Is it conventional to provide a list of GUI element descriptions in a thesis? I'm currently writing my dissertation/thesis regarding my Rubik's Cube Solver program (sounds more exciting than it actually is haha). Anyway, I have created a GUI to visualize and animate the cube throughout various processes like solving and scrambling. However, this GUI has more elements such as buttons, sliders, multi-dropdown lists, etc. than I originally thought.
Would it be convenient to provide each specific GUI element with its own description somewhere? E.g. a glossary for the GUI or perhaps bullet-pointed? I had a recent thought of labeling everything via a screenshot?
I get this could be subjective but what would be regarded as a more professional/cleaner route to take?
Any thoughts, ideas, recommendations are more than welcome.
Thanks!
I think you are writing a thesis, not a user manual for a program. Focus on the technical advances. That is what your thesis will be judged on.
I'd suggest leaving the GUI out of it unless you have designed new, and innovative, human-computer interaction elements. Creating such elements has value, certainly, but it doesn't sound like that is the focus of your work.
If you want a user manual, make that a separate project - just for fun.