article

A field evaluation of an adaptable two-interface design for feature-rich software

Authors:

Joanna McGrenere,

Ronald M. Baecker,

Kellogg S. BoothAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), Volume 14, Issue 1

Pages 3 - es

https://doi.org/10.1145/1229855.1229858

Published: 01 May 2007 Publication History

Abstract

Two approaches for supporting personalization in complex software are system-controlled adaptive menus and user-controlled adaptable menus. We evaluate a novel interface design for feature-rich productivity software based on adaptable menus. The design allows the user to easily customize a personalized interface, and also supports quick access to the default interface with all of the standard features. This design was prototyped as a front-end to a commercial word processor. A field experiment investigated users' personalizing behavior and tested the effects of different interface designs on users' satisfaction and their perceived ability to navigate, control, and learn the software. There were two conditions: a commercial word processor with adaptive menus and our prototype with adaptable menus for the same word processor. Our evaluation shows: (1) when provided with a flexible, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand customization mechanism, the majority of users do effectively personalize their interface; and (2) user-controlled interface adaptation with our adaptable menus results in better navigation and learnability, and allows for the adoption of different personalization strategies, as compared to a particular system-controlled adaptive menu system that implements a single strategy. We report qualitative data obtained from interviews and questionnaires with participants in the evaluation in addition to quantitative data.

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Baghestani ALatulipe CBunt A(2024)Older Adults' Collaborative Learning Dynamics When Exploring Feature-Rich SoftwareProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36373788:CSCW1(1-27)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3637378
Miraz MAli MExcell P(2021)Adaptive user interfaces and universal usability through plasticity of user interface designComputer Science Review10.1016/j.cosrev.2021.10036340:COnline publication date: 1-May-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.cosrev.2021.100363
Kataria P(2021)Towards a Semantic Classification of Possible Human-to-Environment Interactions in IoTDistributed, Ambient and Pervasive Interactions10.1007/978-3-030-77015-0_10(135-152)Online publication date: 24-Jul-2021
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Index Terms

A field evaluation of an adaptable two-interface design for feature-rich software
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
  2. Interaction design
    1. Interaction design theory, concepts and paradigms

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Information

Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction Volume 14, Issue 1

May 2007

159 pages

ISSN:1073-0516

EISSN:1557-7325

DOI:10.1145/1229855

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Copyright © 2007 ACM.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 May 2007

Published in TOCHI Volume 14, Issue 1

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Cited By

Baghestani ALatulipe CBunt A(2024)Older Adults' Collaborative Learning Dynamics When Exploring Feature-Rich SoftwareProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36373788:CSCW1(1-27)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3637378
Miraz MAli MExcell P(2021)Adaptive user interfaces and universal usability through plasticity of user interface designComputer Science Review10.1016/j.cosrev.2021.10036340:COnline publication date: 1-May-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.cosrev.2021.100363
Kataria P(2021)Towards a Semantic Classification of Possible Human-to-Environment Interactions in IoTDistributed, Ambient and Pervasive Interactions10.1007/978-3-030-77015-0_10(135-152)Online publication date: 24-Jul-2021
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-030-77015-0_10
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