Designing for Learnability: Improvement Through Layered Interfaces

A significant cost of system operation is the training required for the end users to achieve and maintain competence. The training need is partially determined by user interface properties that make it harder or easier to learn. This article explores improving system learnability through human-machine interface design. A design pattern of Progressive Disclosure through Layered Interfaces is proposed to improve learnability (time taken to learn) by presenting users with a subset of functionality. An experimental study supported tentative conclusions. Interesting differences between experiment participants suggest a customised approach, including Progressive Disclosure, to reduce the training burden.