Low-Effort, High-Payoff User Interface Reengineering

Using a variety of low-effort, high-payoff strategies on six major software projects, the authors demonstrate that, in some cases, effective user interface reengineering can be accomplished in a matter of weeks instead of the year or more traditionally required. ubstantial user interface research and design experience has given us a deeper understanding of design principles and methodologies. 1-3 Through careful needs analysis and iterative testing, user-centered design methodologies can lead to useful and usable new system designs. 4 Typical development cycles take months for analysis and design and a year for development and testing. However, opportunities are arising for the low-effort, high-payoff reengineering of existing interfaces that will typically require just several weeks to implement. Reengineering has been defined as the examination and alteration of a system to reconstitute it in a new form, and the subsequent implementation of that new form. 5 Process reengineering requires looking at a business's fundamental processes from a cross-functional perspective. 6 Any mode of reengineering would involve reengineering the business process as well, but we focus only on redesigning the user interface of existing systems. Although business processes may be affected, extensive revamping of the business process itself is beyond the scope of user interface reengineering, the term we use to describe the process of redesigning an existing interface to improve user performance and satisfaction while shortening learning time and reducing error rates.