UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

ASSIGNMENT 3
ALL details MUST BE COMPLETED or assignment may be returned before acceptance.

Students name

FRANCISCO BIN MINSON

Subject

SYSTEMS DESIGN AND ANALYSIS (ASM653)

Lecturer

HABIEL BIN ZAKARIAH

Program / Group

ASM653 / BM2325C
No Assignment
/Project

Part

Topic
(as per
worksheet)

DESIGNING INTERFACE (ADOBE READER

SOFTWARE)

Date submitted

08.12.2014

Due date

A3

08.12.2014

INSTRUCTION
Penalty will be given to all late submission. For each day or part day that the item is late:
reduction of the mark by 10% of the mark initially awarded. Weekends count as two days in
determining the penalty.

DECLARATION BY STUDENT:
I certify that this assignment is my own work in my own words. I also confirm that I
have kept a copy of this assignment.
Signed:

--------------------------------

ADOBE READER SOFTWARE

Questions: For the three common methods of system interaction command languages,
menus, and objects recall a software package that you have used recently and list what you
liked and disliked about each package with regard to the interface. What were the strengths
and weaknesses of each interaction method for this particular program? Which type of
interaction do you prefer for which circumstances? Which type do you believe will become most
prevalent? Why?

The software package that I have used recently was Adobe Reader software. What I like about
this software is because it is convenient and helpful especially when I want to view PDF
document. I also can add sticky note, e-mail the document and highlight the content of the
document. What I disliked about Adobe is we cannot edit the file. Reader allows users to fill out
forms in PDFs, but they cant change any existing text or formatting. In the aspect of the
interaction methods, Adobe Reader has a good human-computer interface. Below are some of
the example methods of interactions in Adobe Reader software.

1. Command Language Interaction

It is a human-computer interaction method whereby users enter explicit statements into
a system to invoke operations. Based on the figure 1.0, Adobe Reader has a command
language whereby it provides keyboard shortcuts for the user to go to the intended
section. For example, the user can enter Ctrl+P if he/she want to print the document.
The user also can resize the view of the document by enter a specific size percentage.
For example, the user can type 118% in the size box if he/she want to view in a larger
page, without click on the drop-menu button. The user can also search for another PDF
document by entering the title of the document in the Search-box.

However, there is some weakness of Adobe Reader with regard to the command
language interaction. For example, the user needs to enter a specific and exact title or
number in order for the system to find a match answer. The user can not simply type
alphabetical instead of numerical in the size box. The result will mismatch with the
users want.

FIGURE 1.0

2. Menu Interaction
It is a human-computer interaction method in which a list of system options is provided
and a specific command is invoked by user selection of a menu option. Based on the
figure 2.0, Adobe Reader has a well menu command or list of options for the user.
When the user selects the option, a specific command is invoked or another menu is
activated. For example, if the user clicks the File option, there will be another menu
(drop-down menu) for the user to select the next option such as Open, CreatePDF
Online, Save, Save As, Print, etc. If the user clicks the Print option, the Pop-up menu
of the Print is displayed near the current cursor position so users dont have to move the
position or their eyes to view system options. All of the menus are well arranged and the
language also can be understood by the user.

FIGURE 2.0

3. Object-Based Interaction
It is a human-computer interaction method in which symbols are used to represent
commands or functions. Based on the figure 3.0, Adobe Reader are using icons or
graphic symbols that look like the processing option they are meant to represent. For
example the icon Printer is meant for printing, icon diskette is meant for saving. The
advantages of these icons are they take up little screen space and can be quickly
understood by most users.

However, some of the icons shown in Adobe Reader cannot be understand what it is
stand for. Usually, the user will put the cursor on the icons without clicking it to see the
details or meaning of the icons which will take time.

FIGURE 3.0