The interactions and public and staff users have with the new application will be regulated by a user-friendly public and staff interface that uses consistent design elements and user controls, allowing the application to be used in a variety of workflows. Users will access the interface using a standard web browser. The user interface will support best practices for the usability and accessible of web applications.

The public and staff user interfaces will be integrated with each other, for authenticated staff users. We have developed some design principles and illustrated those principles in a set non-prescriptive wire-frames, included in the PDF documents linked below. While these principles and wire-frames offer a starting point for development and an interative design process focused on ensure the development of a highly usable and accessible interface.

Staff Interface Design Principles

The staff interface will be based upon four core principles, encapsulated in specific interface features:

  • Simplicity (two views: listing/browsing and record display/editing)
  • Consistency (location of user controls; two-click task access)
  • Extensibility (plug ins and modules will seamlessly integrate into existing user interface, menus, and controls)
  • Customizability (via theme and template systems)

Implementing these principles, the staff user interface will meet the following objectives:

  • Facilitate multiple workflows
  • Provide consistent user experience
  • Segregate finding activities from editing activities
  • Support hierarchical browsing, selection, and reordering
  • Allow robust linking/relation-building mechanisms
  • Enable application accessibility and multilingual interface development.