Duration Estimates of Human-Computer Interactions

Tractinsky, N., Meyer, J. (2001)
Task Structure and the Apparent Duration of Hierarchical Search
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies , 55(5): 845-860.
Abstract
Research in the area of human-computer interaction (HCI) suggests that long or variable system delays diminish the users' satisfaction with the interaction and the system in general. However, delays in a system's responses may not always be under the designer's control (e.g., during Internet browsing). We therefore suggest that as an alternative measure human-computer interactions should be designed to shorten the apparent duration of intervals during which the user awaits the system's response. One way to achieve this goal is to structure tasks so that their apparent duration is reduced, partly by altering the number of choices and actions required for performing the task. Two laboratory experiments assessed the effects of the number of choices and the number of ballistic (simple) steps in a menu search on the apparent duration of the search. Results showed that the apparent duration increased with an increasing number of steps, while the number of choices had no effect on estimates. However, apparent durations were the shortest when the ratio of choices to steps was maximized. The implications of these findings for interface design are discussed. Paper...




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