Conclusion - I

Navigation is ubiquitous – it applies to any software that interacts with users, which is almost all types of software on almost all platforms. Furthermore, navigation is the heart and soul of usability without which user experience severely suffers. Considering the increasing importance of satisfying users, user experience dominates especially when technologies become commodities and basic needs are covered. Therefore, navigation has become a critical issue for achieving a rich user experience.

In order to provide a rich navigation, the navigation criteria, paradigms, components, interactions, special effects, and intelligent behaviors must be identified and provided. The integration of all those elements of navigation is what produces the richness. In other words, the total of all those elements is greater than the sum of each separate element, requiring a holistic approach to attain richness in navigation.

The two main purposes of navigation is access to information and execution of functions. Depending on the type of software, one role plays a more important role than the other, which dictates the type of navigation required. Navigation can be intentional or incidental. It basically defines the location and the paradigm to get to the desired location to access information or perform a function.