The last issue of The Wizard of UX focused on the premise that UX is not just skin deep, making the point that the very structure of software is important to the user experience, and critical to get right because it is difficult to change.  However, skin is important too, so this issue is about the pattern library, which can be found at www.imiscommunity.com/design_patterns, and the use of standard controls (like the ASI Smart Control) to build the UI.

One of the most important aspects of UX is consistency.  Customers want to get to know their software, which is difficult if the software behaves differently in similar situations.  This principle is widely understood, but difficult to achieve, because lots of details must line up to achieve the goal.

A fairly new buzzword in our industry is pattern.  From the UX perspective, this is a new word for an old idea, namely a written standard.  This helps us achieve consistency, but also to follow best practices.  For UX, the patterns describe how the software should look and behave from the user's perspective.  Our pattern library also provides information about a standard implementation, such as the Smart Control, to achieve the standard behavior.  The implementation may be purchased (like the Telerik RAD controls), written by ASI people (Smart Control), or come from somewhere else, such as Microsoft.

Our ASI pattern library is currently under development, and (as always) ideas and comments are welcome.  We plan a series of pattern reviews, to make sure that the patterns are consistent, follow best practices, and are easy to implement.  Visit the pattern library at www.imiscommunity.com/design_patterns and post your thoughts. Sara Hardison has developed a description of what an ASI pattern should look like (a meta pattern, if you will) at www.imiscommunity.com/pattern_format, so check that out too.

Although a pattern library by itself does not suffice to achieve a good user experience, it is a huge first step.  Help refine the ASI pattern library and be sure to use it for design ideas and conventions.