Towards Better Command Selection Mechanisms for GUIs

输入设备的不断改进和新的交互技术的发展使得研究人员和实践者很难识别图形命令选择机制的关键特征。 在这个项目中，PI将通过开发一种新的用于图形界面的命令选择机制分类来解决这个问题。我们的目标是确定每种技术的基本特征，了解每种特征的优点和缺点，并研究它们可能的相互作用。 为此，PI将开发一种符号，为比较现有技术提供一个强大的工具，也将作为传感和交互设计领域富有成效的未来发展的路线图。 按照以前的模型（如GOMS家族）的例子，PI的符号将基于系统的研究和经验评估的关键性状相关的命令选择。 这将有助于准确预测新技术的性能，并对不同选项在为新系列设备创建命令选择机制方面的相对重要性有一个清晰、定量的了解。 作为这一阶段工作的一部分，PI将调查用户如何从需要视觉反馈的操作模式过渡到主要依赖肌肉记忆的操作模式。 虽然前者是相对较好地理解和捕获的费特和阿科特的法律，后者仍然是实验未探索。这项研究将使用眼动追踪技术作为主要的调查工具。 最后，PI将通过重新评估现有技术来说明他的符号的潜力，并通过开发一种基于目标交叉而不是指向和点击的平板电脑的有效新界面。 最近的实验结果表明，在许多常见的任务中，跨越目标至少和瞄准目标一样有效。 这使得跨越目标的范式成为一个强大的竞争者，作为一个流体和高效的命令选择机制笔computing.Broader影响：通过提供一个更好的理解之间的相互作用的硬件，交互结构和用户的技能水平，这项研究将创造一个坚实的基础，系统的探索设计空间。 PI的发现将减少基本图形命令选择的内在复杂性。 特别是，从程序到自主互动的过渡研究将帮助中间用户更快地达到专家的性能，并提高易用性困难的互动，如导航级联菜单。 最后，基于目标交叉的新交互范例的探索将允许基于笔的系统的用户与这些设备更流畅地交互。 该项目这一部分的主要成果之一将是一个基于目标交叉互动的新工具包，PI将免费提供给其他研究人员。

Continuing improvements in input devices and the development of new interaction techniques make it difficult for researchers and practitioners alike to identify the key traits of graphical command selection mechanisms. In this project, the PI will address this problem by developing a new taxonomy of command selection mechanisms used in graphical interfaces. The goal is to identify the fundamental traits of each technique, understand the pros and cons of each of these traits, and study their possible interactions. To this end, the PI will develop a notation that provides a powerful tool for comparing existing technique, and that will also serve as a road map for fruitful future development in the domains of sensing and interaction design. Following the example of previous models (e.g. the GOMS family), the PI's notation will be grounded in systematic study and empirical evaluations of the key traits relevant to command selection. This will allow for accurate predictions of the performance of new techniques and provide a clear, quantitative understanding of the relative importance of different options in creating command selection mechanisms for new families of devices. As part of this phase of the work, the PI will investigate how users transition from a mode of operation requiring visual feedback to a mode of operation relying mostly on muscle memory. While the former is relatively well understood and captured by Fitt's and Accot's laws, the latter is still experimentally unexplored. This line of study will use eye-tracking technology as its main investigative tool. Finally, the PI will illustrate the potential of his notation by re-evaluating existing techniques, and by developing an efficient new interface for tablet computers based on goal-crossing instead of pointing-and-clicking. Recent empirical results have shown that goal crossing is at least as efficient as aiming in many common tasks. This makes the goal-crossing paradigm a strong contender as a fluid and efficient command selection mechanism for pen computing.Broader Impact: By providing a better understanding of the interplay among hardware, interaction structure, and user skill level, this research will create a solid foundation for a systematic exploration of the design space. The PI's findings will reduce the intrinsic complexity of basic graphical command selection. In particular, the studies on the transition from procedural to autonomous interaction will help intermediate users reach expert performance more rapidly, and improve ease of use for difficult interactions such as navigating a cascading menu. Finally, exploration of a new interaction paradigm based on goal-crossing will allow users of pen-based systems to interact more fluidly with these devices. One of the main outcomes of this part of the project will be a new toolkit based on goal-crossing interactions, which the PI will make freely available to other researchers.