BlackBerry Wireless Handheld User Interface Style Guide

BlackBerry
Wireless Handheld User Interface Style Guide 7 Overview Overview This
document provides guidelines for designing a user interface for your
BlackBerry handheld …It contains descriptions of BlackBerry controls, as
well as guidelines and suggestions for their usage. Related resources
Refer to the following resources for additional information: Resource
Description BlackBerry Java Developer GuideThe BlackBerry Java Developer
Guide provides an introduction to developing applications for the
BlackBerry Wireless …An interface
should be as intuitive and straightforward as possible. One of the best
ways to achieve this is by using the object-action paradigm. The
object-action paradigm refers to a design principle that associates
specific objects in the application with the actions that are performed
on them. For instance, on the BlackBerry handheld, a user can select a
message from the message list and then perform an action on it (such as
view, reply, forward, or delete). Context Along with its intuitive
design the BlackBerry handheld excels in its ability to provide a sense
of context to user interface design. With respect to a BlackBerry
handheld application, context describes the circumstances under which an
action, or a particular situation, occurs. Context infers that the user
interface is adaptable and flexible, and changes to best meet the needs
of the users depending on the way in which the interface is used. In
BlackBerry handheld applications, menus, menu options, and menu defaults
change depending on the context in which the application is used. For
example, when a user composes a message, the menu options change to
provide different functionality depending on the position of the cursor.
When the cursor is positioned in the To field, the menu options change
to display only those options relating to this action. Providing
effective context can prove very difficult since it requires a great
deal of planning and usability testing. It is, however, extremely
important to the success of your application since a good sense of
context can create an extremely intuitive and easy to use application.
Consistency Consistency should exist throughout each task and between
applications. Consistency improves the user experience by providing a
familiar set of actions or tasks across all applications on the
handheld. By creating this familiarity, the chances that the user will
become confused or “lost” are greatly decreased. The onus is on you, as a
developer, to be aware of other applications being written for the
handheld so that your application interface is a consistent part of the
whole BlackBerry handheld solution. Consistency enables common interface
elements to be reused. In addition to providing consistent individual
operations, block operations should be performed as though they were
individual operations. This is especially important if an operation
fails in the middle (for example, pasting data into a nearly full buffer
or deleting files from a folder). Clarity The interface should be
clear, not only from a visual point of view, but also from a conceptual
point of view. Clarity is an especially important design aspect because
the BlackBerry handheld has a small viewing screen. If the interface
causes distractions by breaking visual flow, users might have trouble
maintaining control. If you are using icons, keep in mind that they will
be small and if they are cluttered, it will not be clear to the user
how the icon is related to the interface that contains it….
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