It is important to note that a design of a menu interface is critical in ensuring an intuitive and satisfactory user experience. I use them to study, learn, write, and read, which is why their menu design is vital. The given assessment will primarily evaluate, assess, and provide recommendations for Adobe Acrobat Reader and Microsoft Word. Both adhere to the guidelines for the most part, but the latter has a more user-friendly interface.
The two PC-based pieces of software of interest fully follow the menu design guidelines in regards to the wording. The titles are meaningful and unambiguous since they clearly specify the operations, and the words additionally use lowercase and uppercase letters (Valacich & George, 2020). Microsoft Word’s organization is properly grouped and consistent, but Adobe Acrobat Reader would benefit from a better grouping of its options. Microsoft Word’s menu number sometimes can exceed the width of the screen, which can occur when it is not used in a full-page format, and Adobe Acrobat Reader could use more submenus for the ‘Edit’ section. The selection and entry methods are highly sophisticated, but both applications suffer from a lack of clarity in regard to option consequences. The selected pieces of software do not use highlighting in any form.
In conclusion, both Adobe Acrobat Reader and Microsoft Word have minor menu design issues, but they are more apparent for the former. In order to improve the interface design, Microsoft Word should focus on its menu factors, such as length, selection, and highlighting. A similar observation can be made for Adobe Acrobat Reader in addition to the organization. However, it should be noted that both PC-based software instruments fully comply with wording guidelines for menu design.
Reference
Valacich, J., & George, J. (2020). Modern systems analysis & design (9th ed.). Pearson.