The Role of Excursions in Interactive Systems

Article Abstract:

Two forms of man-machine dialogue are presented: the excursion tour and direct way dialogue. The distinction between these two forms is based on cognitive psychological theory. The distinction corresponds to that between planning and performance, or between knowing and doing. The excursion tour is a sequence of operations which gather information that enable the user to learn the commands necessary to change one's data sets. It is shown how excursions can overcome situations known as interactive deadlock or unsolvable incongruence. Such a situation is one in which there is either no command which will further an essential subgoal or the user has no way of finding out about it within the system. The inclusion of excursion tours makes systems more self-explanatory and, therefore, more user-friendly.

Systems analysis, Frustration, Interactive Systems, User-Friendliness, Theory, Online Help File

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What We Do Not Know About Man-Machine Systems

Article Abstract:

Physicalistic descriptions of humans in man-machine systems are often used. But this tendency is inadequate because it can not account for those aspects of human beings which are not machine- like. As man-machine systems become more complex, the inadequacy becomes more apparant. An alternative approach is presented here. It is to describe man in psychological terms and then to add in the physicalistic ones. Such an approach clarifies problems such as how performance is shaped, how strategies are made, how mistakes in decisions occur, et cetera. The above cannot be described or understood with the traditional approach.

Models, Psychological Issue, Performance Prediction

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A Methodology for Interactive Evaluation of User Reactions to Software Packages: An Empirical Analysis of System Performance, and Run Time

Article Abstract:

The perceived usefulness of Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) is defined by a performance score. Data from a sample of 146 novice programmers was secured from tests made at the terminal and matched to models. The statistical results are shown in some of the fourteen tables. In addition to important clues for software designers and implementers, the study concludes that data collection at the terminal is most effective.

Education, Computer assisted instruction, Evaluation, Software Packages, Computer-Assisted Instruction, Study, Student, Data Collection, Statistical Analysis

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