The effects of graphical interface design characteristics on human-computer interaction task efficiency

TL;DR

This study investigates how the design and geometric features of graphical objects on screens influence user task efficiency, providing a validated model to optimize interface design for better human-computer interaction.

Contribution

It introduces a statistical model linking graphical object design characteristics to task efficiency, based on extensive experimental data.

Findings

Object size and configuration significantly affect acquisition time.

Graphical design features influence user task performance.

Model can guide interface prototyping and design improvements.

Abstract

The main objective of this paper was to investigate the effects of a computer screen interface design and its related geometrical characteristics of 36 graphical objects on a user's task efficiency. A total of 490 subjects took part in laboratory experiments that focused on the direct manipulation of a visual dialogue between a user and a computer. The subjects were asked to select an object from among a group of items randomly placed on the computer screen that were visible exclusively during the visual search process. A model expressing the mean object acquisition time as a function of graphical object size and the configuration was developed and statistically validated. The model showed an influence of geometrical design characteristics of the graphical objects (icons) and their groupings (icon structures) on the observed task efficiency. The reported results can be used at those stages of a software lifecycle that concentrate on prototyping, designing, and implementing graphical solutions for the efficient graphical user-computer interface.