ISO 9241 Part 110: Dialogue principles

Citation

ISO 9241-110:2006 Ergonomics of human-system interaction -- Part 110: Dialogue principles.

Status

International Standard.

Lifecycle Phase

Create the user experience.

Type of Guidance

Principles and general recommendations.

Application Area

• General guidance.
• Software.

Scope

This part of ISO 9241 presents a set of usability heuristics that applies to the interaction of people and information systems (the heuristics are based on an earlier German standard). The standard refers to this interaction as a “dialogue” and describes seven “dialogue principles”. These general principles span the specific dialogue techniques that are discussed in parts 13-17 of ISO 9241. The seven principles are: suitability for the task (the dialogue should be suitable for the user’s task and skill level); self-descriptiveness (the dialogue should make it clear what the user should do next); controllability (the user should be able to control the pace and sequence of the interaction); conformity with user expectations (it should be consistent); error tolerance (the dialogue should be forgiving); suitability for individualisation (the dialogue should be able to be customised to suit the user); and suitability for learning (the dialogue should support learning). The standard describes applications and examples of the dialogue principles. It has one annex (a short bibliography). This part of ISO 9241 used to be known as ISO 9241 part 10, but has now been renumbered under ISO's revision and restructuring programme.

Audience

User interface designers and evaluators.

See Also

ISO 9241-12:1998 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) -- Part 12: Presentation of information.   

ISO 9241-13:1998 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) -- Part 13: User guidance.

ISO 9241-14:1997 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) -- Part 14: Menu dialogues.

ISO 9241-15:1997 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) -- Part 15: Command dialogues.

ISO 9241-16:1999 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) -- Part 16: Direct manipulation dialogues.

ISO 9241-17:1998 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) -- Part 17: Form filling dialogues.

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