The human factor remains a critical element in the effective use of data-driven applications, even in the most advanced artificial-intelligence-powered processes. The user interface (UI) is the point where people come in contact with those applications. Therefore, intuitive UI design is the foundation of the effective use and management of tech-powered processes in manufacturing. The use of mobile devices, command-and-control workstations and operator panels in manufacturing drive efficiency, reduce operator error and accelerate training processes.
Engineers and designers who are leading the development of advanced UI applications in the industrial sector bring a variety of skills to their roles. Graduates of Texas State University’s Master of Science (M.S.) in Engineering Management, Concentration in Manufacturing online program are equipped with insights and expertise in cutting-edge manufacturing systems and design and development methods. The Product Design and Development course, for instance, focuses on problem identification and conceptual design, skills that are in high demand.
What Are the Essential Elements of UI Design?
A user interface comprises several distinct elements. A satisfying user experience (UX) depends on how well each element works and how well they work together. A clunky, difficult-to-navigate e-commerce website will not perform nearly as well as one with optimized UI/UX.
UI design considers a number of factors related to UX. “A UI designer is responsible to weave these elements together to build a visual language. This visual language becomes a medium for the user to interact with the technological system,” DevSquad explains. In fact, DevSquad notes that a UI with a rewarding UX includes four key elements:
- Responsive input controls: Examples of responsive input controls include checkboxes, drop-down menus and sliders. This could be a data capture element that requests users’ first name, last name and email.
- Navigation components: Examples of navigation components include accordion menus and breadcrumbs for efficient movement within the application. Tags for sorting content according to category, icons, buttons, tabs and menus also fall into this category.
- Informational components: These provide feedback such as error messages, progress bars and notifications.
- Containers: These organize content and scale pages and images consistently. They are particularly important when designing for mobile devices. When developed properly, containers ensure that pages or images render consistently within the screen for an aesthetically pleasing UX.
What Is “Supporting the Operator” and How Does UI Affect It?
In UX, UI applications must support the operator (or user) so they can manage operations intuitively and effectively, according to FrontEnd. “Creating effective and efficient applications that support employees on production lines can significantly improve productivity, support management oversight, and produce considerable business benefits,” it continues.
As industrial reliance on tech-driven processes expands and technical innovation accelerates, the challenges to UX design that support operators are growing in complexity. Programmable controls in the 1970s opened the door to robotics and automation. Now, manufacturing processes are evolving to processes in which one operator manages a connected system of autonomous machines. That requires UX/UI designers to solve complex problems, FrontEnd notes.
The predicted result of emerging UX/UI applications, known as human-centric design, goes beyond human control of the technology that controls the process. Instead, it looks forward to a human-machine collaboration leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, real-time processing of inputs and feedback and augmented reality.
Developing UI applications that support operators requires designing for the future by identifying problems before they occur and building for transition. It also assumes that change in business conditions or technology capacity will occur without warning, requiring design flexibility and advanced data capacity for real-time process improvement. In the future, FrontEnd anticipates UX/UI applications will do the following:
- Reduce training expenses, increase return on investment, reduce re-tooling costs and optimize productivity
- Future-proof processes using modular development to reduce the time between a challenge arising and deployment of a solution
- Simplify increasingly complex product design by identifying process flaws in the early stage of design and streamlining processes for machine integration
However, the increased need for UI applications indicates a greater need for professionals with these skills. FrontEnd notes: “As the manufacturing lines have become more complex the number of specialists required to design, set-up, and maintain them has snowballed.”
Graduates of Texas State’s M.S. in Engineering Management, Manufacturing online program are well prepared to bridge that skills gap. The degree can open doors to leading-edge roles in designing and deploying technology that supports critical manufacturing operations. The skills graduates gain enable them to increase productivity and efficiencies in various management positions. Students also deepen their ability to use analytics to inform operations as well as develop processes for optimizing resource allocation and safety protocols.
Learn more about Texas State University’s online M.S. in Engineering Management, Concentration in Manufacturing program.
