Are De-Facto Standards a Useful Guide for Designing Human-Computer Interaction Processes? The Case of User Interface Design for Web Based B2C Product Configurators

In order to assess the usefulness of de-facto design standards as a guide for designing human-computer interactions, this case study attempts to identify if and which kind of design standards exist for web-based product configurators - systems that allow consumers to design their own products, and are characterized by a particularly high level of interactivity. Using the world's largest configurator database in combination with a grid-classification of different user interface designs, 126 such configurators in three different industries (electronics, apparel, automotive) are examined and made comparable. The case study reveals more differences than similarities, placing the usefulness of de-facto standards as a design guideline for human-computer interactions into question.