Checklist: User interface design

When creating a user interface with globalized support, you should follow some rules and guidelines.

The rules and guidelines are shown in the following table:

Complies Not applicable Rule
The use of a graphic character for software control purposes must not preclude the use of the same character in the text of messages, menus, prompts, input fields, or output fields.
Graphic symbols and icons must be translatable.
Language-dependent parts of a product must be isolated from nonlanguage-dependent parts for easy modification.
All user interface text and presentation control information must be isolated from the running code.
Sufficient space must be available for user-interface text expansion caused by translation.
Functions dependent on display field length and display field position, or display field position alone, must not be designed in such a way that they are affected by user-interface text expansion.
A method must be provided to allow for the identification and tracking of panels and messages during the translation process.
Variables must be permitted to assume any location and order within a display field.
Messages and other displayed words or phrases must be complete entities and must not be constructed from individual words or phrases.
Entry of end-user commands, keywords, or responses must be possible without regard to uppercase or lowercase characters.
Date and time formats must be selectable.
Numeric punctuation must be selectable.
Number rounding and mathematical formats must be selectable.
Monetary format must be definable.
The default currency symbol and its abbreviations must be selectable.
The currency symbol position must be selectable.
Field sizes for monetary values must be selectable.
The measurement system must be selectable.
Lowercase alphabets should not be assumed to be invariant.
Special characters, including punctuation marks, should be definable and not program dependent.
User-interface text modules should be packaged separately from the running code.
User-interface text modules for single-byte coded character set systems should be loaded separately from the running code.
A consistent convention should be used throughout the product for denoting variables and input fields.
Words should not be used in place of numbers.
The terminology in user interface text should be consistent throughout a product.
Abbreviations should be avoided.
Slang, jargon, and humor should not be used.
Trademarks should be identified and explained.
Ambiguous words should not be used.
Proper style and sentence structure should be used in user interface text.
Negative questions should be avoided.