This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. and Morris, M. (1998) From "can they?" to "will they?": extending usability evaluation to address acceptance. AIS Conference Paper, Baltimore, August 1998. Introduction: usability engineering: Within the human-computer interaction (HCI) community, there exists a long and rich research paradigm on "usability engineering (UE)." Within the usability engineering tradition, usability is operationally defined as the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specified users can perform particular tasks in a given environment (see e.g., Shackel 1991, Nielsen, 1993). Effectiveness answers: can users perform their tasks? Efficiency means: what resources do users expend to achieve a given outcome (e.g., time, effort)? Finally, satisfaction measures assess how well users like the application. From this perspective, usability is contextually defined in operational terms that designers can see as targets to meet, for example: "Users should be able to perform specified tasks with new tool after W minutes training, with X% effectiveness, at least Y% efficiency, and Z% greater satisfaction than with old interface" where W < infinity, and 0< [X, Y, Z] <100. The strengths of the usability engineering approach include: 1. The use of operationalised measures that are negotiated in context, 2. The direct coupling of usability to tasks the tool must support, 3. The capability of negotiated targets to fit into an iterative design process, and 4. The decoupling of the usability construct from interface features Each of these strengths gives the approach value to the software industry where design practices require targets to be met and where the success of a new tool is determined contextually rather than in any absolute manner. Thus, the usability engineering paradigm has enjoyed a wide range of support from industry. Nonetheless, there are associated weaknesses of this approach. Some of these weaknesses include: 1. Usability criteria are dynamic, not fixed, 2. Usability is thus contextually determined so what works in one context may not work in another and design practices must continually ground themselves in work practices 3. Determining usability criteria requires considerable analytic skill, 4. Generalization beyond context is difficult, 5. Criteria do not determine re-design advice While the approach advocated by usability engineers of deriving appropriate targets for design and testing to meet is useful, it is clear that usability does not fully determine actual system use (see Dillon and Morris 1996). Thus, it is possible that designers may produce a well engineered artifact that meets set criteria, but still fails to gain the acceptance of discretionary users. In other words, usability is a necessary but insufficient determinant of use.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. and Shaap, D. (1996) Expertise and the perception of structure in discourse. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 47(10), 786-788. Abstract: Ability to navigate an information space may be influenced by the presence or absence of certain embedded cues that users have learned to recognize. Experimental results are presented which indicate that experienced readers of certain academic journals are more capable than inexperienced readers in locating themselves in an information space in the absence of explicit structural cues.

doi:10.1016/j.intcom.2004.04.008 / This paper addresses issues raised by the ever-expanding role of email as a multi-faceted application that combines communication, collaboration, and task management. Individual differences analysis was used to contrast two email user interfaces in terms of their demands on users. The results of this analysis were then interpreted in terms of their implications for designing more inclusive interfaces that meet the needs of users with widely ranging abilities. The specific target of this research is the development of a new type of email message representation that makes pending tasks more visible. We describe a study that compared a new way of representing tasks in an email inbox, with a more standard representation (the Microsoft Outlook inbox). The study consisted of an experiment that examined how people with different levels of three specific cognitive capabilities (flexibility of closure, visual memory, and working memory) perform when using these representations. We then identified combinations of representation and task that are disadvantageous for people with low levels of the measured capabilities.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. (1988) The role of usability labs in systems design. In: E. Megaw (ed.) Contemporary Ergonomics 88. London: Taylor and Francis, 69-73. Abstract: The issue of usability is a central concern for contemporary system designers and a major focus of research in the domain of HCI. In an attempt to evaluate the usability of products some companies have invested heavily in the the development of so-called "usability labs". Consisting of sophisticated video recording equipment and observation facilities, these laboratories may well be expected to provide insight into the process of interaction that would otherwise remain hidden. Is this in fact the case? Are usability labs the universal panacea for the problems of evaluation? The present paper outlines the advantages and details the limitations of such facilities and argues that the problems lie less with the laboratory and more with the evaluator.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Morris, M. and Dillon, A. (1996) The role of usability in the organizational standards setting process. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 45(2), 243-258. ABSTRACT: The rapid introduction of microcomputers into organizations throughout the last decade gave new importance to the analysis of how technology impacts organizations. In particular, research on usability has sought to become central to the design and selection of technology for large organizations. However, definitions and methods are not yet standardized. Data gathered from semi-structured interviews of three MIS managers and 125 end-users in three organizations suggest that differences in emphasis on, and definition of usability can exist between these two groups. Usability was not a central concern to managers when evaluating end-user software packages considered for adoption as the organizational standard, though it appeared to be so for end-users. Moreover, managers tended to consider and evaluate usability based only on features contained in the user interface, whereas end-users often cited contextual factors such as task and environmental considerations. Implications for technology assessment and future research into organizational impact of I.T. are presented.

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: McKnight, C., Dillon, A., and Richardson, J. (1990) A comparison of linear and hypertext formats in information retrieval. In R. McAleese and C. Green, Hypertext: state of the art, Oxford: Intellect, 10-19. Abstract An exploratory study is described in which the same text was presented to subjects in one of four formats, of which two were hypertext (TIES and Hypercard) and two were linear (Word Processor and paper). Subjects were required to use the text to answer 12 questions. Measurement was made of their time and accuracy and their movement through the document was recorded, in addition to a variety of subjective data being collected. Although there was no significant difference between conditions for task completion time, subjects performed more accurately with linear formats. The implications of these findings and the other data collected are discussed.

This paper discusses common errors emanating from authors submitting manuscripts or papers for publication in peer refereed Library and Information journals. It is hoped that this paper will provide established, novice and potential scholarly journal authorâ s with valuable information enabling the improvement of their manuscripts before submission for publication. The paper primarily uses the authorâ s experience as editor-in-chief of a peer refereed accredited LIS journal, among other experiences (e.g author, reviewer etc), as well as 85 peer reviewer reports on submitted manuscripts to the South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, to analyze and discuss common errors made by authors on submitted manuscripts for publication, and the challenges facing these authors.

No description available.

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBibl / Amongst university libraries e-books are gaining wider interest since the introduction of portable electronic reading devices and software-based readers. With the growing electronic environment within universities, a need for competent and knowledgeable librarians has come to the forefront of information seeking and use. The research question addressed in this study is to what extent are e-books being used among academic librarians in their work environment? The purpose of this study was to investigate the usage of e-books amongst academic librarians; in particular which e-books are available to academic librarians, why they choose this format, what impact e-books have on librarians’ professional practice and what the usage patterns of ebooks are amongst academic librarians. The methodology used to collect the data is survey research. An electronic questionnaire was distributed on the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) mailing list. The population sample for this study was the subject and reference librarians at South African university libraries who all subscribe to the LIASA mailing list. A user study is the theory that frames this research. The purpose of the user study was to obtain an overview of users’ habits, preferences, and conventions when interacting with in this case, ebooks in a work environment. The majority of user studies concerns clients of the library such as students or academics and how they search for information or what they want from a library service. This particular study is different. The academic librarians are the users in this instance and their use of e-books in their professional work the focus of the study. The results revealed that academic librarians (48% of respondents) would often select the e-book version before print materials if available within their institutions. The results reflect more a gradual trend towards e-book uptake. There is still a preference for print or a “bit of both” – print and electronic. This is because of the high costs of e-books using the subscription model as the predominant e-book acquisition model and the lack of sufficient e-books in all subject fields. Ebooks are used for “browsing for information” and are selected for functionalities such as having the ability to search the document, anytime access and automatic citation. Major problems identified with e-books are (1) the cost of the equipment to read e-book formats, (2) the cost of the e-books especially if the subscription purchasing model is used, (3) the reliability of the internet and (4) the lack of training in how to use e-books. The study concludes by making recommendations for further research.

Mobile robots can be used in situations and environments that are distant from an operator. In order for an operator to control a robot effectively he or she requires an understanding of the environment and situation around the robot. Since the robot is at a remote distant from the operator and cannot be directly observed, the information necessary for an operator to develop an understanding or awareness of the robot's situation comes from the user interface. The usefulness of the interface depends on the manner in which the information from the remote environment is presented. Conventional interfaces for interacting with mobile robots typically present information in a multi-windowed display where different sets of information are presented in different windows. The disjoint sets of information require significant cognitive processing on the part of the operator to interpret and understand the information. To reduce the cognitive effort to interpret the information from a mobile robot, requirements and technology for a three-dimensional augmented virtuality interface are presented. The 3D interface is designed to combine multiple sets of informationinto a single correlated window which can reduce the cognitive processing required to interpret and understand the information in comparison to a conventional (2D) interface. The usefulness of the 3D interface is validated, in comparison to a prototype of conventional 2D interfaces, through a series of navigation- and exploration-based user-studies. The user studies reveal that operators are able to drive the robot, build maps, find and identify items, and finish tasks faster with the 3D interface than with the 2D interface. Moreover, operators have fewer collisions, void walls better, and use a pan-tilt-zoom camera more with the 3D interface than with the 2D interface. Performance with the 3D interface is also more tolerant to network delay and distracting sets of information. Finally, principles for presenting multiple sets of information to a robot operator are presented. The principles are used to discuss and illustrate possible extensions of the 3D interface to other domains.