Interface complexity of personal digital assistant [Elektronische Ressource] : an empirical study of linear and non-linear menu / Sanjay Kumar Tripathi

Sanjay Mishra

Sujets

• Psychologie

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• Publié par: universitat_flensburg
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 44
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

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INTERFACE COMPLEXITY
OF
PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT

An empirical study of linear and non-linear menu







By

SANJAY KUMAR TRIPATHI












A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO UNIVERSITY OF FLENSBURG
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF FLENSBURG
GERMANY

2006





© Sanjay Kumar Tripathi, 2006 Summary of Performance Option in Lieu of Thesis Presented to the University of
Flensburg in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Dr.rer.pol.

INTERFACE COMPLEXITY OF PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT
An empirical study of linear and non-linear menu

By
SANJAY KUMAR TRIPATHI
November’ 2006
Head of the examination chair: Prof. Dr. Willi Petersen
Chair: Prof.Dr. Heiner Dunckel
Co-chair: Prof. Dr. Marianne Resch
External- Chair: Prof. Dr. Susanne Maaß

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Researches into usable interface of small screen portable devices are rare in academic field.
The proposed study addresses the problems of interface complexity of ever becoming small
devices. This thesis resulted from applied research using experiment based- empirical study
on the use of small screen display interface of personal digital assistants. The whole study is
carried out in the light of man- technology and organisation relationship. Small screen display
interfaces are quite often used in specific organisational setting e.g. medical equipment used
by medical practitioner in hospitals. In these specific settings, usability of these interfaces is
a matter of great consideration. This thesis discusses interaction design patterns as a
promising technique to incorporate explicit design knowledge into the design process. User
interfaces are composed of many elements that are put into a specific structure. Patterns are
a means to try to understand why some arrangements of elements are better compared to
other and under which circumstances. This is exactly the kind of knowledge, which gives
designers a better understanding of their tools of the trade so they will get better at using
them. In order to make user interface design more of a human- engineering discipline, it
needs to excel in analysing the problem well and creating solutions using valuable design
knowledge. User interfaces in PDAs mostly consisting linearly arranged menu as they are
directly translated from their desktop counterpart. On a typical desktop screen, the user has
many different ways to interact, often with varied interaction styles (menus, direct
manipulation, text, etc). The desktop environment is rich compare to the “impoverished”
interfaces of handheld devices. While a range of menu placement and manipulation schemes
have been proposed for large screen devices, these schemes are not appropriate to handheld
devices. This study helps us in understanding linear and non-linear types of menu
arrangements and their complexity of use in small screen devices. Additionally effect of menu
depth in users performance is determined in case of most widely used linear type of menu
structures. This dissertation examines use of non-linear menu in small screen devices and
tests if they are proved usable when used for specific organisational tasks. This dissertation is
furnished in way to provide empirical results on linearity and non-linearity of menu structure
in small display devices.
Keywords: User Interface, Personal digital assistant, Linear and non-linear menu, Man-
Technology- Organisation, MTO, Human-Computer- Interaction, Usability, Interaction design



Dedication
To
My Parents,
For all the love and care, you have given to me.
ii
Acknowledgment
After two degrees, in two countries, at three universities, in four different
disciplines, I have learned one thing – I could never have done any of this, particularly the
research and writing that went into this dissertation, without the support and
encouragement of many people.
First, I would like to thank my advisor, Heiner Dunckel. I owe you so much. You have
been my mentor, my confidant, and a never-ending fount of moral support. Your
constructive criticism and cooperation have been tremendous assets throughout my
dissertation. You have given so much of yourself to help me succeed. If I do take the
academic path, I only hope that I can be half the advisor that you have been to me.
Whatever path I do take, I will be prepared because of you.
I also thank my co-advisor Marianne Resch, who extended her support to me
immediately whenever I needed it. It becomes more valued when she extended her consent
to supervise my thesis despite her poor health condition. I heartily acknowledge her and
wish to be happy and healthy.
I have also been fortunate to have a group of fantastic friends at Flensburg. This
includes my neighbours Marika, Thomas, Nicola and Andreas, who were always ready to
extend their help whenever I needed. During my stay in Hamburg my apartment colleague
Michael Möller have been a great support for me, I must thank him especially for those
moments when I felt depressed and morally week. Thank you very much Michael!
I would like to express my special thanks to Axel wise and Renate, who has been
more than a friend to me. It was not easy for me to complete my thesis facing very much
adverse conditions which gone against me every time unfortunately, it was you: Axel and
Renate who supported me financially and moreover emotionally without I can not imagine
myself to write these paragraphs. I am very grateful and obliged for your continuous
support.
This work would not have been possible without the support of my best friend and
now my wife, Divya. You are always there for me, when I need help with my research and
when I need moral support. You were instrumental in helping me find my dissertation topic
and in helping me get past all the self-doubting that inevitably crops up in the course of a
doctoral thesis. You are the first person I turn to in good times and in bad. You have given
me the courage to make the next transitions in my life. For all of this, I thank you.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to my family: Papa, Amma, Pushpa-Vijay,
Anju-Ajay, Manoj, Girija, Uma, Madhu, Loncoln, Astha, Robin, Nishi, Anubha, Monish,
Harshita, Rishabh and Tanmay. Your unending support and love from childhood to now, I
never would have made it through this process or any of the tough times in my life. Thank
you.
iii Table of content
Abstract........................................................................................................................................i
Dedication...................................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgment ......................................................................................................................iii
Table of content ........................................................................................................................iv
List of Figures .........................................................................................................................viii
List of Tables..............................................................................................................................x
List of Names and Acronyms ..................................................................................................xi
Key Definitions.........................................................................................................................xii
Chapter 1........................................................................................................................1
Overview and motivation .................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................1
1.2 Motivation.....................................................................................................................2
1.3 Human Computer Interaction (HCI)........................................................................5
1.4 Mobile HCI: Status and problems associated with interfaces ...............................8
1.5 Research model: MTO as conceptual foundation..................................................14
1.6 MTO: socio-technical consideration........................................................................17
1.6.1 Socially compatible technology ........................................................................................... 18
1.6.2 Socio-technical implications ................................................................................................ 20
1.7 Human centeredness of technology .......................................................................22
Discussion: MTO and germen perspective of human- centeredness ................................23
1.8 Research background and justification of the study .............................................25