People have high expectations for the intuitiveness and user-friendliness of human-computer interfaces . The following principles should be considered in human-computer interface design.
1. User-centered basic design principles
During the system design process, designers must grasp the characteristics of users and discover their needs. Throughout the system development process, they should continuously solicit user feedback and consult with them. System design decisions must be combined with the users' work and application environment, and their requirements for the system must be understood. The best approach is to involve real users in the development process; this allows developers to accurately understand user needs and goals, leading to a more successful system.
2. Principle of Sequence
That is, the main interface and its secondary interfaces for monitoring and management and human-computer interaction are designed according to the order of event processing, the order of access and viewing (such as from whole to single item, from large to small, from top to bottom, etc.) and the control process flow.
3. Functional Principle
According to the specific functional requirements of the application environment and occasion, the requirements of parallel processing of the same interface for different subsystem control types and the requirements of simultaneous interaction of multiple dialogs, the human-computer interaction interface is designed with multi-level menus with different functions, layered prompts and windows with multiple dialog bars, so that users can easily distinguish and master the usage rules and characteristics of the interaction interface, thereby improving its friendliness and ease of operation.
4. Principle of Consistency
This includes consistency in color, operating areas, and text. On the one hand, the interface colors, shapes, and fonts should conform to national, international, or industry standards. On the other hand, the interface colors, shapes, and fonts should be self-contained, and the colors should remain consistent across different devices and even those with the same design. Consistency in the interface's detailed aesthetic design makes the interface comfortable for operators, thus preventing distractions. For new operators or those handling emergencies, consistency can also reduce operational errors.
5. Frequency Principle
This involves designing the hierarchical order of the human-computer interface and the display position of the dialog window menu according to the frequency of dialogue interaction with the managed objects, thereby increasing the frequency of monitoring and access dialogue.
6. The principle of importance
In other words, the location and prominence of the main and secondary menus and dialog windows of the human-machine interface are designed according to the importance and overall level of the managed objects in the control system. This helps managers to grasp the priorities of the control system, implement control decisions in the correct order, and achieve optimal scheduling and management.
7. Object-Oriented Principles
This means designing a user-friendly human-machine interface that is appropriate for the operator's identity and job nature. Based on their work needs, pop-up windows should be used to display prompts, guidance, and help information, thereby improving user interaction and efficiency.
Human-machine interfaces (HMIs), whether for field controllers or higher-level monitoring and management, are closely interconnected. They monitor and manage the same field devices, thus many field device parameters are shared and exchanged between them. Standardized HMI design should be the future direction, as it truly embodies the fundamental principles of ease of use, simplicity, and practicality, fully expressing a human-centered design philosophy. Various industrial control configuration software and programming tools provide powerful support for creating sophisticated HMIs, and their advantages become increasingly apparent with larger and more complex systems.
