Rules of thumb for designing effective external aids
Henry B. Strub · 1992
Even with good design, users' needs differ and users change over time. Users' own practices in designing external aids were studied in four domains: a focused analysis of how general aviation pilots remember to perform a task that is commonly forgotten, special activities performed by commercial airplane pilots, warnings and notes posted around copy machines, and ways people get around problems in their homes with devices such as VCRs. I will present design principles based on common occurrences across these studies. It is valuable to study such aids as a guide for redesign.