Overview
ISO 9241-14:1997 is part of the ISO 9241 series on ergonomics for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs). It provides conditional ergonomic recommendations for menu dialogues - the design of menus, how users navigate them, and how options are selected and presented. Recommendations use an “if - then” structure so designers can tailor guidance to the task, user, environment and technology. ISO 9241-14 is intended for interface designers, purchasers, evaluators, tool developers and end users concerned with usable menu-based interactions.
Key topics
- Scope and purpose
- Conditional recommendations for menu dialogues used in typical office tasks across windowing, panels, buttons, fields, etc.
- Emphasis on context: task, user experience level, environment and technology.
- Menu structure
- Structuring into levels and menus (hierarchies, cascading panels).
- Grouping and sequencing of options for clarity and efficient choice.
- Menu navigation
- Navigational cues, orientation within menu structures, and rapid navigation techniques.
- Selection methods
- Supported input modalities: alphanumeric keyboard, function keys, cursor keys, pointing devices, voice (conditional guidance for each).
- Handling of multiple-selection, accelerators (shortcut keys) and menu access methods.
- Menu presentation
- Option accessibility and discrimination, placement, and presentation syntax for textual, graphical and auditory options.
- Special considerations for critical and destructive options (safeguards and prominence).
- Evaluation and application
- Guidance for applying recommendations, evaluation of products, and sample assessment procedures (Annex A).
- Informative annexes include examples (Annex B) and bibliography (Annex C).
- Language and customization notes
- Some recommendations assume Latin-based left‑to‑right languages and may need adaptation for other scripts or right‑to‑left languages.
- Customization is desirable but not a substitute for ergonomically sound default menus.
Applications
ISO 9241-14 is practical for:
- Designing menu dialogues for desktop and enterprise software, web applications, and embedded systems.
- Conducting heuristic evaluations and usability testing focused on menu usability.
- Specifying procurement requirements and acceptance criteria for interfaces.
- Developing UI toolkits and frameworks that enforce ergonomic defaults.
Benefits include improved menu clarity, reduced search and selection time, better error avoidance and enhanced overall usability.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO 9241-14, menu dialogues, ergonomics, VDT, usability, menu navigation, selection methods, menu structure, user interface design.
Open preview (PDF)Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) — Part 14: Menu dialogues
