EN ISO 9241-10:1996

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
01-junij-2001
Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) - Part
10: Dialogue principles (ISO 9241-10:1996)
Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) - Part 10:
Dialogue principles (ISO 9241-10:1996)
Ergonomische Anforderungen für Bürotätigkeiten mit Bildschirmgeräten - Teil 10:
Grundsätze der Dialoggestaltung (ISO 9241-10:1996)
Exigences ergonomiques pour travail de bureau avec terminaux a écrans de
visualisation (TEV) - Partie 10: Principes de dialogue (ISO 9241-10:1996)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 9241-10:1996
ICS:
13.180 Ergonomija Ergonomics
35.180 Terminalska in druga IT Terminal and other
periferna oprema IT peripheral equipment
SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001 en
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 9241-10
First edition
1996-05-01
Ergonomie requirements for Office work
with visual display terminals (VDTs) -
Part 10:
Dialogue principles
Exigences ergonomiques pour tr-avail de bureau avec terminaux 2 6crans
de visualisa tion (TEV) -
Partie 70: Principes de dialogue
Reference number
ISO 9241-10:1996(E)

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
ISO 9241=10:1996(E)
Contents
Page
1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 Scope .“.
1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Definitions
1
....................................................................
3 Dialogue principles
1
...................................................................................
3.1 General
3
3.2 Suitability for the task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3 Self-descriptiveness
6
Controllability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._. C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.5 Conformity with user expectations
8
........................................................................
3.6 Error tolerante
................................................. 9
3.7 Suitability for individualization
........................................................... IO
3.8 Suitability for learning
Annex
11
,. .,.*,.
A Bibliography
o ISO 1996
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this pubkation may be reproduced
or utilrzed In any iorm or by any means, electronie or mechanicai, including photocopying and
mrcrofilm, without permrssron In wnting from the publrsher.
International Organrzation for Standardization
Case Postale 56 l CH-121 1 Geneve 20 l Switzerland
Prrnted in Switzerland
ii

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
0 ISO ISO 924%10:1996(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide
federation of national Standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work
of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Esch member body interested in a subject for
which a technical committee has been established has the right to be
represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO
collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are
circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting
a vote.
International Standard ISO 92414 0 was prepared by Technical Committee
lSO/TC 159, Ergonomics, Subcommittee SC 4, Ergonomics of human-
System in teraction.
ISO 9241 consists of the following Parts, under the general title Ergonomie
requirements for Office work with visual display terminals (VDTs):
- Part 7: General
- Part 2: Guidance on task requirements
- Part 3: Visual display requirements
- Part 4: Keyboard requirements
- Part 5: Workplace requirements
- Part 6: Environmental requirements
- Part 7: Display requirements with reflections
- Part 8: ßequirements for displayed colours
- Part 9: ßequirements for non-keyboard input devices
- Part IO: Dialogue principles
- Part 7 7: Guidance on usability
- Part 12: Presentation of information
- Part 73: User guidance
- Part 74: Menu dialogues

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
ISO 9241=10:1996(E)
- Part 15: Command dialogues
- Part 16: Direct manipulation dialogues
- Part 7 7: Form filling dialogues
Annex A of this part of ISO 9241 is for information only.

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
0 ISO
ISO 9241=10:1996(E)
Introduction
This part of ISO 9241 deals with ergonomic design of Software for visual
display terminals (VDTs) and describes general ergonomic principles which
are independent of any specific dialogue technique, but should be applied
in accordance with ISO 9241.
When specifying, developing or evaluating dialogue Systems, these prin-
ciples tan be applied, but as general guidelines only. The manner in which
each dialogue principle tan be applied will depend on the characteristics
of the intended user of the System, the tasks, the environment and the
specific dialogue technique used. Guidance on identifying relevant aspects
of the users’ tasks and environment of use is given in ISO 9241-11. Spe-
cific guidance on the use of techniques such as menus, command lan-
guages, direct manipulation and form-based entry will be found in
Parts 14 to 17 of ISO 9241.
The ultimate beneficiary of the Standard will be the end user at the VDT.
lt is the needs of this user that provide the ergonomic requirements used
by the International Standards developers. Although it is unlikely that the
end user will read the Standard or even know of its existente, Its appli-
cation should provide user interfaces that are more usable, consistent and
that enable greater productivity.
This part of ISO 9241 contains one informative annex that lists the sources
used during its development.

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
ISO 9241=10:1996(E)
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD 0 ISO
Ergonomie requirements for Office work with visual
display terminals (VDTs) -
Part 10:
Dialogue principles
1 Scope
This part of ISO 9241 provides ergonomic principles formulated in general terms, i.e. they are presented without
reference to situations of use, application, environment or technology. These principles are intended to be used
in specifications, design and evaluation of dialogues for visual display terminals (VDTs).
2 Definitions
For the purposes of this part of ISO 9241, the following definitions apply.
2.1 dialogue: Interaction between a user and a System to achieve a particular goal.
2.2 User: Individual interacting with the System.
3 Dialogue principles
3.1 General
The following seven principles have been identified to be important for the design and evaluation of a VDT dia-
logue:
- suitability for the task;
- self-descriptiveness;
- controllability;
- conformity with user expectations;
- error tolerante;

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
() ISO
ISO 9241-10:1996(E)
- suitability for individualization;
- suitability for learning.
The dialogue principles are presented in 3.2 to 3.8, together with a short description and typical applications fol-
lowed by examples. The examples illustrate possible implernentations. Applications and examples are Chosen for
clarification and are not exhaustive.
3.1.1 User characteristics
The dialogue principles should be applied taking into consideration user characteristics such as:
- attention span;
- Iimits of short-term memory;
- learning behaviour;
- level of work and System experience;
- the user’s internalized view of the underlying structure and purpose of the System with which the user will
interact.
3.1.2 Task characteristics
The Performance of a task at hand is enabled by the system’s dialogue features. The effectiveness and efficiency
of the Performance tan be improved if the requirements of task Performance have been satisfied.
3.1.3 Relationship between the principles
The dialogue principles are not independent, and it may be necessary to trade off the benefits of one principle
against others. The applicability and the relative importante will vary with the specific field of application, user
groups and the dialogue technique Chosen. This implies taking into account the following aspects:
- goals of the organization;
- needs of the intended (end) user group;
- tasks to be supported;
- available technologies and resources.
It may be necessary to establish priorities on a case-by-case basis when applying the principles.

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
63 ISO
ISO 924510:1996(E)
Suitability for the task
3.2
A dialogue is suitable for a task when it supports the user in the effective and efficient cornpletion of the task.
Application: Examples include:
The dialogue should present the user only with infor- Formatting information such as colour, and information
mation related to the completion of the task. such as current day, date, etc. are presented only if
they facilitate completion of the task.
Help information should be task-dependent. When the user requests help, the dialogue System
presents information relevant to the current task (e-g.
list of editing commands if in editing state). When a
particular dialogue box is displayed and the user re-
quests help, the interface Software presents infor-
mation relevant to that dialogue box.
Any actions that tan appropriately be allocated to the The cursor is automatically positioned at the first entry
interface Software for autornatic execution should be field relevant for the task.
carried out by the Software without user involvement.
System startup procedures are automatically pro-
cessed.
When designing the dialogue, consideration should be In a public access System, where there is a set of
given to the complexity of the task with respect to the alternative inputs, a menu is used to present the
user’s skills and abilities. possible choices.
The format of input and output should be appropriate Input screens are structured so that all of the data to
to the given task and user requirements. be obtained from a Single Source are together, and
these items are ordered and formatted in the Same
way as in the data Source, regardless of whether or
not the underlying System will use the data in that or-
der or format.
The precision of input is equal to the precision required
by the task.
The dialogue should support the user when perform- The dialogue System allows sequences of activities to
ing recurrent tasks. be saved and allows the user to reuse them (e.g. us-
age of macros).
If default input capabilities exist for a given task (e.g. If the current date is required by the task, it need not
Standard default values), it should not be necessary for be typed in, but tan be modified by the User.
the user to input such values. lt should also be poss-
ible to replace default values by other values or other
appropriate default values.
During Performance of a task in which data are By pressing the [Esc] key, the contents of an entry
changed, the original data should remain accessible if field revert to the state before the field was edited.
the task requires this.
The dialogue should avoid forcing unnecessary task The user is able to save a document and exit in a sin-
Steps. gle Step.
3

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SIST EN ISO 9241-10:2001
ISO 9241=10:1996(E)
3.3 Self-descriptiveness
A dialogue is self-descriptive when each dialogue step is immediately comprehensible through feedback from the
System or is explained to the user on request.
Application: Examples include:
After any user action, the dialogue should provide Echoing of keying activity together with modification
feedback where appropriate. If severe consequences Status of data are necessary to help the user in
may result from the user action, the System should understanding what happens in the application and
what the user tan control. If the dialogue tan be re-
provide explanation and request confirmation before
versed, the application indicates this by giving explicit
carrying out the action.
information on what tan be reversed.
If a deletion cannot be reversed, the dialogue System
asks for confirmation.
Feedback or explanations should be presented in a The technical terms used in the dialogue are those
consistent terminology which is derived from the task actually used in the specific field of application. In ad-
environment rather than from dialogue System tech- dition, the user tan have a term explained by inputting
nology. the relevant keyword. Thus, following input of the
term “Change of scale”, the user is provided with an
explanation of the task involved, reference also being
made to the relevant program and to supplementary
information to be found in the user manual.
Feedback or explanations should assist the user in During the saving of a file, a message “Data being
gaining a general understanding of the dialogue sys- saved to file. please wait” is displayed.
tem as a possible Supplement to user training.
Feedback or explanations should be based on the level A clerical user receives a definition in terms of the data
of knowledge which the typical user may be expected entry task, while a technical user receives information
to have. in terms of the technical context of the System.
Feedback or explanations vatying in type and length, By pressing the “Help” key once, the user obtains a
based on user needs and characteristics, should be brief explanation; by pressing twice, a detailed expla-
available to the User. nation of the command concerned is received.
The user tan choose between an explanation given in
general terms and one in the form of an example.
To enhance their value for the User, feedback or ex- The dialogue System offers help which is sensitive to
planations should strictly relat
...