UX Design Principles: Part 1 of 3

Don Norman’s seven important questions of user interaction

A user interaction guide to design efficient, effective, and delightful products using Don Norman’s principles.

Looking at Don Norman’s seven important questions of user interaction

Design is ubiquitous; it exists in the everyday things we see, hear and touch, such as cups, light switches, and door handles. It also defines the form and function of devices and digital interfaces, including mobiles, wearables, and voice systems that shape our daily routines.

Whatever design we engage with, we consciously or subconsciously perform all sorts of behaviours and experience different thoughts and feelings — positive or negative.

“Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating.” — Don Norman.

We’ve all experienced good design, but the bad ones, such as a confusing elevator layout or a frustrating online shopping journey, usually leave a lasting impression.

Good design has minimal cognitive and physical effort. It provides value such as usefulness and satisfaction. However, a well-made thing or product happens without accident; it results from understanding people’s needs and behaviours.

Don Norman, an American researcher, professor, and author, has long inspired the design industry with this user-centred wisdom. His best-selling book, The Design of Everyday Things, contains design techniques and principles that are still relevant to today’s practices.

In a three-part series, we’ll visit the philosophy defined in The Design of Everyday Things to help us understand how to design efficient, effective, and delightful products for people.

Here’s a taster of what we’ll be looking at:

1. Seven important questions of user interaction
2. Seven fundamental design principles
3. Principles in practice and beyond

In the seven important questions of user interaction, we’ll explore the human psychology of engaging with a design. Then, we’ll discuss Norman’s seven fundamental design principles for working toward good, practical outcomes. And finally, we’ll observe Norman’s philosophy in practice and beyond using a case study.

So, without further ado, let’s explore Don Norman’s extraordinary wisdom from The Design of Everyday Things.

Introducing The Design of Everyday Things

Don Norman, illustrated by Zachary Monteiro

Whether you specialise in the field of user experience or work in a different discipline and want to understand user-centred design, then The Design of Everyday Things is worth reading.

In his book, Norman shows that good, usable design is possible. His techniques and principles are simple, and he provides plenty of real-life anecdotes about how design acts as the communication between the product or item and the user (the person).

Norman pays particular attention to the psychology of everyday actions, such as how we interact with common electrical appliances. Take a TV remote control, for example; the device’s interface informs its user where and how to perform different functions — from turning on the TV to recording programmes.

So how can we design something intuitive and delightful to use? First, we must understand our cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes during and after interacting with something — physical or digital. And we can learn much about the psychology of interaction from Norman’s Action Cycle.

The Action Cycle

Three components that form an Action Cycle

According to Norman, when people engage with design, they undergo an Action Cycle of cognition, emotion, and behaviour. The said process contains various layers of interaction between a person and a product or an item. Within it are three components:

1. The Gulfs of Execution and Evaluation
2. The Seven Stages of Ection
3. The Three Levels of Processing

Each component provides us with different perspectives on user interaction, and they essentially interconnect with one another. Once we visit each part of the Action Cycle, we’ll fuse them to understand the anatomy of a person’s experience.

The Gulfs of Execution and Evaluation

The Gulfs of Execution and Evaluation

The first component of Norman’s Action Cycle consists of two parts to an action: Execution (figuring out how to do something) and Evaluation (figuring out what you’ve just done). The two gulfs situate between the goal (what the person wants to accomplish) and the world (the physical state — everything they see and perceive).

Imagine that you’ve just parked your car and need to pay. The first part of this activity requires a sequence of steps in the Gulf of Execution:

1. Form the goal to use a ticket machine to pay for the parking space
2. Figure out the possible actions on the machine
3. Select a sequence of steps, such as entering coins (or using a digital payment method) and pressing a button
4. Physically execute the action sequence

The second part of the activity involves perceiving and interpreting the state of the world by undergoing the Gulf of Evaluation:

1. Perceive what has just happened
2. Interpret the perception
3. Evaluate the outcome: did your actions move us closer to the goal?

The Seven Stages of Action

The seven stages of action (green) between the Gulfs of Execution and Evaluation

The second component of the Action Cycle consists of The Seven Stages of Action, which Norman describes as a “valuable design tool” and something that can provide a “basic checklist of questions to ask.” Each stage within the Action Cycle contains a fundamental question:

1. The goal: what do I want to accomplish and why?
2. Plan: how can I do it?
3. Specify: what options do I have?
4. Perform: what can I do now?
5. Perceive: what just happened?
6. Interpret: what does it mean?
7. Compare: is this okay? Have I accomplished my goal?

Now let’s revisit the car parking scenario; this time, you’re going to apply The Seven Stages of Action:

• The goal: use the ticket machine to pay for your parking space
• Plan: understand how to operate the ticket machine
• Specify: select the actions to enter the car registration number, insert the required amount of money, and print the ticket
• Perform: physically execute the specified action sequence
• Perceive: observe the digital display and printed ticket
• Interpret: the system has accepted the car details and money
• Compare: the printed ticket has led you to your goal.

Three Levels of Processing

The Three Levels of Processing (blue) associated with The Seven Stages of Action

The Action Cycle’s final component consists of Three Levels of Processing, which are cognitive and emotional responses we experience during and after interacting with something.

• Visceral: the subconscious reaction to aesthetics
• Behavioural: the subconscious usability of something
• Reflective: the conscious rationalisation and intellectualisation

The Three Levels of Processing can be associated with the Seven Action Stages and yield the Gulfs of Execution and Evaluation.

Starting at the lowest level (visceral), a person can experience calmness or anxiety. For example, someone unfamiliar with the layout of a ticket machine will likely experience apprehension when performing an action and perceiving what they’ve just done.

In the middle level (behavioural), a person’s expectations will drive emotions such as hope, fear, relief, or despair. This level is also sensitive to specifying the task and interpreting the results. For example, while determining the steps for using a ticket machine, a novice user could experience feelings of doubt. But if they interpret positive results from their actions, they’ll experience relief.

People compare their expectations at the highest level (reflective) with what happened. For example, someone follows the correct sequence of actions but then discovers that the ticket machine has errored; this will drive emotions of dissatisfaction, blame or even anger. On the flip side, however, if someone seamlessly completes their activity, they’ll likely experience satisfaction or delight.

Summary

The Design of Everyday Things can teach us many vital principles–notably the Seven Stages of an Action Cycle, which we can use as an essential checklist of questions.

We can also adopt the Action Cycle to understand people’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes during an interaction. And it is this practice that can guide the creation of efficient, effective, and delightful things or products.

In part two of UX Design Principles, we’ll look at Norman’s Seven Fundamental Design Principles to help determine the answers to the seven questions…

Don Norman’s seven fundamental design principles