The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

Growing up as a kid, I remember singing the song “Wheels on the Bus Go Round” on those long bus rides up to summer camp. It was the adults’ secret weapon to pass the time and keep the kids out of trouble, I presume. It went something like this:

Well, the rest of the song is outside the scope of this book. But imagine if the song was describing today’s city bus commute instead. It might go something like this:

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

round and round,

round and round.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

all through the town.

The teen texters on the bus tap "LOL, LOL, LOL;

LOL, LOL, LOL;

LOL, LOL, LOL".

The teen texters on the bus tap "LOL, LOL LOL",

all through the town.

The businessmen emails go" Clicky, click, click;

Clicky, click, click;

Clicky, click, click".

The businessmen emails go" Clicky, click, click;

all through the town.

The traders on the bus type" Buy, buy, buy;

Buy, buy, buy;

Buy, buy, buy".

The traders on the bus type" Buy, buy, buy;

all through the town.

The landscape of mobile use is defined by user-generated input. Luke Wroblewski wrote a blog post titled Data Monday: Input Matters on Mobile, and points out the following:

“Web forms make or break the most crucial online interactions: checkout (commerce), communication & registration (social), data input (productivity), and any task requiring information entry. These activities are taking off in a big way on mobile. So getting input on mobile devices matters more each day.”

Consider the many basic functions of text and character data input that a user carries out on their mobile device each day:

If these basic functions of inputting data fail due to an unusable interface, the user will likely not bother with the site or service. That’s a huge risk, considering the emerging trends users are engaged in with their mobile device. Let’s examine these growing trends below.

Mobile Commerce

Source: Milo.com, TechCrunch.com.

Mobile Banking

Source: blog.nielsen.com, Juniper Research.

Mobile SMS

Source: Neilson Company.

Mobile Social

Source: http://blog.twitter.com

Input and Selection in the Mobile Space

This chapter will explain input and selection patterns that can be used to maintain a usable interface. Here are some general guidelines to consider:

Touch area and target size for mobile displays

Use functions that promote efficient and quicker input

Use vertical space effectively

Provide clear affordances

Patterns for Input & Selection

Using Input & Selection functions appropriately provides users methods to enter text and make selections within a list or field. Within this chapter, the following patterns will be discussed.

Input Areas– Provides a method for users to enter text and other character-based information without restriction.

Form Selections –A method is provided for users to easily make single or multiple selections from pre-loaded lists of options.

Spinners & Tapes –A simple, space-efficient method must be provided for users to easily make changes to a setting level or value.

Clear Entry – Users must be able to remove contents from fields, or entire forms, without undue effort and with a low risk of accidental activation.