General Considerations

The following general considerations promote the design of efficient maps.

Consistency—Spelling and abbreviation of terms should be consistent.
Clarity—Messages and prompts should be clear and understandable to users.
Control keys—Terminal operators should be able to initiate processing by providing the requested data and then pressing a control key.
Program logic—Operators should not be required to make decisions that could be incorporated into program logic.
Automatic editing—Features provided through automatic editing and error-handling should be used whenever possible. Correct and incorrect fields should be redisplayed consistently. For example, a particular color or display intensity can be used systematically to draw the operator's attention to fields that contain input errors.
Standards for pageable maps—At sites that use pageable maps, map layout standards should be developed that apply equally well to pageable and non-pageable maps.

Note: For more information about pageable maps, see the chapter "Pageable Map Considerations”.