Computer Menu Task Performance Model Development

• Main Authors: Pierce, Byron J, Parkinson, Stanley R, Sisson, Norwood
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ACCURACY; Computer Programming and Software; COMPUTER-AIDED INSTRUCTION; COMPUTERS; ERRORS; INTERFACES; JOBS; MAN COMPUTER INTERFACE TEACHING METHODS; MENU; PATTERNS; PERFORMANCE(HUMAN); RESPONSE; SEARCHING; TARGETS; USER NEEDS

This report provides a review of literature on computer menu interface design and related performance factors. Implications for the design of the user/system interface for aircraft simulator instructional support systems are considered. A criterion-based search model that makes predictions as to how the number of alternatives on menu pages affects the search process and the pattern of errors that will result is evaluated. The literature on theoretical and empirical work suggests two additional factors that are recommended for inclusion into the search model; (a) user-perceived relationships among target items sought and menu alternatives available for selection, and (b) the probability of an omission situation where the target items is not subsumed under any of the alternatives available for selection. An experiment was conducted to test the effect that all three of these factors have on menu task performance. Results showed that all three factors significantly influenced menu search and response accuracy. A two-criterion menu model was proposed as a means to explicate the performance results of the menu experiment.