[Sigia-l] RE: Maximum time for completing a task

[A. Simon Mielniczuk]

While I don't have a research reference, I would add to Jay's comment about
the mental model. It very much depends on the skills of the user. In my
experience with software UI, skilled users with in depth task knowledge
prefer a comprehensive form, probably because it better fits both mental
model and task processing ability. 

__________________________________
A. Simon Mielniczuk - Solutions Architect
ITS Co-operative Inc. Toronto, ON. Canada
www.itscooperative.com
416.828.2118 - simon at itscooperative.com

 

-----Original Message-----
From: sigia-l-bounces at asis.org [mailto:sigia-l-bounces at asis.org] On Behalf
Of Jay Luker
...

I will say this: you should always try to have the complexity of the
interface in accordance with the complexity of the task. Breaking things up
into a wizard style series of smaller forms != reduced complexity and might
even increase it if it makes it difficult for the user to maintain a mental
representation of what the system is doing.
...

On 12/8/05, Geri Modell <GMODELL at lds.com> wrote:
> I would also like to know if anyone is aware of research/studies done 
> to determine - for a complex task-oriented application - the max # of 
> features or tasks that should be placed on each page.  Is it best to 
> condense many tasks onto one page, or better to have users click their 
> way thru a series of simpler pages, each w/one task?  Thanks!

...