Talk:Interface apparency

The creation of this page is a group project of Dr. Kent Norman's Spring semester 2006 course, Seminar in Human Performance Theory: Human/Computer Interaction, at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Comments by Kent Norman
OK, this is at least a start. I think that you can give more examples of what is and what is not apparent in the interface. If you can find a screen shot of an apparent interface vs. a not so apparent interface that would be nice. You might also relate it in a way to D. Norman's affordance idea even they are get at somewhat different things.

Comments by philipumd
What's the relationship between the concept "Interface apparency" and Transparency (computing)? You defined the concept within the scope of "computer system" - what about other consumer electronics such as mp3 players and cellphones?

Comments by Douglas Chelson
Not wanting to pitch a product here, but the Turbo Tax web site is a good example of apparency in that is shows the steps that the user will be taken through and tells what will be needed and how much time to expect. The list of tasks are shown in table on content type format so that the user could move around the site. This use of site maps and telling the user what to expect as well as ability to move around the tasks is common, but not always well thought-out.

Continuing with Doug's comment...it would be nice to include an example of an interface that meets these standards -- you might even be able to use an example on wikipedia to show wiki users how it relates to them --Kgroth 16:21, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Y'all should look at the page on Spatial Visualization Ability, too, since this topic doesn't have a lot published on it. SusanGC7 14:54, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Final Comments by Kent Norman
Actually you could expand on the idea. But I suppose for a Wikipedia article this is sufficient.

05 October 2006 prod
The reason given, "nonsense/techno babble for how user-friendly an OS is," is incorrect, as well as being too simplistic. Research on interface apparency has been funded by the National Science Foundation. This article needs expansion and I will do so in the coming weeks. -- Dcflyer 03:45, 8 October 2006 (UTC) It is not "nonsense" because it has been legitimately studied. "Techno babble" is POV. And user-friendly OSs are just one aspect. -- Dcflyer 03:54, 8 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I honestly didn't think anyone would mind this being deleted. But if you want to spend the time improving it, then I thank you. Until then, I'm going to add the confusing tag just in case someone else wants to take a crack at it. Right now, I feel that it's far too technical for your average Wikipedia user. Wyatt Riot 09:54, 8 October 2006 (UTC)