the application with appropriate data. INBOX Problem It is essential that users know the items they need to work on or the activities that have happened since they last logged in. Solution Show users a list of items they can act on or need to review. For example, for email applications, show users a list of emails; for defect-tracking applications, show users a list of defects; and so forth ( Figure 4.1 ). Why Applications focused on managing items of one type (e.g., emails, defects, fi les, accounts, support calls, timesheets, etc.) benefi t from showing users items that they can interact with as soon as they login. This does not mean that the application does not allow users to manage other types of items or allow quick FIGURE 4.1 NetResults tracker shows developers a list of bugs and enhancements assigned to them when they log in. 81 Control Panel access to other functionalities within the application — it’s just that they are sec- ondary in nature. For example, email applications allow users to manage con- tact lists even though managing contacts is not its primary purpose. Therefore, when users log in, they are fi rst shown a list of emails, both past and new. The term inbox is appropriate, since these are typically items that users need to attend to when they log in to the application. How Show users a list of items for which the application was primarily designed — emails, defects, fi les, accounts, to-dos, and so on — highlighting the items that users need to immediately attend to or be reminded of, such as new emails, new fi les, new defects, and so forth ( Figure 4.2 ). ALLOW USERS TO SET UP REMINDERS If the application is not going to be accessed frequently and if users prefer to be reminded of changes in the state of one or more items (e.g., payment due or a new to-do item), allow them to set up reminders ( Figure 4.3 ). Related design patterns The INBOX pattern typically uses lists, either TABULAR LISTS or IMAGE GRIDS. In addition, like lists, they often need SORTING and FILTERING to make it easy for users to fi nd relevant information (see Chapter 7 for further discussion on lists). CONTROL PANEL Problem After users have logged in, they may want to access different application func- tions to perform a variety of tasks. However, which function they may want to access cannot be reliably predicted. FIGURE 4.2 Users see their email inbox after they have logged in to Gmail. New items in the inbox are in bold. CHAPTER 4 Application Main Page 82 Solution Show users a page with all available application functions, any one of which they can quickly access ( Figure 4.4 ). Why For many web applications, users need a place that serves as a launch pad for accessing its functions (i.e., mini-applications) that are rather independent of each other. Although users need access to all functions, they do not need to navigate from one function to another. However, they need a place to return to when they feel lost or disoriented (similar to a “ home page ” on web sites). How Provide a “ launch ” page from which users can access all application functions or mini-applications. Control panels are designed using a hub-and-spoke user- interface approach (Baxley, 2003; Tidwell, 2006), where users can reach the self-contained mini-applications (i.e., “ spokes ” ) from one central “ hub ” page such that users can access a mini-application, accomplish desired tasks, and return to the hub page to perform another task using another mini-application. FIGURE 4.3 Remember The Milk offers users the option of setting reminders daily as well as a preset number of minutes before the task is due. It also allows users to be reminded via email, instant messengers, and mobile text messages. 83 Control panels have quite a few similarities with home pages on content- oriented web sites: ■ They set an expectation of the application’s scope and provide quick access to its most important features and functionality. ■ They establish an overall information design approach for pages within the application in terms of its layout, placement of navigation, search functionality, and so forth. ■ They inform users of new features and functions. Control panels are also useful for account overview pages where users can access all of their account-related functions in one place. For example, e-commerce applications use account overview pages to allow users access to their orders, shipping addresses, payment information, and so forth ( Figure 4.5 ). HIGHLIGHT ITEMS THAT NEED ATTENTION Like with the INBOX, a CONTROL PANEL is a place to inform users of, or direct their attention to, changes in application functionality and content. As soon as users have landed on the control panel page, it is important to direct them to items that need their attention. Because users may not be expect- ing them, it’s necessary that items serving as notifi cations or announcements Control Panel FIGURE 4.4 1 & 1, a web site hosting company, gives users the ability to access all functions related to their account on their control panel page. Because there are a number of options, it groups them into two separate areas, “ Administration ” and “ Account. ” CHAPTER 4 Application Main Page 84 are made salient. A good notifi cation example is a message about a planned application outage, although this should also be done on the login page. For items that serve only an informational purpose (i.e., announcements) and do not require any user action, offer users an option to dismiss them. Related design patterns Use the BLANK SLATE design pattern, especially on “ spoke pages, ” to avoid showing users empty pages and to ensure that they are not confused as to what to do after logging in for the fi rst time. This also helps them get com- fortable using the application, especially for applications that rely on users to provide data. DASHBOARD Problem Information that helps users make decisions and monitor information about the “ state of their world ” is available, but requires users to visit several different application areas. In addition, available information is not presented in a for- mat that helps users make decisions and/or determine their next steps. Solution Offer users a single-page “ dashboard ” view of information and metrics that they need to track. In addition, allow users to “ drill ” down to detailed content from the dashboard view ( Figure 4.6 ). FIGURE 4.5 Dell’s “ My Account ” page provides a summary of account information and serves as a launch page allowing access to user-specifi c information such as saved items, coupons, shopping cart, order status, and so forth. 85 Dashboard FIGURE 4.6 Yahoo!’s Election 08 Political Dashboard shows at-a-glance information about the current status of each candidate at the national level (a). Additionally, it allows users to click on candidates and get detailed information about the candidate including recent poll averages, money raised, and so forth (b). (a) (b) [...]... customize an application to match their content needs, color and layout preferences, and its components affords necessary flexibility to users In addition, it reduces the burden on designers, as they can defer some of these decisions to users For example, designers can focus on one application look-and-feel 101 102 CHAPTER 4 Application Main Page and not worry about coming up with a visual design that... their own colors as well (Figure 4.30) APPLICATION CUSTOMIZATION For enterprise-level web applications, it may be impossible to anticipate and accommodate diverse user needs without compromising usability For such applications, offer customization options at the application level such as allowing creation of custom reports or even custom fields Users can then tune the application to conform to their current... that users do not have to log in every time they access the portal ALLOW USERS TO CUSTOMIZE PORTAL’S APPEARANCE Unlike many web applications, portals are designed for regular and frequent use To ensure that users are as productive as possible with the portal, and to 93 94 CHAPTER 4 Application Main Page FIGURE 4.17 On iGoogle, users can view Google Finance Portfolios, Google Calendar, and Gmail information,... the dashboard to other users Related design patterns The goal in laying out an effective dashboard is to have the most important business information as the first thing to grab users’ attention (see the VISUAL HIERARCHY pattern in Chapter 12) PORTAL Problem The information and functionality that users would like to access are dispersed over several web sites and web applications For example, within a... security is required, allow users to access different applications seamlessly without requiring them to log in separately; that is, the portal should support single sign-on (SSO) (Figure 4.17; see also the LOG IN pattern in Chapter 3) Although SSO is feasible for enterprise portals, many web portals allow the incorporation of other applications using web services to which users may have to log in separately... iGoogle, a web portal, allows users to access content and functions from several different sources employees may need to access a wide variety of information to accomplish tasks such as enrolling for benefits, managing personal information, reporting time and expenses, completing performance reviews, and so forth, each of which require them to access a separate application Solution Provide a central application. .. may also appear in a DASHBOARD style, thereby giving users a view of the current status (or health) of certain key metrics PERSONALIZATION Problem For web applications with an extensive amount of content (e.g., a large number of products in e-commerce applications), finding content or items that are relevant or of interest may become difficult for users In addition, because new items are being added at... example, when checking out in e-commerce applications (Figure 4.20) Yet another form of personalization is showing different views of the application to guest users (those who have not logged in or do not have an account) and logged-in users (Figure 4.21) A comparable personalization approach for logged-in users is based on user roles, where they are presented different application content areas and thus... recommendations are based on similarities in behavior and interests among the application users (Goldberg et al., 1992) (Figure 4.23) It can also be seen in social applications where users are recommended people to “friend” with based on the commonality among other friends in their networks (see Chapter 9) 97 98 CHAPTER 4 Application Main Page (a) (b) FIGURE 4.22 Rally Software shows different sets... personalization can be based on users’ location—for example, users can be shown country-specific pages based on where they are accessing the application Therefore, consider the GLOBAL GATEWAY pattern in Chapter 10 as well CUSTOMIZATION Problem From all the content offered by a web application, users may only be interested in a very small subset However, considering varied needs and preferences of Customization . important decision for designers is what users should see or which page they should be taken to after they log in to the application. For web applications that. often-overlooked design aspect of many web applications is what fi rst-time users will see (BLANK SLATE). This is particularly important for applications that