An Investigation into the design and effectiveness of interactive multimedia interfaces

Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT Scholar Works

Theses Thesis/Dissertation Collections

1994

An Investigation into the design and effectiveness of

interactive multimedia interfaces

Tara Ann Holod

Follow this and additional works at:http://scholarworks.rit.edu/theses

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Recommended Citation

School of Printing Management and Sciences Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, New York

Certificate of Approval

Master's Thesis

This is to certify that the Master's Thesis of

Tara Ann Holod

With a major in Graphic Arts Publishing

has been approved by the Thesis Committee as satisfactory for the thesis requirement for the Master of Science degree.

Thesis Committee:

FrankJ. Romano

Thesis Advisor

Marie Freckleton

Graduate Program Coordinator

C. H. Goffin

AnInvestigationInto the DesignandEffectiveness

ofInteractive Multimedia _Interfaces

byTaraAnn Holod

Athesisproposal submittedin partialfulfillment of

the requirements forthe degreeofMasterofScience

inthe Schoolof_PrintingManagement & Sciences

in theCollegeof_ImagingArts & Sciences

at theRochester Institute of_Technology

An Investigation Into the Design and Effectiveness of Interactive Multimedia Interfaces

I, Tara Ann Holod , hereby grant permission to the Wallace Memorial Library of RI.T. to reproduce my thesis in whole or in pan. Any reproduction will not be for

commercial use or profit.

I dedicate this thesis to _myfather.

Acknowledgments

I wouldliketo thankA'isha Ajayi and Frank Romano for

letting

Table Of Contents

TableofFigures vi

Abstract vii

Chapter 1

Introduction 1

Chapter2

TheoreticalBasis of_Study 3

Chapter 3

ReviewofLiterature 4

Chapter 4

StatementofProblem ₅

Chapter 5

Methodology 6

Critique Sheets Used for_Survey 9

Chapter6

The Results 11

Navigation 11

HelpSystems 15

Button Feedback 18

General Questions 20

Chapter7

Summary & Conclusions 23

Chapter 8

Areas for Further_{Study 25}

Bibliography 26

AppendixA 28

AppendixA

Screen Captures From Researched CD-ROMs 29

Appendix B 61

AppendixB

ListofFigures

Figure 1 11

Figure2 12

Figure 3 12

Figure4 13

Figure 5 14

Figure6 14

Figure7 15

Figure 8 16

Figure 9 16

Figure 10 17

Figure 11 17

Figure 12 18

Figure 13 19

Figure 14 19

Figure 15 20

Figure 16 20

Figure 17 21

Figure 18 21

Figure 19 21

Abstract

"Humanabilities shouldbeamplified, not_{impeded,byusing}

MarkT. _Maybury

Inanattemptto evaluate theeffectiveness of various screeninterfacesutilizedininteractive

multimedia,aninteractivethesis projectwas preparedtoconducttests.Walt_Disneyanima

tionwas chosen forthe theme.Theprojectwasduplicatedso that therewerethreeidentical

copies

-each_representingdifferentstyles ofinterfacenavigation,button feedback,and

"Help"

systems. Themultimedia projectsweredisplayedon _neighboringcomputers simul

taneouslysothata personcould move_directlyfromoneto anotherwithease and no_disrup

tions. Eachperson was given an evaluation sheetforeachmultimediaproject and completed

them one at atime.Thesheets were thentalliedand analyzedforsigns offavoritismtoward

anystyleinparticular.

"Multimediainterfacesare computerinterfacesthatcommunicate with users

usingmultiplemedia(e.g., language,graphics, animation, video,

non-speechaudio),sometimes_usingmultiple modes togethersuchas written

text togetherwith spoken

language"

(Maybury, 1993).

Thethreestyles ofinterfacenavigationthat theauthortested are as_follows; arectangular

navigation palette _containingall_necessarybuttons,a navigationbaronthebottomright

containinggeneral navigationbuttonswiththe morespecificbuttonsnextto their represen

tativeareas onthemonitor,andlast,aninterfacewithall ofthebuttonsscattered across the

Forbutton_feedback,visual feedback_{(highlighting}abutton)wastestedagainstverbalfeed

back(a"click"). One interfacehadnobutton feedbackat all.

One"Help"systemwascreatedasadiagram,oneanimated,and onethatwastextonly.

Interfacesare criticalin _determiningthesuccess and/orfailureof_anypieceof multimedia on

the market today.Themaingoal ofmost multimediaprojectsisto presentinformationof

somekind._ManyoftheCD-ROMsonthemarket_todayhave_vastlydifferentinterfaces

evenforthe mostbasicofcommands.Thisaddsto theconsumer's confusionasto howto

navigate throughaprojecttofindthedesiredinformation.

Thisproject yielded some_surprisingresults,forinstance,oneclass,when_verballysurveyed

after_testingand_evaluatingthe multimediaprojects,gaveresponses thatwere_equallydivided

intothirdswhenaskedwhichinterface navigation method_theypreferred.Thiswasas sur

prisingto theauthor as itwastothemwho each_clearlythought thattheir methodwas the best (andproceededto_tryandtelleach other so ratherloudly).

Another_interestingresultfoundwasthat males preferred theverbalbuttonfeedback

("click") andthefemalespreferred thevisualbutton feedback_{(highlighting}thebutton). In

somecases,themalesdidnot notice thevisualfeedbackuntilitwasdiscussed atthe endof

class.

Theresults ofthisprojectprovidedsome muchneededinterfacedesignstatistics andcom

mentswhich willenabledesignerstobetterunderstand consumerpreferencesandmake

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Manycurrent usersofCD-ROMsare middle-aged.Thesepeoplegrew_upbeforethecom

puter agebecamethe_{reality it}is todaywithaPCon_everydesk. Unliketheir children_they

are not as comfortable nor aspatientwiththe new technologies _beingdevelopedand often

havetrouble_keepingthemselvesopenminded. _{If they}encounterproblems while_utilizinga

new_{technology,they}arefarmore_likelytogive_upratherthanwaste precioustime_figuring

itout.

ThecurrentCD-ROMs onthemarkethaveinterfacesthatare_significandydifferent.There

isno rhymeorreason_linkingoneCD-ROMto thenext.Thiscan be confusingand

unset-dingforthecurrent adult generation who grew_uponthe premise thatifyoulearn howto

use one particularitemthenyoucould_applywhat youlearnedtoall similaritems.

Thisthesis project teststhedesignand effectiveness of various styles of_navigation,various

formsofbutton feedbackand various

"Help"

systems.Thesespecific areas were chosen after

researchingoverfiftyCD-ROMsand_evaluatingtheirinterfaces.An interactive projectwas

createdwithaWaltDisneytheme. Itwas _correctlyguessedthatanon-threatening, entertain

ingthemesuch asWalt Disney'sanimatedclassics would enhance

students'

willingnessto

participate.

A"Help"systemis anyformof_helpavailable toyou within aspecificapplication onthe

computer.A relativelywellknownexample ofthis istheBalloon_Helpthatis availableon

responding. Inother cases thereissomeverbal formoffeedbacksuchasa_clickingnoise.

Theseformsofbutton feedbackinformyouthat thecomputerknowsthatyouhavepressed

thatbuttonandthatithasnotinfactcrashed,it is merely_{processing data.}Anavigationsys

tem contains allofthebuttonsneededto operateaninteractiveproject of_anytype(both

navigationbuttonsand action-specificbuttons).Navigation buttonsarethosebuttonsneed

edfor navigatingor_travelingthroughoutan interactiveprojectof_anyform.Action-specific buttonsarethosebuttonsthat performsomeaction such as_playinga movie or a sound.

Theresults gathered shouldindicatewhetherthere isa specific styleofinterfacethatismore

universallyunderstood as well as whether or notthere might bea needforsomesort of stan

dardizationofCD-ROMnavigationsystems,

"Help"

CHAPTER2

Theoretical BasisofStudy

AccordingtoMark_Maybury,"Ifappropriate mediaare utilizedfor humancomputerinter

action,thereisthepotentialto ₍₁₎ increasethebandwidthofinformationflowbetween

humanand machine(that_is,theraw number ofbits ofinformation_beingcommunicated),

and₍₂₎ improvethe signal-to-noise ratioofthis_information, (that_is,theamount of useful

bitsconveyed)".Todothis,however,wemusthaveabetter knowledgeof all ofthepiecesto

thispuzzle.

Theknowledgewedogainkeeps_gettinghindered_bythe"... proliferation of newinterac

tivedevices (dataglovesandbodysuits,headmounteddisplays,threedimensionalsound),

thelackofstandards,and apoor oratleastill-appliedknowledgeofhuman cognitiveand

physical capabilitieswithrespecttomultimedia

devices"

(Maybury, 1993).

There isstill so muchtobe learnedinorderto understandthe principlesofmultimedia

communicationandthe_resultingimpactforuserseverywhere. _{"Understanding}these princi

pleswillnot_onlyresultinbettermodelsandinteractive devices, butalsoleadto new tools

forcontext-sensitivemultimediahelp,automatedand semi-automated multimediainterface

construction,andintelligentagentsformultimediainformation retrieval, processing,presen

tation,and (Maybury, 1993).

Byevaluatingtheeffectiveness of variouspartsof multimedia_interfaces,someinformation

was generatedthatmultimediadesignerscan utilizetoincreasethe_qualityofinteractivepro

CHAPTER 3

ReviewOfLiterature

Mark Maybury'sbookIntelligent MultimediaInterfacestakesalookatdifferenttypes of

media andwaysto assemble themintoanarticulate, intelligent interface. This bookwasat

times too_{technical,dealing}withlayers,hierarchiesand_programmingbutifyouread

betweenthelinesandgeneralizeit,itbecomes_veryhelpfulwhen_dealingwiththissubject.

User Interface Development Design_byGaryPerlmanofOhio State_Universityis an_interesting

lookat_creatinganinterfacebasedon a chapters fullof oudine-style concepts.Thiswas_very

helpfulas itwas_verystraightto the pointand concise.Itoftenprovideda roughoudine or

checklistthatwasusedto_keeptheauthor ontrack throughout the process of_creatingthis

project.

HyperCardStackDesign Guidlines_byAppleComputer,Inc. isan_extremelyusefulbook. It

explainshowtomake stacks (projects) thatare_easytonavigate and covers several relevant

elements suchasgraphics,buttons,text andfields,and music and sound. Italsodiscusses

howtobuildastack(forthosewhohaveneverdoneso)and howto marketstacks forpeo

plewithspecial considerations(forthoseforwhomEnglish isa secondlanguage, etc).There

isalso a_veryhelpfulsectionthatcontainsa_summaryofApple'sHuman Interface Guidelines

as_theyrelateto_buildingastack.

Thesearethe threesourcesthatwerethe mostbeneficialin _helpingto understand thecur

rentproblemsandtrends inmultimediastacks andinterfaces. Intelligent Multimedia

CHAPTER 4

Statement ofProblem

Thefocusofthis thesiswasto investigatethedesignand effectiveness ofinteractivemultime

diainterfaces_byanalyzingatleast_fiftydifferentCD-ROMs_beingsoldinthe marketplace

today,_choosingspecificproblemareas fromtheCD-ROMsand_creatingmyown multime

diaproject(withvariations oftheseproblem_areas) to beevaluated.Atest_groupof students

navigatedthrough the author'sfinalprojectandrecorded theirresults.Thisprovided some

muchneededinformationfor bothstudentsandprofessionals_{interested in creating}multi

mediaprojects inthenearfuture.

Thereference materialsused nevergetintothespecifics_concerningthe _relationshipofthe

placementofnavigationbuttonsto thegender ofthe user,forinstance. The relationshipof a

person'soccupation (orintended_occupation)to theirpreferencesisanother areathat the

author wouldliketoexplore. Isthereadifference betweena creativeperson's preferences and

a scientific persons preferences?

Byansweringtheseand other_closelyrelatedquestions,wecanbeginto understand theprin

ciplesthatdirect

peoples'

actions and createtofitwithintheseprinciples. Ifthisis_possible,it

couldincreasethe_capacityfor_learningand_{understanding in}a multimediaenvironment.

Dueto theonslaught ofnew_technologythatutilizes interfacedesign,thesooner ourcoun

terparts and their

methods'

of_evaluatingthings areunderstood,thesoonerthisinformation

canbeputtousewithinthis_technologywhich will earnpraise andincreasesalestremen

CHAPTER 5

Methodology

AlargeselectionofCD-ROMswasborrowed fromafewpeople,fromtheauthor's private

collection andfromtheWallaceMemorial Library. OutoftheCD-ROMsborrowed,thir

teenwereselectedfortheir_{interface design (most}oftherest werefoundto be_lackinginthis

area).

Eachofthe thirteenwereinsertedintotheCD-ROMdriveonaMacintoshCentris 660av

computerTheauthorspentatleastahalfanhour exploringeachdisc. Astheindividual

discswereviewed,theauthortooksnapshots (screendumps) ofthescreen _usingan extension

calledExposure Pro. Aftereachdiscreview,theauthor would spend afewminutes_jotting

down firstimpressions. Whenall ofthediscswereviewed, thesnapshots were placedintoa

QuarkXpress 3.3 documentandprintedwith aCanon Laser Copier 500.

Theprintouts provided a physical_copytoworkfromas thescreenshots fromeachdiscwere

viewedmoreclosely. _Everydiscwas_extremelydifferent. SomehadgreatHELPareaswhile

othershadno_helpwhatsoever.Somehad buttonsthatgaveno feedbackandlefttheauthor

towonderifitwas_{really working}orifthemachinehadcrashed. Othershadexcellentinter

facesthatlefttheauthorwith noquestionstoponder.

Withthisrange ofinterfaces itwasdifficulttochosespecific areasto testbecausetherewere

so_manytochoosefrom. Theauthorchosethefollowing; buttonfeedback,"Help" systems

andnavigation.Theseseemedtobethegreatestareasofdifference between discs.These

Atthispointitwasdecidedthat the authorwas_goingto create one projectinHyperStudio

2.0andduplicate_itthreetimes_producingthreeidenticalstacks. Eachofthesestacks would

containadifferentversion of eachthese three testareas.Asthe projectwas _beingputtogeth

er,itwas decidedwhich version of whichtest areawouldbeusedineachstack. ForstackA,

itwasdecidedthatvisualbutton feedback_{(highlighting),}a navigation palette_containing

both navigation and action-specificbuttons anda

"Help"

system_containingadiagram

wouldbeused. StackB contained no buttonfeedback,animated"Help",and navigation

buttons bar-styleonthebottomrightwithaction-specificbuttonsnextto their relevantareas

ofthe monitor.StackCcontainedverbal button feedback_("click"),a straightforwardtext

"Help"

systemand navigationandaction-specificbuttons bothscatteredaboutthemonitor.

Walt Disney'sanimatedclassicswerechosen as the themeinhopesthat thiswouldact as an

ice-breakerand motivate peopleto respondat a greaterrateboth_verballyandinwriting.

Adobe_Photoshop 2.5.1 andKai's PowerToolswereusedtocreate all ofthebuttons.The

stillimageswerescanned72dpi (screenresolution) _usinganAgfa Horizonscanner. The

movies andsounds were captured_usingaVCRattachedtoaMacintoshQuadra_660av.

FusionRecorder_byVideofusionwasthevideocapture softwareused.AdobePremierwas

usedtocapturetheaudio clips and create movies _byeditinginthe stills_containingthename

ofthesound(madeinPhotoshop). Allofthese pieceswerestored onSyquestdiscsand 128

Mb MOdiscs.

Thepieceswere put togetherin HyperStudio,amultimedia_authoringtool.This_authoring

toolwas chosenbecauseoftheauthorsinterest in_testingbasicelementsofinterface_design,

notbecausetherewas aninterest in_stretchingthelimitsofmultimedia. Inthe author's opin

Oncethesestacks were_completed,A_surveywas createdthatincludedquestions about the

useabilityofthe areasinquestion aswellassome questions aboutinterfacedesigningeneral.

Areasforopinionsonthe possible standardizationofinterfaceswerealsoincluded. Each

question was answeredona scaleofonetofive.

The_followingclasses were surveyed(withinstructorpermission); Frank Romano's Electronic

Publishingundergraduate course andA'isha Ajayi's Electronic Communications in_Printing

&_Publishingundergraduateclass.Co-workersatRIT's Research Corporationwerealso sur

veyed as wellasthe author's friends.Alargecross-sectionofpeople was gathered,fromsecre

taries tocolor_scientists, male andfemale.Atotalof_fiftysurveys were completed.

The_{first thing}theauthornoticedwas thatpeoplehad fun surveyingthis thesisproject. The

Walt_Disneythemeworkedbeautifully. Itmadeeventhemostnervouspersonrelax,laugh

and smile. Most_importandythe themeallowedthem tocommunicate_easilybecauseofthe

familiaritywiththesubjectmatter. Intheclasses thatweresurveyed, itdidn'ttake_longfor

everyone to_enjoythemselves,some even stayedlatebecause_theywantedto makesure_they

hadseen_everythinginthestacks.The inter-classbanterthatwas overheardwas valuable

becausethestudents were_expressingthemselves_freelyandtherewas no pressure. Thetheme

andthe typeof_surveyused werejudgedbytheauthortobethecorrectchoices.

Theresults were then enteredinto Microsoft Exceland charted.Thecharts aredisplayedin

CHAPTER6.

Least Most

No Yes

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

Critique

Sheet

for

Interactive

Interfaces

Male Female Major

Nameofinteractiveproject ABC

Complete (and _check) thefollowing:

? Findthe_Help button and explore Help.

[J Findthe quicktime movie control panel.

Q Playaquicktime moviefrom each oftheanimated classics (4).

P] Find thesoundcontrolpanel.

[J Playa sound from each ofthe animated classics (4).

[J Find aquitorexitbuttonandwhen you are _ready, use it.

Help (please_circle) Was _Helpeasyto find?

Was _Helpeasyto use?

Was _Helpuseful in _navigatingthrough this stack?

Would you like forfuture interactiveprojects to

contain this style ofHelp? ₁₂

3 4 5

Pleasegiveyouropinions and commentson this

style ofHelp:

Navigation (please_circle)

Were the navigation controls_easyto find? 12 3 4 5

Were thenavigation controls _easytofindwhen

you neededthem? 12 3 4 ₅

Werethe navigation controls _easyto use? 12 3 4 5

Wouldyoulike for futureinteractiveprojects to

contain similar navigation controls? 12 3 4 5

Doyoufeel thatpeople of all ages would be able

to navigate throughthis project easily? 12 3 4 5

Pleasegive your opinions and commentson this

Least

ButtonFeedback (please _circle)

Didthebuttons provide_anyvisual or verbal feed- No

back? 1 2 3

Was the Button Feedbackuseful in_navigating

through this stack? 12 3

Would you like for future_interactiveprojects to

contain this styleofButton Feedback? 12 3

Pleasegive your_{opinions and} comments onthis particular style of

Button Feedback: Most Yes 4 5 4 5 4 5

General Questions (pleasecircle)

Do youfeel that there shouldbe standardization in interactive inter

faces? For example, doyou feelthat a QUITbuttonshould be inthe

samespotin each_interface, muchlike that of page numbers are ina

book... 12 3 4

Please commenton thesubject of standardization

ofinterfaces:

Doyou think that research shouldbe done on

interactive interfaces? 1

Doyou feelthat interfaces ofcurrent educational

and entertainment software isadequate? 1

Doyou feelthat ifthis typeofarchive were

installed at, say,Wegman's HomeVideo, itwould

aidin _{making decisions for purchasing}and rent

ingmovies? 1

Would you_personallyuse this type of archive

help

2 3 4

2 3 4

2 3 4

2 3 4

5

5

5

5

Ifthere are _anyareasthatyou wouldliketo

CHAPTER 6

The Results

Navigation

Thefirstsectiondealtwiththis theissueofNavigation systems. Stack Ahadthenavigation

palette. Stack B hadthenavigationin abarstyle while Stack Chad thebuttonsscattered.

Figure 1 belowshows thatstacksA & Bseem tobe tiedwithstackC adistant third. Stack B

cameout astheonethatpeoplewouldrecommend beusedin futurestacks (Question _#4).

Thiswas_surprisingas theauthorassumedthat thenavigation palette approachusedinStack

Awouldbe theobvious choice.

Questions #5-9

Navigation

100.00%

80.00%

60.00%

40.00%-!

20.00%

0.00%

f=m-a jCjCTI _fCjtm /TLa

f^fel

2 3 4

Question

Figure 1

? Stack C

? Stack B

Question #3 Were the navigation

controls _easy to use?

100% 95% -| 90% 85% 80% 75% A B B w 2 Stack Figure 2

Question #8 Would you like for future

interactive projects to contain similar

navigation controls? 100% 80% 60% 40%_H 20% 0% mm B / _M

w?

Asfaras gender preferencesgo,when askedwhichset of navigation controls werefoundto

thewholethe malesseemedtobe less_choosywhen itcameto navigation placement. When

askedif_theywouldlike toseethatparticular styleofnavigation in thefuture, the males

were,once again,almost evenacrossthe threestacks,whereasthe femalespreferredStackA,

closelyfollowed_byStack B (Figure 3).

Figures4, 5and6 representStack_A B & Crespectively. _Theycontain theresults ofthefive

questionsin thenavigation sectiondividedinto 4occupational areas (Creatives=Graphic

Design, PhotographicIllustration;Semi-creatives = Graphic Arts Publishing;Semi-technical

= Printing,

Imaging&Photographic_Technology, Business;Technical = Computer

Engineering, ComputerScience, _ImagingScience, Color Science). Thesemi-creative (green)

people seemedtoscoreabovethe reston all threeversions.This group (mostlymade_up of

Electronic_Publishingstudents) liked thediagramversionbestasdid thetechnicalpeople.

Thecreativepeople seemedtolikethesplit navigationthebest. Thesemi-technicalpeople

were almostevenacross theboardsimilarto thesemi-creative people.

Navigation: Stack A

Navigation: Stack B

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% f1 ' ' V

2 3

Questions #5-9

Figure 5

Navigation: Stack C

Questions #5-9

Figure 6

LJ Creative

LJ Semi-creative

D Semi-technical

LJ Technical

LJ Creative

LJ Semi-creative

EJ Semi-technical

Help

This section_discusses theresultsofthe

"Help"

section. In Figure_7, thediagramstyle of

"Help"

inStackAwas thewinner. _{Surprisinglyenough,}whilethose_testingseemedto dislike thestraightforwardstyle usedin Stack_{C, theystill seemedtofinditeasierto usethan thatof}

the animatedstyleinStackB_Manycommented that_theydidn'tlikethelackof_control;hav

ingto sit and waitforittoend.

Help 90.00% -t 80.00%- 70.00%- 60.00%- 50.00%-m 0cp zz. fdSJ

if

1

40.00%-;'';.': I

30.00%- i _;

20.00%-10.00%- _J

0.00%-'

-k

yju

Stack C

H Stack A

H Stack B

2 3

Questions #1-4

Figure 7

In Figure8, "Was "Help"usefulin navigatingthroughthe_{stack?",females}preferredStacks

A & B (diagram&animated) whilethemalespreferred Stacks A & C (diagram&text). The

Question #3 Was _Help useful for _navigating

through this stack?

90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% A A B

*?

Question #4 Would you like for future

interactive projects to contain this style of

Whenaskedwhich styleof

"Help"

theywould preferinfuturestacks(Figure9), bothmale

andfemalerepliedalmostunanimously,StackA_(diagram). Forsecondchoice, males pre

ferredthe textstyleofStack Candthefemales, theanimated styleofStack B.

Help: Stack A

100%-/'

/ j

90%-

80%-c_fc

. H jCk

fk

0%-~\ _ t __ -^~ JJJ

2 3 Questions #1-4 Figure 10 l_J Creative 9 Semi-creative m Semi-technical LJ Technical

Help: Stack B

100%- 90%- 80%-

/-1

50%-f ' ₇₁

tj

-S i- j

40%-

30%-

20%-

10%-l_ * j / '

*y

U/OT 1 i i 1

12 3 4

Questions #1-4

F:i<3U re

InFigure 10,itwas ofinterestthat the technicalmajors founditeasierto usethediagram

'"Help""

(Stack_A) thandidtheothermajorswhile_theyseemedtohavethehardesttime

with _{the animated}version (Figure 11).Thosethatlean thetechnical_wayseemed to prefer

the textstyle

"Help"

(Figure 12) much morethan thosefrom thecreativeside.Thereverse

holdstrue_also, thecreatives showed a preferencefortheanimatedsequence farmore than

theircounterparts.

Navigation: Stack C

Questions #5-9

Figure 12

LJ Creative

LJ Semi-creative

LJ Semi-technical

LJ Technical

Button Feedback

ThissectiondiscussesButton Feedback. Themales appearto respondto theverbal _clicking

sound exhibitedbyStackC.Theynoticeditmorein Figure _{13, found}itmore usefulinnav

igatingthrough theStack in Figure 14, and would much prefer thatfutureStacks use

"clicks"

Question #10 Did the buttons provide _any

visual or verbal feedback?

100%-r 80% 60%-4 0%- 20%-0% A ~zzy\ JX 1 2 Stack Figure 13

IP

Question #11 Was the button feedback useful

for _navigating through the project?

Question #12 Would you like for future

projects to contain this style of feedback?

100%

80%-

60%-

40%-

20%-0% A

2

en

W?

D Male

LJ Female

Stack

Figure 15

General Questions

The lastarea of results received wasthatoftheGeneral Questions. Thesearein pie-chart

formatasfollows:

Question #13 Do you feel that there

should be standardization of

interactive interfaces?

Question #14 Do you think that

research should be done on

interactive interfaces?

Figure 17

Question #15 Do you feel that

interfaces of current educational and

entertainment software is adequate?

Figure 18

Question #16 Do you feel that this

type of archive would influence your

decision to rent or _buy movies?

Question #17 Would you

PERSONNALLY use this type of archive to make your movie decision?

Figure 20

As the pie-chartsabove_clearlyshow, a_majorityofthepeople surveyedfeelthatsomesort of

research shouldbe donein thearea ofinteractive interface designtocome_upwithstandard

ization.

Ifthere'sone_thingthatthisthesis projecthastaughttheauthorit isthat_everybodyhastheir

ownideaof whatisright and whatiswrong. Which

"Help"

systemisthebest, themost con

cise, theeasiestto understand.Whichbutton feedback

-visualor verbal

-willcatch some

CHAPTER 7

Summary& Conclusion

Thefocusofthis thesiswastoinvestigatethedesignand effectiveness ofinteractivemultime

diainterfaces_byanalyzingatleast_fiftydifferentCD-ROMs _beingsoldinthemarket place

today,_choosingspecific problem areas fromtheCD-ROMsand_creatinga multimedia pro

ject(withvariationsoftheseproblemareas)tobeevaluated.Atest_groupofstudents navi

gatedthrough thefinalthesisproject and recorded their results.Thisprovided some much

needed informationfor bothstudents and professionalsinterested in creatingmultimedia

projects inthenearfuture.

Thevaluableinformationthathasbeengatheredwillgo a_longwaytowards_tryingto under

standhowvast ourdifferencescan beso we can_tryto concentrateon of some of our similar

ities ratherthan thosedifferences.

Theauthorhas foundthatweallhavedifferentlevelsofunderstanding, annoyance,happi

ness and sadness which wouldmakeit_nearlyimpossible fordesignerstocreateeffective

interfacesforsucha_varietyofpeople whohavesuch a_varietyof emotionallevels.

Perhapstheanswerliesnotin_creatinga rigid_{standardization,} butin_offeringaselectionof

interfacesatthe_beginningof eachdisc. Fromthisselection youcould chooseformseveral

differentkindsof options suchasyourpreferred methodofbutton feedback._{Thisselection}

processcouldbeinteractiveso asto reduce the stresslevel ofnew users. Therecould also be

with _it,theywill usethe shortcuts moreandmoreoften. Inthefutureit maybepossibleto

providetheshortcuts asyourfirstchoice andleavean optiontousetheselection process for

thosewho are newusers.

Theseareafewofthe possible conclusions that thisprojecthasleadmetoponder.Perhaps

inthefuturewe will see a selectionprocessas standard on_{every CD-ROM} orpiece of soft

ware with aninteractiveinterface,ormaybewe won't.Eitherway, theauthorfeels that this

CHAPTER 8

Areas For Further _Study

Thereare_manyareas one could pursue_pertainingto this thesis if_theyso desired.For

instance:

Stack Depth- how

manymenus orlayersshouldyouhave?How manyistoo_many

andhow_{many is}toofew?

Type- What

sizeand styleoftypefacedopeople_naturallygravitatetowardsonthe

screen.

Paragraph Length - How

muchtextshouldbeallowedon a screen?

Leading- What is

theproper_{leadingnecessary}toreadfroma monitor without

causingeyestrain?

Color- How

manyandwhathue,saturationand contrast should_theybewhenona

monitor?

Palettes - What is_theideal_{shape and size}for_apaletteof

anykindon amonitor?

A Selection Process- The

possibilityof_puttingasmallapplicationatthe_beginning

of_everypieceof software with aninteractive interfacesothatyou canchoose froma

varietydialogue boxesand customize yourinterfaceto makeyournavigation easier.

There isaworld ofnew topics_{opening up}dueto the_growinguseofmonitors and other

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Apple_Computer,Inc. HyperCard Stack Design Guidelines. Reading,MA. Addison

-Wesley

PublishingCompany,Inc. 1989.

Maybury, MarkT. IntelligentMultimediaInterfaces.Cambridge,MA.. American Association

forArtificial Intelligence & MIT Press. 1993.

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