Chapter Ten. Case Studies

I haven't taught people in 50 years what my father taught by example in one week.

” MARIO CUOMO, U.S. POLITICIAN AND AUTHOR

This chapter uses examples from real applications to demonstrate how the ideas in this book are expressed in state-of-the-art designs. These examples give insight into things that have been done in the past, and should be viewed for the underlying ideas they convey rather than the actual way that any given solution must be embodied in new designs.

While these examples reflect technological capabilities ranging from 1997 to 2002, please keep in mind that as the technology progresses ”and as people become more familiar with this type of interface ”the state of the art in design will also evolve . However, to achieve good design, and to ensure that these examples have credibility, work was done far after the usability testing process. The applications that embodied the examples were monitored and improved upon long after the general public was exposed to them.