Elements of the Web Interaction Model
The interaction model is something that users internalize, but probably could not articulate, and would not care whether they could.
Users internalize well-constructed interaction models, which make most actions within a system more predictable. We usually do not notice a product or application when it works well. There is no ultimate solution for the web interaction model.
Every product solves a different set of problems for different users, and therefore, requires a model that, as much as possible, reflects and supports their real-world interactions. If they are designing a simple Web portal, they may be right. However, any time a product needs to scale to support complex interactions or comprises more than a dozen pages or so, its designers need to step back and define its interaction model first.
- Signs and Metaphors: Client
- Signs and Metaphors: Online shopping cart
- Signs and Metaphors: Asteron's Gizmo graphic
- Information Architecture: Menu
- Information Architecture: Keyword Search
- Software: Hypertext
- Software: Database
- Software: Java
- Networks and the Internet: Internet
- Networks and the Internet: FTP
- Hardware: Modem
- Hardware: Router