In developing an application, the importance of usability and user experience has become increasingly emphasized over the past few decades. An important factor in understanding these is the context in which the application is being used. To better understand the direct effect of context, two task characteristics (i.e., mental workload and operator control) were manipulated and their effects on perceived usability were examined through an experiment using simulated home security systems. The experimental results showed that both mental workload and operator control had significant effects on perceived usability. Also, the perceptions of mental workload and operator control were strongly correlated with perceived usability. The interaction between the mental workload and the operator control factors was not significant. Possible reasons for the results and practical implications for the findings are discussed.

Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules (GOMS) is an analytic method and a model evaluation method for the knowledge necessary for a user to perform tasks in a system, and Natural GOMS Language (NGOMSL), a version of GOMS, is an attempt to define a language so that the GOMS model can be precisely constructed in a structured way. This study proposes Communicative NGOMSL, which is an extension of NGOMSL intended to accommodate modeling of text-based communication among two or more individuals. Besides the properties of GOMS techniques in evaluation, Communicative NGOMSL additionally considers common ground and communication time: Common ground refers to the mutual knowledge, beliefs, and assumptions of participants in communication, and communication time refers to the time that an individual waits for another to respond. The analysis of a Communicative NGOMSL model provides some information for a common task goal in a text-based communication system: (a) the relationship between the grounding process and Communicative NGOMSL statements, (b) the ratio of communication time to execution time for each individual, and (c) the balance among individuals in terms of learning time and mental workload. A demonstration of Communicative NGOMSL is provided through a sample case—a virtual text-based chat tool for exchanging addresses between two individuals. Future work needed to address the limitations of this study and further develop Communicative NGOMSL is discussed.

Understanding target users is a crucial issue in establishing design and marketing strategies for computer-based applications. To contribute to the comprehension of target users, this study examines the effect of cognitive style (imagers vs. verbalizers) on user preference based on perceived usability and perceived aesthetics through an experiment using four simulated systems with different levels of usability and aesthetics. Forty-two imagers and 31 verbalizers participated in the experiment. The results of the analyses of variance indicated that, before actual use, the effect of the aesthetics factor on user preference was significantly different between imagers and verbalizers but that of the usability factor was not. The difference between imagers and verbalizers with respect to the effect of the aesthetics/usability factor on time performance was not sufficiently demonstrated, nor was the difference between the two cognitive styles with regard to the effect of the aesthetics/usability factor on user preference after actual use. For the combined experimental data of users' responses before and after actual use, the interaction effect between cognitive styles and actual use on user preference was not significant. Some possible reasons for these results and the possibilities of an important role of cognitive style in users' preference making are discussed here. Further studies are necessary to better examine the impact of cognitive style.

Designing a highly preferred product or system is a crucial issue for better information-services and product sales. We attempted to understand the process of users' preference-making based on usability and aesthetics. In the present study, we examined the relationships among usability/aesthetics features, perceived usability/aesthetics, and user preference through an experiment using four simulated systems with different levels of usability and aesthetics. The results showed that, before actual use, user preference was significantly affected by the differences in aesthetics but marginally affected by the differences in usability. On the other hand, after actual use, user preference was significantly influenced by the differences in both usability and aesthetics. Regardless of the occurrence of actual use, user preference was highly correlated with both perceived usability and perceived aesthetics, which were strongly interrelated. Finally, actual use had a significant effect on perceived usability, perceived aesthetics, and user preference. The findings emphasize the importance of considering both perceived usability and perceived aesthetics. They also demonstrate the need for discriminating users' interactions before and after actual use, in developing a more preferable computer-based application. ?? 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Journal Article On integration of interface design methods: Can debates be resolved? Get access Y. Lin, Y. Lin * a Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 617 3738610; fax: +1 617 3732921. E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Lin). Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar W.J. Zhang, W.J. Zhang * b Advanced Engineering Design Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada S7N 5A9 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 617 3738610; fax: +1 617 3732921. E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Lin). Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar R.J. Koubek, R.J. Koubek c The Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 310 Leonhard Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Ronald R. Mourant Ronald R. Mourant a Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Interacting with Computers, Volume 18, Issue 4, July 2006, Pages 709–722, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2005.11.008 Published: 20 December 2005 Article history Received: 03 November 2004 Revision received: 01 November 2005 Accepted: 01 November 2005 Published: 20 December 2005

Collaborative manufacturing, a growing competitive structure for manufacturing companies and government agencies, is based on flexible design and production processes, with multiple companies pooling strengths on a product-by-product basis to create distributed collaborative corporations. This experimental research uses a sociotechnical theory as a framework to explore differences in engineering design team decision making as a function of various media of communication. Results indicate that design teams communicating via an electronic medium perceive an increase in mental workload and interact less frequently, but for a greater total amount of time. No evidence was found to suggest that face-to-face teams spend a greater proportion of their time discussing design issues or alternatives than do their dispersed counterparts. Realizing that critical decisions throughout design have a tremendous effect on cost, time to production, and overall quality, the study's results lead to broad implications and suggestions for the management of distributed design teams.

In general, evaluation of human–machine interface design remains a challenging task. Specifically, there remains a lack of method for tracking effective human operator's attention. This paper presents a study aimed at devising such a method. This method is based on a combination of operators' eye movement and hand movement behaviors. The eye movement reflects the operators' cognitive process and attention allocation, while the hand movement reflects the operators' physical action, which is the result of a cognitive process. Effectiveness of that piece of cognition (eye movement) can therefore be evaluated based on the result of an action (hand movement). The said measure, which may be called the hand–eye measure, is examined for its sensitivity to a good or poor operation behavior and patterns that are further correlated to the operator's behavior and performance. At present, the patterns across the whole operation period are explored. A reference system is employed to validate the hand–eye measure.

The objective of the research was to propose and validate a theoretically meaningful link between three constructs of hierarchical menu design: menu dimension, task complexity, and user knowledge structure. Twenty-four subjects participated in a nested factorial experiment. The subjects performed a menu retrieval task using a hierarchical menu system constructed for use in the domain of utility boiler control. The dependent variables were time to respond and accuracy. The independent variables were menu dimension, task complexity and user knowledge structure. Four hypotheses were tested. The foundation of the hypotheses was based upon the premise that when task complexity is low, the short-term memory requirements of the menu retrieval task are low. Thus, the user's knowledge structure will not affect performance because it is not required for the chunking of visual information. The objectives of this research were met and are presented in the context of an information processing model for psychomotor tasks.

In an effort to reduce navigation difficulties, recent research suggests that user characteristics need to be considered when designing a hypertext document. This study evaluated the effects of an individual's cognitive characteristics in conjunction with the nature of the hypertext task. Subjects of varying levels of knowledge and cognitive style, specifically field independence/field dependence, utilized a hypertext document to answer explicitly and inherently structured questions. Among other findings, experienced field‐dependent subjects’ performance was less than that of experienced field‐independent subjects’, specifically when explicit structure was provided. The results suggest that the existing knowledge structure of experienced field‐dependent subjects may conflict with explicitly structured hypertext. Implications for the appropriate design of hypertext systems are discussed.

Recent research suggests that the structure of user knowledge, in addition to the content, is a significant determinant of user behavior in computer‐oriented tasks. The purpose of this article is to provide the researcher in human‐computer interaction with a comparative review of available knowledge structure measurement techniques and to summarize their potential application for aiding the designer at various stages of interface design. Three general classes of techniques are identified: verbal reports, clustering, and scaling. Each group is reviewed according to (1) the manner in which concepts and relationships are elicited, (2) the method used to derive the knowledge structure, and (3) procedures used to analyze the knowledge structure. With this information, the human‐computer interface designer can more effectively use these techniques for their particular application.

Booth, Paul. An Introduction to Human Computer Interaction. 268 pages, $39.95 (Hardback), $19.95 (Paperback): Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989, ISBN O‐86377–122‐X (Hbk); ISBN O‐86377–123–8 (Pbk)

This research examines the impact of training style and operator individual differences on the task representation developed, automatized task performance, and controlled task performance. Results indicate that performance on relatively straightforward repetitive tasks usually associated with automatization is influenced by training style and the mental task representation held by operators. Also, domain representation is a significant determinant of performance on complex cognitive‐oriented tasks requiring controlled processes. Therefore, the task representation is identified as a high‐level performance determinant for both simple and complex task performance. No effect for training style or individual differences was found. It is concluded that training programs for systems requiring human‐computer interaction must account for this factor in order to facilitate the learning process and enhance task performance.