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User Interface Standards in the ISO Ergonomics Technical Committee
ISO 9241: Ergonomics of Work on Visual Display Terminals
Part 10: Dialog PrinciplesPart 11: Guidance on UsabilityPart 12: Presentation of InformationPart 13: User GuidancePart 14: Menu DialogsPart 15: Command DialogsPart 16: Direct Manipulation DialogsPart 17: Form-filling Dialogs
ISO 14915: Multimedia User Interface DesignImplementation of ISO 9241For Further InformationReferences
It is fair to say that the most extensive activity in human-computer
interaction standards is currently happening in the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), and, specifically, in the
Ergonomics technical committee (TC159). The purpose of this work is to
help manufacturers of office automation systems produce more usable
systems, thus enhancing the health, safety, satisfaction, and
productivity of workers, to encourage some level of consistency among
office systems, and to help purchasers of office systems make decisions
among suppliers.
In this column I will cover the status of work on standards for
user interface design of computer software and multimedia in ISO TC159.
Next time, I will discuss the work stemming directly from this activity
which has started in the U.S. by ANSI and the Human Factors and
More than half a decade ago Subcommittee 4 (SC4) of TC159 began work
on a multipart ergonomic and human-computer interaction standard for
office work on visual display terminals (VDTs). This is ISO 9241. The
second half of this suite of standards, Parts 10-17, pertain to the
design of software displayed on VDTs. Each of these parts is being
drafted and edited on an independent schedule, thus, some sections may
become standards at different times, even though all the sections are
interrelated. However, at this point, nearly all the parts are in the
final stages of approval.
Table 1: ISO 9241 (Parts 10-17): Status as of 3Q96
----------------------------------------Part      Subtitle                Status----------------------------------------10    Dialogue Principles           IS      11    Guidance on Usability         DIS     12    Presentation of Information   CD      13    User Guidance                 DIS     14    Menu Dialogues                DIS     15    Command Dialogues             DIS     16    Direct Manipulation Dialogues DIS     17    Form-filling Dialogues        DIS   ----------------------------------------
ISO rules define a four stage process in the development of
standards (ISO/IEC, 1992). The first step is the production of a
Working Draft (WD), often produced outside of committee by one editor
or a small group. (By convention, the person responsible for the major
writing and editing of a standards document is referred to as the
"editor" and never as the "author" -- even when, in some cases, there
is a single person who is the author of a document.) The WD may go
through a series of revisions and additions until it is ready to be
voted upon. At some point, the WD is ready to be circulated to the
whole ISO sub-committee, at which point the document becomes a
Committee Draft (CD). When the sub-committee believes the document is
ready, the CD is circulated to national representative bodies for a
vote. The national bodies vote on progressing the CD to the next stage,
a Draft International Standard (DIS). Often these votes involve
technical comments from different national bodies. Rejection at this
level means further revision on the CD, which can then be brought up
for vote multiple times, until it passes. At the DIS stage, the
document can then circulate to the national bodies for vote on
progression of the standard to the final stage, an International
Standard (IS). With ISO 9241, drafts have sometimes been repeatedly
brought up for vote, revised, and brought up for vote again at the DIS
level. A new step has entered the process, a "final-DIS" vote, where
national bodies are instructed to vote yes or no without any comments,
as a final approval for release as a "real" standard. The current
status of the human-computer interaction parts of 9241 is given in
ISO 9241 is collectively titled "Ergonomic requirements for
office work with visual display terminals (VDTs)", but, as shown in the
table, each part has a descriptive subtitle. That's certainly not
enough, so let's look in somewhat more detail at each Part.
Part 10: Dialog Principles
This section sets forth some general principles of human-computer
interaction which can be applied as guidelines for developing any
application or dialogs within an application. Indeed, Part 10 is seen
as a framework for deriving the more specific recommendations which
appear in the remaining software sections of 9241. This document does
not contain any requirements or recommendations. The generic dialog
Suitability for customization
This section also contains no specific requirements or
recommendations, but, instead, it explains the concept of usability and
how to identify the information needed to specify and evaluate the
usability of software systems. This section emphasizes that usability
is dependent upon the "context of use", that the usability of a piece
of software is influenced by the specific tasks, users, hardware,
physical and social work environment, etc. In some sense, this section
is a counterbalance to Parts 12-17, which offer specific
recommendations which are universal to software systems.
This part provides recommendations on the organization and coding of
visual information as it is presented on display screens. Among the
topics addressed are grouping of information, lists and tables, labels
and fields, cursors, fields, abbreviations, visual coding of
information (including coding by colors and graphics), and requirements
for multiple windowing systems.
More than merely on-line help systems, user guidance here is defined
as any information beyond the regular task dialog that is provided to
the user on request, or is automatically provided by the system.
Guidance aids users in achieving desired results, i.e. in using or
understanding the system in order to complete their tasks. Specially,
this section provides recommendations for the design of different
classes of on-line help systems, feedback information, error management
(messages and dialogs associated with errors and malfunctions). It does
not cover on-line tutorials or on-line manuals.
Part 14: Menu Dialogs
Part 14 provides recommendations for the design of menus used in
user-computer dialogs. Menus are lists of selectable options, and thus
this section covers such dialog elements as pull-down menus, pop-up
menus, full-screen menus, panels, buttons, fields, lists, and other
similar techniques. The section covers menu structure, grouping and
sequencing of menu items and groups of menus, menu navigation, methods
or selecting and executing options in menus, and menu presentation.
Table 2: ISO 14915: Multimedia User Interface Design Ergonomic
Requirements for Human-Computer Multimedia Interfaces: Status as of 3Q96
--------------------------------------------------Part        Subtitle                      Status--------------------------------------------------1     Introduction and Framework          WD                     2     General Design Issues for      Multimedia Controls and Navigation  WD3     Media Combination and Specific      Multimedia Requirements for      Individual Media                    WD4     Domain Specific Multimedia Aspects  No draft             --------------------------------------------------
Part 15: Command Dialogs
Command dialogs are defined as sequences of instructions given by
the user to the software system which result in system actions. The key
here is that user inputs are syntactically structured commands and/or
abbreviations which the user must recall from memory. Besides the
typical command language dialog with which we are all familiar, Part 15
also covers commands which may be elements of graphical user
interfaces, and also it covers function keys and command hot keys. It
does not cover icons, menus, forms, or other elements which, although
they may be related to commands, are recognized and not recalled by the
Part 16: Direct Manipulation Dialogs
Direct manipulation is a dialog technique where the user directly
acts upon objects or object representations on a display screen by
pointing at them, moving them, or changing their physical
characteristics, by the use of a input device (such as a mouse,
trackball, joystick, etc.). The recommendations for user interface
design in this section are on topics such as when to use direct
manipulation as a technique, metaphors, appearance of objects,
feedback, input devices, pointing and selecting, dragging, sizing,
scaling, rotating, manipulation of text objects, and manipulation of
windows. Note that this section covers the user input aspect of
windowing systems whereas Part 12 covers the visual presentation
Part 17: Form-filling Dialogs
Part 17 provides recommendations on the design of computer displayed
forms, both graphic and text-based. In addition, the design of dialog
boxes in graphical user interfaces are covered (as a sub-species of
forms). Included are sections on forms layout, field and label length
and alignment, input into form fields, form-related menus, buttons,
controls, and form navigation.
ISO 14915: Multimedia User Interface Design
Recently, ISO TC159/ SC4 has committed to a new work item on
multimedia user interface standards. All parts of this standards are
currently in the extremely early stages of initial drafts and outlines.
The current composition and titles of the parts of this standards are
presented in Table 2. At this stage, it is not unlikely that outlines,
structure, content, and titles in this document will change
Currently, Part 1 of 14915 is a general introduction which
provides an overview and background information on multimedia, but no
requirements or recommendations. Part 2 will provide recommendations
for the design of multimedia controls and navigation (e.g. audio
controls, functions such as play, stop, pause, scan etc.) and Part 3
will provide recommendations on specific media and media combinations.
Part 4 may cover specific domains such as computer based training,
computer supported cooperative work, kiosks, and other topics.
Implementation of ISO 9241
Although only some of the various parts of ISO 9241 have become ISO
International Standards, we are already beginning to see various
strategies for using this document to evaluate software. Recently, I
have discovered the work of Willumeit, Gediga, & Hamborg (1996a, b)
at the University of Osnabrück in Germany on a usability inventory they
call IsoMetrics. This questionnaire assesses usability according to
seven dialog principles set forth in Part 10 of ISO 9241 (see above).
IsoMetrics was constructed from 151 items derived from existing
usability inventories in the general literature. Each item was assigned
to one of the seven principles of ISO 9241 Part 10 (excluding 61 items
which could not be assigned to a principle). The resulting questions
were given 5-point rating scales and validated with 229 subjects. The
IsoMetrics inventory can thus rate a software system on each of the
seven principles, and, in this sense, can assess "conformity" to Part
10. (In addition, a variation on the questionnaire can be used to
elicit user comments as well and used in the iterative design process.)
Up to date descriptions and status of the various software sections
of ISO 9241 and ISO 14915 will be found at the IBM Human-Computer
Interaction Site, at the URL http://www.ibm.com/ibm/hci/on
the World Wide Web. On the IBM HCI page you will also find coverage of
other standards bodies concerned with human-computer interaction.
Thanks to Ken Holdaway, Scott Issensee, Eric Bergman, and Günther Gediga for contributing information used in this column.
Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of AT&T, ACM, or SIGCHI.
Please contribute information, corrections, and thoughts to this column by sending Internet email to heb@acm.org, or call my office at +1 908 949-9745, or fax +1 908 949-8569.
ISO/IEC (1992). ISO/IEC Directives part 1: Procedures for the technical work. 2nd Ed. (Available for order from ANSI at +1 212 642-4600.)
Willumeit, H., Gediga, G., & Hamborg K-C. (1996a). The IsoMetrics usability inventory: An operationalization of ISO 9241/10. Unpublished manuscript. University of Osnabrück, Germany. (available on the World Wide Web at
http://www.psycho.uni-osnabrueck.de/ggediga/www/isometr3.htm)
Willumeit, H., Gediga, G., & Hamborg K-C. (1996b).
IsoMetrics: Ein Verfahren zur formativen Evaluation von Software nach
ISO 9241/10, Ergonomie & Informatik, 27, 5-12.