ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 17549-2
Second edition
2020-02
Information technology — User
interface guidelines on menu
navigation —
Part 2:
Navigation with 4-direction devices
Technologies de l'information — Directives sur la navigation dans les
menus d'interfaces utilisateurs —
Partie 2: Navigation avec des commandes quadridirectionnelles
Reference number
ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2020

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ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)

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ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Conformity . 2
5 Basic considerations . 2
5.1 Common and general ergonomic aspects . 2
5.2 Designing rendering (display screen, audio display, tactile display) . 4
5.2.1 Visual design of ladder menu . 4
5.2.2 Visual designing of tile menu . 4
6 Recommended practice on structure of, and operation of, ladder menus .4
6.1 Ladder structure . 4
6.2 Recommended types of operation of the ladder menus for the hierarchy . 5
7 Recommended practices on structure of and operation of tile menus .7
7.1 Structure of tile menus . 7
7.2 Navigation for selecting tile menus . 7
7.3 Recommended types of operation of the tile menus for the hierarchy . 8
Annex A (informative) Advantages and disadvantages depending on navigation types .10
Bibliography .12
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ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that
are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through
technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of
technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other
international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also
take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the
Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents) or the IEC
list of patent declarations received (see http:// patents .iec .ch).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www .iso .org/
iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 35, User interfaces.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 17549-2:2015), of which it constitutes
a minor revision.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— in Figures 2, 3, and 4 supplementary explanations have been moved into notes;
— the alternative text for all figures has been included as alternative text in the PDF rather than
provided in notes beneath the figures;
— an editorial error in Table 2 has been corrected;
— Annex B (informative), which was erroneously included, has been deleted;
— ISO/IEC Guide 37 and IEC 82079-1 have been moved from Clause 2 to the Bibliography as they are
not cited normatively in the text;
— minor editorial corrections have been made throughout the document to fully align with ISO/IEC
Directives.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 17549 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html.
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ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)

Introduction
Contemporary information equipment, on which the display area is associated with 4-direction devices,
includes sophisticated and complex functionalities within one piece of such equipment.
The equipment needs to be operated in terms of changing default settings and to be customized for
the individual user. In such a scenario, a 4-direction device is used to navigate the menu shown in the
display area, where the menus are normally structured.
This document provides guidelines for the design and use of menu structures, as well as recommended
types of navigation with 4-direction devices.
Note that each figure in this document, although it is not always an "image", includes the alternative
text(s) in accordance with ISO/IEC/TS 20071-11. The alternative text(s) are informative only.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)
Information technology — User interface guidelines on
menu navigation —
Part 2:
Navigation with 4-direction devices
1 Scope
This document gives guidelines on the design of navigation methods for selection menus with the use of
a 4-direction device. The guidelines are applicable to any information equipment on which the display
area is associated with a 4-direction device.
This document also provides recommendations for parameters for display screen settings, character
sets and languages in use.
This document is not applicable to safety-related uses on menu navigation.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 1503, Spatial orientation and direction of movement — Ergonomic requirements
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
4-direction device
set of physical controls, commonly keys, only one of which is activated at any time, consisting of up-,
down-, left- and right controls for respective functionality
Note 1 to entry: The 4-direction device is a mechanism directly manipulated by users, for example, a cross-key of
a remote controller.
3.2
ladder menu
list of items displayed vertically in one dimension, one of which is to be selected
3.3
menu bar
set of one dimensional menu items that is always standing-by at the root of a menu hierarchy
Note 1 to entry: A menu bar provides tabular functionality and it is different from a “rolling menu”.
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ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)

3.4
focus
<4-direction devices> highlighted result of action done by a user through an input device
Note 1 to entry: If the number of keys used is one, the action is “next”. If the number of keys used is two, the
actions are “previous” and “next”. Selecting a key enables highlighting of the next item visually, auditorily, and/or
tactually to show the action can be activated.
3.5
activating
action done by a user through a validation key, which enables activation of a focus or an item pointed at
3.6
navigation history feedback
visual, tactile and/or audio interface output displayed after a user navigation, which enables a user to
know the paths he has already explored
Note 1 to entry: For example, items already explored are highlighted in a different colour if the user already
navigated to there.
3.7
separator bar
visual, tactile and/or audio interface output that is rendered in order to facilitate recognition of groups
of items categorizations or the start or end of a list
3.8
sub-menu indicator
visual, tactile and/or audio interface output that is rendered in order to facilitate navigation when a sub-
list of items is available and which enables user to know if they are dealing with a navigation item or not
3.9
tile menu
set of items displayed with a number of rows and columns, one of which is to be selected
4 Conformity
A navigation method conforms to this document if it meets all requirements of 5.1, 5.2.2, and 7.1.
5 Basic considerations
5.1 Common and general ergonomic aspects
The following basic ergonomic aspects are taken into account when designing user interfaces where
navigation with a 4-direction device is considered:
a) users should be able to change menu languages at the highest level of the menu hierarchy;
b) control shall be consistent both in design and operation, including meeting the requirements in
ISO 1503;
c) menu items should be in plain texts or comprehensible icons as far as applicable, and in agreement
with the relevant provisions in ISO/IEC Guide 37 and IEC/IEEE 82079-1;
d) control shall be bi-directional and enable the user to return to the previous operation;
e) clear feedback should be given when the user is at the end of the list and when they are at the start,
and the end and start feedback should be different;
f) for broad and deep menu lists, navigation history feedback shall be provided;
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ISO/IEC 17549-2:2020(E)

g) important and most frequently-used menu items should be simple and comprehensible, and placed
at the start of the list;
h) a ladder menu including an item that should logically be first selected by a user should be short and
such a menu item shall be placed as the first item in the list;
i) in the case where a substantial number of options is required for an item of a ladder menu, the most
frequently selected option should be the default option;
j) item categorisation that depends on functionality should be shown to the user (by separation bars,
sounds, etc.); a sub-menu should present a title semantically linked to the upper-menu and, as far as
possible, all the cascading hierarchy should be shown to the user;
k) the user interface should make a clear separation between navigation functions (browsing between
items without any modification) and action functions (implying system modification such as adding
something, deleting something, calling someone, activating something, etc.); consequently, items
for navigation should be displayed differently from items for action;
l) where possible, hierarchies shall be organized to be broader rather than deeper; it has been
1)
shown that a two-level hierarchical menu (32 items at the first level and 16 for each sub-level) is
better than a three-level hierarchical menu (8 × 8 × 8); moreover that 32 × 16 is better than 16 × 32;
m) a list longer than three items should enable wraparound manipulation;
EXAMPLE Scrolling beyond the end of the list should return to or render the beg
...