Crafting a well-designed user interface for a web application is never a trivial task. It’s the one thin layer that lies between the human user and the not-so-human computer. That’s a large communication gap to bridge especially when you are trying to communicate complex system functionality across a broad user base of varying experience. A hallmark of any good UI is its ability to be used effectively by both novice and expert users alike. It is striking a balance between these two oftentimes-conflicting user bases that poses the greatest difficulty.
For novice users, clarity is of utmost importance; for expert users, efficiency. Icons and shortcut keys afford efficiencies for expert users while a fully expounded UI affords clarity for novice users. Unfortunately, here within lies the problem. The UI elements that afford efficiencies for expert users cause confusion amongst novice users. The details required of a fully expounded UI that facilitate understanding amongst novice users clutter the system for expert users. It boils down to this, clarity comes at a price – that price is clutter. By understanding the user population of the application and using an “upgrades gracefully” design, you can design a UI that strikes a balance to best achieve overall system efficacy amongst all users as a whole.