TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter discusses design issues that you should be aware of when developing mobile systems and applications. It starts off by describing an HCD approach to mobile system and application development. After this, the discussion moves on to describing a set of principles that you should take into consideration if you are going to design a mobile service or system. The chapter then focuses on several requirements gathering techniques that can be used as part of a human-centred design approach to mobile applications and systems development. After this, I will describe various interaction styles that are available to mobile application and product developers. Finally, the chapter includes a discussion of the prototyping techniques that you can use when designing these systems. The chapter concludes with a summary.
Usability is an essential factor in the design of all successful products. What is usability? Usability refers to whether an application is easy to learn, easy to use, and enjoyable to use for the intended users. The International Standards Organisation (ISO) published a standard on usability (Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) Part II: Guidance on Usability, ISO 9241 11, 1998) which states that usability requirements should be based on providing an effective, efficient and satisfying system for users to interact with. Effectiveness relates to how good the system is at what it is supposed to do (e.g. does the mobile phone service really provide you with all the information you need in relation to booking...
