Foundational Principles

Are some of the foundational principles more important than others? If so, which ones? Why are some more important than others? Can you point to examples that illustrate the hierarchy you propose? Consider both Neilson’s and Norman’s lists.

I believe foundation principles are equally important as their co-dependent. The existence of each principle depends on the existence of another. 

Initially, I was of the opinion that the visibility of system status principle was the most important principle.

However, after assessing several different designs, I realized that the visibility of system status principle could not exist without the use of other principles like recognition rather than recall, affordance and/or aesthetic and minimalist design.

This is perfectly described by the same bathroom door presented in class:

As you can see in the image, the extra lines break the aesthetic and minimalist design principle. There are more lines than there should be and this is distracting to the user. Progressive disclosure would definitely prevent this problem from taking place. Also, the sign “Women” on the wall, which is used to identify the location of the women’s bathroom, is not actually on the door that leads to the women’s bathroom but is rather placed on the adjacent wall. This goes against the principles of consistency and standards and match between system and the real world.

It defies the consistency and standards principle as most sign or icon for public bathroom doors are located on the bathroom door itself. This makes it easier for the user to navigate and find the door.

It defies the match between system and the real world principle, as there is no connection between the door handle and the sign.

The only principle present in this system is “affordance” which is found in the door handle.

The above is a simple example. However, the more complicated the system gets the more important the principles become. In order for a system to operate properly, several principles need to be visible and correctly executed and as such all the principles used in that system become equally important.