Graphical user interface design is a subject dear to my heart, as it should be to most GUI developers. However, creating a useful, efficient and ergonomic user interface is easier said than done. All too often I see (and in the past have written) applications that just clearly get it wrong. There is nothing more frustrating to me, as a programmer, than using a poorly planned UI. Some UI's make you feel as though it would be quicker to write the program yourself.

 So what is the proverbial canary in the mineshaft for a user interface? I've compiled a list of things I feel are good signs that your GUI needs a birthday, however since the list got quite long, I felt compelled to break them up into a blog mini series, so here goes...

When tab order is a nightmare

I know that tab order is that UI chore we all leave until the last moment or when the tester has run out of things to pick on. Incidentally, its the first thing I look at when deciding whether or not I like an interface.

If you are thinking about either buying or creating your own tool to help you sort out your tab order, then stop for a second have a think why. Sorting your tab order should be as simple as clicking on your controls in the order you would like your users to visit them.

A lot of research has been dedicated to UI complexity and metrics, and like your cholesterol count, you can ignore them at you own peril. I can't say I know much about the various computer science techniques to measuring UI complexity, but I do have my methods. Tab order complexity is my cheap and nasty, poor mans metric for GUI layout appropriateness. In my next post, I'll show you why.