CHI

There is a rich and expanding folklore concerning the consequences of inappropriate naming of computer commands. The problems are particularly acute for occasional users of interactive systems who may be unfamiliar with the jargon of computing. While “...

Natural language would seem to have a strong effect on users' behavior with artificial command languages for interacting with computer systems.

We can divide the potential effects of natural language on command languages into: (a) effects on the names ...

An important feature of the design of human-computer interfaces is that of command languages: the vocabulary and syntax that allow a user to express commands to the system. If we look at command languages from the standpoint of natural languages, rather ...

In the office of the future, computers will be found in the work environment to accomplish many various tasks. Often times, one will find computer command languages built from words of natural language, thereby facilitating the use of these new office ...

Graphic symbols are being used more and more frequently in computer applications, as high resolution displays with advanced graphic capabilities become more common (for example, see [14]). The motivations for using graphic symbols—or icons, as they have ...

Principles of information-oriented graphic design have been utilized in redesigning the interface for a large information management system. These principles are explained and examples of typical screen formats are shown to indicate the nature of ...

The last half decade has witnessed a rapidly accelerating trend toward the application of video display terminal (VDT) technology for information management in the office workplace, and a growing body of scientific and anecdotal data on the implications ...

As the number of system users increases, the degree of formal training of the typical user declines. Techniques such as menu selection, which can best accommodate the novice user, almost necessarily must be included in a strategy for person-computer ...

To study a different star the astronomer moves his telescope. To study a different bacterium the biologist moves his microscope slide. In the case of the astronomer, it is the viewing instrument that is being moved, while in the case of the biologist it ...

An experiment was performed to evaluate the usefulness of an option for users of an automated information system to construct their own preferred formats for receiving intelligence messages. It was hypothesized that such an option would enhance the ...

The Cognition and Programming Group at Yale University is engaged in two complementary efforts:

1. exploring the programming process empirically, paying special attention to the knowledge and strategies which expert and non-experts employ, and

2. ...

This paper examines some aspects of the design considerations of the human-computer interface as related to personal computers. It is shown that the success of a popular personal computer software product, visiCalc, may be attributed to a thoughtful ...

In this paper, I will discuss two questions: (1) Why are computer games so captivating? and (2) How can the features that make computer games captivating be used to make other user interfaces interesting and enjoyable to use?

After briefly summarizing ...

Computerized information systems seemingly offer technical solutions to corporate organization and adjustment problems. This idea of the system as the solution has certainly become the focus of information industry rhetoric and sales propaganda. ...

Although our lives are all touched by computers these days, a great many people seem to be ambivalent about them, either fearing them or exhibiting reluctance about interacting with them. The most relevant study about attitudes towards computers was ...

Human Factors research is concerned primarily with minimizing unpredictable behavior in computer-based systems. Much Human Factors research stresses simplification of computer-based work into discrete, standard, and measurable sub-tasks. The performance ...

Too often Human Factors guidelines or checklists are of limited value. The reasons for following them and the degree to which they should be followed are not always apparent. These problems in conjunction with the fact that they are usually full of ...

Most presently available interactive computer interfaces treat their users in an unfriendly, uncooperative, and inflexible way, resulting in feelings of frustration and a conseqeuent loss of productivity for the users. These problems have led to ...

Computer-mediated communication systems represent a fairly new development in interactive computer systems.

This paper will summarize the procedures followed in the Delphi survey, and the results and will then turn to a more detailed treatment of the ...

As the complexity of human-computer interfaces increases, those who use these interfaces as well as those reponsible for their design have recognized an urgent need for substantive research in the human factors of software development [2], [5]. Because ...

Videotex systems are two-way communnication systems intended to give users access to large amounts of stored information from their homes and offices. These systems link computer databases to modified television sets over the telephone network. A ...

The research project in which we are involved seeks to improve the technical climate for experimentation with the human factors of interactive systems by developing tool Kits to aid the experimenter [3,5].

These capabilities are in two general areas: ...

Recent investigations into the psychological factors underlying computer programming have focused on the effects of internal documentation and statement indentation on programmer performance [1, 5, 7]. Using memory recall approaches several studies have ...

The success of any software development project depends in part on the quality of the communication among the individuals involved: users, designers, coders and managers. On large systems, a variety of individuals perform various tasks at different ...

The Problem of Optimizing Computer Program Documentation

Thls assessment is entlrely by trial and error, usually of the most informal and anecdotal kind. Given the propensity of computer sclence to invent and propose new kinds of documentation, a ...

Increasing the productivity of programmers has become a “hot” topic with both data processing managers and information systems researchers. Currently, there are not enough systems analysts and programmers available to develop all the applications that ...

This paper presents a methodology for evaluating computer text editors from the viewpoint of their users—from novices learning the editor to dedicated experts who have mastered the editor. The dimensions which this methodology addresses are:

—Time to ...

Designers of systems intended to be easy to use have many guidelines available to them in the literature. Most of these recommendations are based on the intuition and experiences of particular designers with particular systems. Very few of them have ...

Many techniques are employed in numbering lines for text editing. The simplest approach uses a single integer that changes each time a line is added or deleted (1). BASIC, in addition to other systems, uses fixed multi-digit numbers bound to each line. ...

For some time now we have also been interested in studying human factors aspects of computer text editors. We have surveyed the literature [9], and we have conducted several investigations of our own [10] ranging from an application of file-comparison ...