Does this interface appear reasonably user-friendly?

It's a generic version of a database I'm designing for work, and it needs to perform a fairly complex series of calculations while remaining simple enough for the least tech-savvy member of my department to be able to use it.

The "To Log In" label becomes "If You Are Not USERNAME" after the user has logged in, and buttons 2 through 6 won't work unless the user logs in first.

Can I dumb it down further?

Just not user friendly...

For starters: Why not have the action inside of the button instead of a huge CLICK ME!? The action should be in bold, not the text inside of the button. The button should be to the right of the action, I read left to right. I should know what I am clicking before given the opportunity to click. Can you dim the options that are unavailable for users that are not logged in?

I mostly do web interfaces. So take what I say with a grain of salt. If other applications people have to use look similar to yours..Stick with that.

Hey, I guess I can. That's a fine suggestion!

People read left to right. So switch the order of the columns. Also why not just put the labels on the buttons themselves? So the buttons would be "Log In," "Import Primary Data," etc. Also agree that you should not have stuff that is unusable on the screen. Either don't have it there, or have it grayed out.

Do your users understand the difference between primary data and secondary data? I don't.

Does the "archive" button have messy consequences? For example, if you press Archive, will the system then become unavailable for 10 minutes, or will it make all current data unavailable, or some such stuff? You might want to remind them of this, if so.

For this example the "function" descriptions are just approximations of the real processes (because I didn't want disclose any super-secret functions of my esteemed employer).

I also went with the "Click Me" buttons here because I've built a few dozen databases that were required to be in the same basic format. With that in mind, it made sense to standardize the labels on the buttons themselves and simply change the description tags, since each database will execute a different series of functions.

As for reading left-to-right goes, I confess that I think I approached it from an (almost literally) opposite perspective. I'm left-handed, so that the buttons I'd "press" just seemed more comfortable being on the left. I consider it a small payback for all of those right-handed ATM pads, cell-phones, french-fry-scoops, gear shifts, water fountains, and pens & pencils...

I'll need to think about all of this, though; I especially like the idea of keeping all the on-screen stuff active and usable.

Thanks again for your feedback!

But I mouse with my right.

Shame on you for succumbing to the pressures applied by the so-called "dextrous" portion of our oppressive society.