And Their Application to Human Computer Interaction
How Addressing the Cognitive Processes Can Improve the Usability of a Software Application
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3.
Conclusion
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References
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1. Introduction
More and more organizations now acknowledge their human resource as their greatest asset. As Laplante (2006) states, “empowering users with IT boosts the bottom line.” However, IT is useless if it’s too complex and complicated to use. It is then important for employees to be provided with tools that they can quickly and easily learn to use and that they can use to effectively and efficiently complete their tasks.
In this age where organizations are seemingly in a race to come up with new innovations, providing employees with software applications that are truly “usable” empower them and make them more productive. By providing them with intuitive IT systems and software applications, they can easily get started on their more important tasks and spend less time on trying to figure out how to use an application or device. This also enables them to focus more on expert thinking and on coming up with new and creative ideas (Laplante).
Given this, it has become even more important to develop user-centric applications, that is, applications that are both functional and usable. User experience has become an important consideration in the design and development of these applications.
Cognitive analysis is a good starting point for ensuring the usability of a software application, as cognitive principles play a big role in designing interfaces. Cognition refers to the thought processes that occur as one performs their daily activities (Rogers et al., 2007). It involves cognitive processes such as talking, writing, reading, seeing, decision-making, daydreaming, learning, remembering, and thinking.
There are two general modes of cognition, namely reflective cognition and experiential cognition. Reflective cognition refers to thought processes such as comparing, thinking, and decision-making, which eventually lead to the creation of new and creative ideas. Experiential cognition, on the other hand, refers to “a state of mind in which we perceive, act, and react to events around us effectively and effortlessly” (Rogers et al., p. 94). Experiential cognition involves a certain level of engagement and expertise – examples of which are the thought processes that occur when conversing, reading, or driving. Both modes of cognition are being performed by people on a daily basis.
It is important to note that in the use of technology, each of these modes require different types of technological support. A software application’s interface design must then be able to address these cognitive processes in order to ensure the effective use of technology. Gillan and Cooke (n.d.) believe cognitive analysis to be so important that it should not be performed only at the early design phase, but should be performed throughout the entire design process.
2. Body
A. Cognitive Processes that Must be Considered When Designing an Interface
Cognition involves the following processes: “attention; perception and recognition; memory; learning, reading, speaking, and listening; and problem-solving, planning, reasoning, and decision-making” (Rogers et al., p. 94). Most of these processes occur concurrently as one performs a task. As such, a software application must be able to allow for these processes as the user makes use of the application.
Attention is the process that allows a user to select something to focus on, given the many possibilities presented to him or her. This involves both the visual and the auditory senses. This cognitive process’ degree of difficulty depends on whether the user has clear goals and whether the information that the user needs is salient in the environment.
For example, when a user wants to purchase something online, the menus and product images catch their attention, which can help them get started on their search for the product they want to purchase. Without something on the user interface to catch their attention, the user will most likely be at a loss about where to start.
To further illustrate, a user who’s presented with a command interface will likely spend a few minutes staring at the screen and figuring out what they need to do, that is, if they even know the commands for that interface. However, present a user with a web interface that has navigation buttons and links and the user is likely to go into action right away; as they would quickly know what it is they want to do.
Other user interface elements that can be used to catch the user’s attention include the spacing of items, the sequencing of various types of information; and the use of underlines, colors, and animated graphics (Rogers et al.).
Perception is the process by which information is acquired from the environment through the different senses such as sight, hearing, smell, and touch. This process is complex in that it involves other cognitive processes such as language, attention, and memory. As such, a user interface must be able to present information in a manner that the user can easily perceive, and perceive it in the manner with which it is intended.
To help users easily understand the information presented to them, similar or related objects can be grouped together on the interface through the use of borders or white space. The use of headings and subheadings on a web page with a lot of content can also help the user get a quick understanding of what the content is about without having to read everything.
When using speaking human agents as part of the interface, it should be ensured that the movement of the agent’s lips and the audio that the user hears are in sync; otherwise, the user becomes confused with the information they are receiving. At the least, it becomes an unpleasant experience for them. Another example is that the trash can icon for the Recycle Bin is more easily associated with the Recycle Bin feature than if a smiley was used as its icon.
To ensure that information can be easily understood, it should then be presented in a form whose underlying meaning can be easily perceived and recognized.
Memory is the cognitive process that involves the recall of knowledge that allows a user to take proper action. Although it’s not possible for anyone to remember everything, the amount of attention given to something, as well as the amount of thinking that it instigates, makes it easier to be remembered. The manner by which information is interpreted upon its encounter is also a determinant of its representation in one’s memory and its ease of retrieval.
Another factor that determines how a person remembers something is the context in which the object was first encountered. People are also known to be better at recognizing things rather than at recalling them.
This can be related to interface design in that the user interface should be able to help users recognize something that they currently fail to remember. Software applications should be designed in a way that allows users to use whatever memory they have – whether recall-directed or recognition-based scanning – in finding the information they need. Recall-directed memory is when the user remembers something from memory whereas recognition-based scanning is when the user remembers something from looking at a list of similar objects or types of information.
This can be accomplished by providing users with menu-driven options, for example, that they can browse through, until they recognize the option or action they want to use. Another example is the browsing history feature of web browsers where the browser lists the URLs of the websites recently visited by the user. This allows the user to recall the URL of the website they want to visit again. Still, other user interface elements that can aid recall include the use of images, sounds, icons, colors, categories, and time stamps.
The contexts by which the learning process can be considered are either the process of learning to use computer-based applications or the process of using the application to understand a certain topic. It has been found that users learn to use a software application more easily by playing around with it than by reading a user manual (Rogers et al.).
This learning process can be facilitated by the user interface through graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that users can explore and manipulate. Allowing users to undo their actions facilitate the learning process further by making the user feel confident that there’s no risk of him or her damaging the software application. Another approach is the use of training wheels, which restricts users to using basic functions and provides them with access to the more advanced features only after they’ve gained enough experience from using the software.
Still, more advanced approaches to aiding the learning process involve the use of interactive technologies such as virtual reality, multimedia, and web-based interfaces. They allow users to interact with information, enabling them to explore new concepts and ideas. This approach is especially useful in aiding the learning process of children.
“Reading, speaking, and listening are” the “three forms of language processing” (Rogers et al., p. 113). Although the meaning of messages derived from reading, speaking, and listening are the same, the ease by which users can perform these language processes depend on the context, the task, and the person.
It should be noted that “listening is transient” while written language is permanent” (Rogers et al., p. 113). It’s possible to go back and reread written information, but it’s not readily possible to go back and listen to spoken information. As such, speech-based instructions on software applications should be kept short and concise to facilitate easy recall and perception.
Written information can be easily scanned by the user, which is quite difficult to do with spoken information. It should be noted, though, that listening requires less cognitive effort than speaking or reading.
As a consideration when presenting text information, users should be given the option to enlarge the text size.
Depending on the target users for a certain user application, the application should capitalize on the skills that the users are likely to use – whether they’re better at reading, listening, or speaking. For example, if a software application is meant for the visually impaired then it should be equipped with speech-recognition systems. In the same manner, if an application is meant to teach the users how to speak a foreign language, then the information in the application should be presented both in text-based and audio format.
The processes of problem-solving, planning, reasoning, and decision-making all involve reflective cognition. These require the user to determine what they need to do, what their options are, and what the consequences of their actions will be. The extent to which a user engages in these processes is dependent on the user’s level of expertise on the subject matter. As such, novice users are more likely to explore the software application through a trial-and-error method as they are unsure of what to do next whereas an expert user is more confident and goes about performing their task with more assurance.
To address these cognitive processes, it helps users if the software application’s user interface provides them with cues on what they should do next. For example, if a user closes a word processing application without saving their work, a dialog box displays, asking the user if they want to save their work before exiting. This then helps the user decide if they indeed want to exit the application without saving their work, if they want to save their work first before exiting the application, or if they want to cancel the closing of the application.
B. How Addressing the Cognitive Processes Can Improve the Usability of a Software Application
Usability has become an important metric in determining the quality of a software application. It is determined by how well the application meets usability criteria such as effectiveness, efficiency, safety, utility, learnability, and memorability. In addition, usability is determined by the quality of the experience that the user gets from using the application.
Knowledge of the different cognitive processes involved as a user uses a software application can help user interface designers improve the usability of their applications. For example, the effectiveness of a user interface is determined by how well it allows the users learn the system, complete their tasks, or retrieve the information they need. All of these can be related to the cognitive processes discussed previously. In the same manner, a user interface is efficient if it allows users to easily and quickly complete their tasks by getting their attention; helping them understand the information they receive; triggering their memory; enabling them to learn fast; and enabling them to decide what to do.
Safety is the metric of how well the application protects the users from “dangerous conditions and undesirable situations” (Rogers et al., p. 21). This can be related to the cognitive process of problem-solving, planning, reasoning, and decision-making where an application’s error-handling mechanism, for example, can prevent the user from losing data. More specifically, when the application prompts the user if they want to exit the application without saving their work then they are able to prevent the loss of their work.
Utility refers to the functionality of a software application. This can be related to the cognitive processes of reading, speaking, and listening. For example, a visually impaired user will not find a text-based application as functional as they would an application that has speech-recognition capabilities.
Memorability is a metric that pertains to how well users remember how to use an application. Quite obviously, this is related to the cognitive processes of memory; learning; attention; and perception and recognition. The same processes are also involved in the learnability metric, which pertains to how easily users learn to use the software.
3. Conclusion
It is clear that the usability of a software application is largely dependent on how well it addresses the cognitive processes of attention; perception and recognition; memory; learning; reading, speaking, and listening; and problem-solving, planning, reasoning, and decision-making. These cognitive processes have influenced the usability of software application in terms of their effectiveness, efficiency, safety, utility, learnability, and memorability.
As such, it is important for cognitive analysis to be incorporated into the entire design process. In the same regard, it would be recommended that interface designers be trained on the methods of measuring cognition to ensure that no cognitive process is overlooked and that users are provided with a user experience that would enable them to learn more and do more.
References
Gillan, J. D., & Cooke, N. J. (n.d.). Methods of cognitive analysis for HCI. Retrieved from
http://www.sigchi.org/chi95/proceedings/tutors/dg2_bdy.htm
Laplante, P. (2006). CIO wisdom II. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
Rogers, Y., Sharp, H., & Preece, J. (2007). Interaction design: Beyond human-computer
interaction (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
