Designing the Graphical User Interface › Graphical Design Standards › Standardize the Approach for Single Windows › Balance the Two Approaches

Balance the Two Approaches

You should choose a happy medium between the two approaches. Apply the progressive approach to its fullest and then lessen it where the approach would hinder more than it helps the users.

This strategy is similar to developing a data model. Just as an analyst strives to build a third normal form data model and then downgrades to second normal form in some areas for performance reasons, you should design for progressive focus and downgrade in certain areas depending on the intended users' skill set and work flow needs.

In a client/server architecture, you must also consider the network. A design that gives the user focus on all controls at once might lead to unnecessary network traffic for actions that the user performed by mistake or are irrelevant.