Guidelines for touchscreens systems

Question

Have you ever heard about an accepted paradigm about how to design those kind of systems? Im not talking about iphones but photo-kiosk or manufacturing systems

Answer 1

Have big buttons for "fat fingered" users.

Usability really matters.

Keep the touch screen well calibrated. This used to be a nightmare back in 1999; don't know how much better it is now.

Answer 2

Rulas,

i have worked on a number of touchscreen apps. i never found a published set of standards like the ones you mention but here is a little bit of what i learned:

Create a limited "visual vocabulary" with the following rules:

• Buttons should be 30 or more pixels high (and at least as wide) - simply increasing the width of a button will not make it easier to click

• Try to place controls on similar points on the screen - exactly the same if feasible, so that users do not have to hunt in different parts of the screen for the same operation.

• Avoid the need for scrolling - try tabs, paging, wizards etc. Using scrollbars on a touchscreen is very difficult

• Consider how the screen will be used. Where will users put their hands? Will they rest their hands on the corners of the screen? Will the Power button be in the way?

• As part of this rule set, create your own controls library that can be easily reused in other parts of the app

• Try to omit or minimize typing on a "soft" keyboard. Make as many fields selectable as possible.