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Visibility and Usability: Some considerations

As regards software, websites and other systems, the visibility is defined as how The components of a given interface are displayed to users. System effectiveness depends on how much to stimulate the perception of the user, whether through images, sounds, bright colors, effects, among others. All this in order to allow the same create a mental model as accurate as possible of how the operation of the system. For this to be true, it is necessary for interactive icons or images are clear enough as to its meaning, and thus perceives can easily understand its usefulness. To illustrate with an example, we refer to the floppy disk icon in programs like Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, which comes to be understood by the user as the option to save or store. Word also have a printer icon, or an open folder. It is through a software that not only ends up being extremely easy to use, but also striking and pleasing to the eye.

On the other hand, Usability, as it tells us the same term refers to the functionality, practicality and simplicity of a given interface. It should assess what the objectives pursued through the interface and in turn, try to identify what the main tasks that will support the system. Must also assess specific aspects within the interface, doing a study and analyzing screen at each step of system options, either to test for errors, speed, location of the texts, availability of instructions, broken links, among other things.

However, according to the article by Luis Villa: Usability without users, there are "heuristic evaluation" that can be defined as studies and assessments on a deep level that apply to the interface a digital product, to determine their level of quality based mainly in the visual components in the system's structure and simplicity of it. The following will outline some basics that must be taken into account when designing a user interface, according to some authors posed as Jakob Nielsen, Keith Instone, Ben Schneiderman, among others:

• A structure organized and easily understood.
• Effective Visibility.
• Simplicity on tasks.
• simple and natural dialogue between the system and the user (feedback).
• Easy recovery actions.
• flexibility in tasks and processes.
• Protection and Security information.
• Help and Documentation .

The concepts of visibility and usability are closely related, a rich interface graphic components simple, understandable and interactive, coupled with the speed of processes and a good structure in the same are important aspects when building a system that works efficiently and is well received by a sector of users.