The practical approach of building and implementing user interfaces will be shown in Chapter 7, Building User Interfaces, and Chapter 8, Creating Stunning UI5 Interfaces. There are, however, some ground rules and guidelines that should be followed when designing UIs:
- Use written words: As a rule, the software should be as self-descriptive as possible. Although graphical interfaces use images or any other means of communication, it is still encouraged to give the user appropriate and relevant information with text.
- Use the user's language: All messages, field names, and texts should be defined in the user’s language (if possible).
- Use consistent terminology: The same objects should be named the same way throughout the environment.
Creating a user interface for R/3 transactions requires a few decisions to be taken up front. One of the most important decisions is to determine the basic type of application:
- With screen changes:
- None, or a few areas on the page
- Simple, sequential navigation
- With multiple areas:
- Few or no changes to the main screen; several areas with lot of interaction between them
- Provides stable context
Both types have pros and cons, and the choice depends on several criteria—length of processing, the amount of detail required, the user type (such as casual or expert), and the data type (such as a flat structure or volume).
The main goal of the design is to facilitate the user's focus on the current task, while more or less ignoring irrelevant details. In order to do so, use expand and collapse areas and splitters.
When designing R/3 screens in detail, there are several effects—psychological principles—that should be considered to improve the perception of information:
- The effect of proximity: Items that are close together tend to be grouped in our perception.
- The effect of similarity: Items of the same size, shape, or quality are likely to be viewed as a group or pattern.
- The effect of closure: Lines that enclose areas are perceived as units.
- The effect of continuity: Items arranged into a unified layout are perceived as a unit.
