ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses several different types of dialogues and the dialogue design process. It introduces some important principles of dialogue design. The strengths, weaknesses, and limitations associated with specific dialogue types and dialogue design techniques are discussed in context. Dialogue design focuses on the contents of specific screens, while interface design is more concerned with defining the structure, the links, and the execution sequence associated with the complete set of screens and windows that defines a user interface. A dialogue is the exchange of information between a computer and a user. The purpose of instruction dialogue is to provide instructions and other information about the system’s operations, functions, and structure. Explanation dialogue is widely used in multi-media and other hyper-linked structures. An ideal dialogue is consistent, easy to understand, and easy to use. Graphics display dialogue is common in installation or system evaluation routines.
