After the structure of the task has been determined, you can use the Development Workbench tools to design the individual screens and templates, or to be more precise, to design the work area. You define the screen layout in the Screen Painter, the menu structure and the function key setting etc. in the Menu Painter. It is up the designer’s personal preferences which job he or she does first. Usually the work in the Screen Painter and Menu Painter goes hand in hand.

In the Screen Painter you have to determine which information belongs on a screen, how the corresponding fields and field names are distributed, and how they can be meaningfully combined to form groups with related contents.

The basic design guidelines are:

• simplicity
• clarity
• transparency

Do not overload the work area with information but use a clear structure to ensure that information can be retrieved quickly and processed efficiently. If in doubt, use the following principles:

• One screen (template) should be assigned to one task (less is more).
• Efficient task handling has priority over an aesthetically pleasing arrangement.

You structure the templates for your task in the Screen Painter. It might be useful though, to sketch your templates on paper first.

For more detailed information, please refer to the following Style Guide sections: