<s>
Human	B-Application
interface	I-Application
guidelines	I-Application
(	O
HIG	O
)	O
are	O
software	O
development	O
documents	O
which	O
offer	O
application	O
developers	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
recommendations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
guides	O
limit	O
themselves	O
to	O
defining	O
a	O
common	O
look	B-Application
and	I-Application
feel	I-Application
for	O
applications	B-Application
in	O
a	O
particular	O
desktop	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Policies	O
are	O
sometimes	O
based	O
on	O
studies	O
of	O
human	O
–	O
computer	O
interaction	O
(	O
so	O
called	O
usability	B-General_Concept
studies	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
most	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
conventions	O
chosen	O
by	O
the	O
platform	O
developers	O
preferences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
central	O
aim	O
of	O
a	O
HIG	O
is	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
consistent	O
experience	O
across	O
the	O
environment	O
(	O
generally	O
an	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
or	O
desktop	O
environment	O
)	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
applications	B-Application
and	O
other	O
tools	O
being	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HIGs	O
are	O
recommendations	O
and	O
advice	O
meant	O
to	O
help	O
developers	O
create	O
better	O
applications	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
sometimes	O
intentionally	O
choose	O
to	O
break	O
them	O
if	O
they	O
think	O
that	O
the	O
guidelines	O
do	O
not	O
fit	O
their	O
application	O
,	O
or	O
usability	B-General_Concept
testing	O
reveals	O
an	O
advantage	O
in	O
doing	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mozilla	B-Application
Firefox	I-Application
's	I-Application
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
goes	O
against	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Application
project	O
's	O
HIG	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
main	O
arguments	O
for	O
including	O
GNOME	B-Language
Web	I-Language
instead	O
of	O
Firefox	B-Application
in	O
the	O
GNOME	B-Application
distribution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Human	B-Application
interface	I-Application
guidelines	I-Application
often	O
describe	O
the	O
visual	O
design	O
rules	O
,	O
including	O
icon	O
and	O
window	O
design	O
and	O
style	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
the	O
detailed	O
rules	O
,	O
guidelines	O
sometimes	O
also	O
make	O
broader	O
suggestions	O
about	O
how	O
to	O
organize	O
and	O
design	O
the	O
application	O
and	O
write	O
user-interface	B-Application
text	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HIGs	O
are	O
also	O
done	O
for	O
applications	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
platform-specific	O
guidelines	O
,	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
guidelines	O
are	O
n't	O
tied	O
to	O
a	O
distinct	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
this	O
is	O
n't	O
always	O
possible	O
,	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
guidelines	O
may	O
weigh	O
the	O
compliance	O
against	O
the	O
imposed	O
work	O
load	O
.	O
</s>
