The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002: §252c Home Papers/Indices prev (§252b) Next (§252d)

Paper (refereed) Human Factors in IT

Recommended Citation: Hsu, J. Internet Programming, Manual Coding and Wizards: A Study of User Interaction Mode Impacts on Markup Language Performance and Satisfaction. In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002, v 19 (San Antonio): §252c. ISSN: 1542-7382.

Internet Programming, Manual Coding and Wizards: A Study of User Interaction Mode Impacts on Markup Language Performance and Satisfaction

Refereed

Jeffrey Hsu    [a1] [a2]
Information Systems
Fairleigh Dickinson University    [u1] [u2]
Madison, New Jersey, USA    [c1] [c2]

The role of the user interface is of key importance, since the mode of interaction can have an impact on both performance and satisfaction with regards to using a programming language. A well-designed user interface can improve performance and satisfaction, while a poorly designed one can reduce levels of these. While markup languages are now widely used for web page and site design, and electronic publishing applications, they have not been studied adequately compared with other kinds of languages. The impact of interaction mode, in this case command-based coding, versus using a form-fill-in wizard, is examined, with respect to performance and satisfaction while performing a survey-oriented task. Skill level, which classified users as being either a novice or experienced, was another factor which was taken into account in this study. The results showed that the use of wizards brought about better performance than using the command language, and the difference between modes was far greater for novices rather than experienced users. In addition, using the wizard tended to equalize performance across skill levels. With regards to system satisfaction, there were significant differences between interaction modes, however no differences were reported between skill levels. These differences in performance and satisfaction should be noted and considered when designing interactive systems for programming-related applications.

Keywords: interaction mode, user interface, command language, wizard, performance, system satisfaction

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