No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
The Layout for the User-Friendly Manual: Case Study on an Internet Set-Up Manual
Abstract
We propose two design concepts for the user-friendly manual and compare them in an experiment. The first concept, which focuses
on user comprehension, is to use one picture of the completed wiring. The second concept is to uses a series of steps from
left to right with the goal of making the user follow the order. Trials show that participants presented with material based
on the first concept tend to follow their own mental-model rather than the manual. Material based on the second concept also
failed to make users follow the order. Some implications for the refinement of manual design are derived based on the results.
... The size and position of the VIS modules were controlled. Some studies have p posed that the layout of the visualization information in the interface influences the d gree of information understandability and the accuracy and efficiency of people's cog tion process toward the human-machine interface, and that users are prone to pay mo attention to the information on the left and the upper area [45]. To balance the impact the layout of the main VIS-element presentation, we presented them at the bottom le top center, and top right of the figure, and the size and position of the same modules we kept consistent across all UI levels. ...
... When the subject entered the actual experiment, t The size and position of the VIS modules were controlled. Some studies have proposed that the layout of the visualization information in the interface influences the degree of information understandability and the accuracy and efficiency of people's cognition process toward the human-machine interface, and that users are prone to pay more attention to the information on the left and the upper area [45]. To balance the impact of the layout of the main VIS-element presentation, we presented them at the bottom left, top center, and top right of the figure, and the size and position of the same modules were kept consistent across all UI levels. ...
To explore the influence of the construction and presentation frames of visualization information for safety (VIS) on people’s situation awareness (SA), we designed a three-level user interface (UI) of VIS based on the three-stage SA theory, including perception (SA1), comprehension (SA2), and projection (SA3). Then, 166 subjects were recruited and divided into three groups to participate in the experiment, in which SA was measured by the situation-present-assessment method (SPAM) and situation-awareness-rating technique (SART), and eye-movement data were recorded. The results show that the level−3 UI design could effectively improve the subjects’ SA levels. Although the increase in VIS displayed caused by the higher UI level led to a decrease in the perception-stage score of SA, the level−3 UI fully considered the three stages of human information processing, and helped improve the SA of the subjects; the overall SA score measured using the SART method was not significant, but the result was consistent with the SPAM. There was a framing effect on the presentation of VIS, and subjects perceived different degrees of risk under different presentation frames; that is, less risk under the positive frame, more risk under the negative frame, and a higher level of SA under the positive frame compared with the negative frame. To some extent, the nearest-neighbor-index (NNI) algorithm could be utilized to quantify subjects’ eye-tracking fixation mode. While the frames were guided by the high-level interface and the positive presentation frame, the distribution of the subjects’ gaze points was more discrete; they could grasp the relevant information more comprehensively and had a relatively high level of SA. To some extent, this study can provide a reference for the design and optimization of the VIS presentation interface.
One of the most sweeping changes ever in the ecology of human cognition may be taking place today. People are beginning to learn and use very powerful and sophisticated information processing technology as a matter of daily life. From the perspective of human history, this could be a transitional point dividing a period when machines merely helped us do things from a period when machines will seriously help us think about things. But if this is so, we are indeed still very much within the transition. For most people, computers have more possibility than they have real practical utility.
Few users of computer applications seek help from the documentation. This paper reports the results of an empirical study of why this is so and examines how, in real work, users solve their usability problems. Based on in-depth interviews with 25 subjects representing a varied cross-section of users, we find that users do avoid using both paper and online help systems. Few users have paper manuals for the most heavily used applications, but none complained about their lack. Online help is more likely to be consulted than paper manuals, but users are equally likely to report that they solve their problem by asking a colleague or experimenting on their own. Users cite difficulties in navigating the help systems, particularly difficulties in finding useful search terms, and disappointment in the level of explanation found.
This report presents three studies concerned with learning how to operate a simple control panel device, and how this learning is affected by understanding a device model that describes the internal mechanism of the device. The first experiment compared two groups, one of which learned a set of operating procedures for the device by rote, and the other learned the device model before receiving the identical procedure training. The model group learned the procedures faster, retained them more accurately, executed them faster, and simplified inefficient procedures far more often, than the rote group. The second study demonstrated that the model group is able to infer the procedures much more easily than the rote group, which would lead to more rapid learning and better recall performance. The third study showed that the important content of the device model was the specific configuration of components and controls, and not the motivational aspects, component descriptions, or general principles. This specific information is what is logically required to infer the procedures. Thus, the benefits of having a device model depend on whether it supports direct and simple inference of the exact steps required to operate the device. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24767/1/0000190.pdf
What mental model should be taught: Choosing Instructional Content for Complex Engineered systems
- J Psotka
- L D Massey
- S A Mutter
- J. Psotka
Psotka, J., Massey, L.D., Mutter, S.A.: What mental model should be taught: Choosing
Instructional Content for Complex Engineered systems. In: David, E.K. (ed.) Intelligent
Tutoring Systems: Lessons Learned, pp. 85-112. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah (1988)
Why don't people read the manual?
- N G David
- W Karen
David, N. G., Karen, W.: Why don't people read the manual? In: SIGDOC 2006:
Proceedings of the 24th Annual ACM International Conference on Design of
Communication, pp. 11-18 (2006)