The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009

EIGHT members of the Yale Institute of Human Relations have co-operated to produce this book The result is not a mere juxtaposition of uncoordinated viewpoints but a unity of aim and consistency in presentation which make the multiple authorship almost undetectable Whatever judgment one may make about the value of the hypothesis elaborated in the book, there can be little doubt that the intimate collaboration of a team of specialists, each with a distinctive training, is a profitable way of examining a problem which has no clear-cut frontiers and which does not fall neatly into one of the conventional compartments of social study Frustration and Aggression By John Dollard Neal E Miller Leonard W Doob O H Mowrer Robert R Sears, in collaboration with Clellan S Ford, Carl Iver Hovland and Richard T Sollenberger (International Library of Sociology and Social Reconstruction) Pp ix + 150 (London: Kegan Paul and Co, Ltd, 1944) 10s 6d net

Frustration and Aggression

Like the clothes in their suitcases, the technologies students bring to campus change every year. Occasionally, the change can be dramatic. It’s hard to believe, but when the college seniors we surveyed for this year’s study began their education four years ago, netbooks, iPhones, and the Nintendo Wii had yet to hit the market. When they went home for the holidays during their freshman year, some returned with a brand new game called Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2, and some may have been lucky enough to score a $250 4-GB iPod nano or an ultrathin digital camera. Today’s freshmen have mobile phones that hold more songs than that 4-GB nano, and they can use them to take digital photos and videos of the same quality as the $400 camera today’s seniors got for their high school graduation.

The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009—Key Findings

In previous research, the computer frustrations of student and workplace users have been documented. However, the challenges faced by blind users on the Web have not been previously examined. In this study, 100 blind users, using time diaries, recorded their frustrations using the Web. The top causes of frustration reported were (a) page layout causing confusing screen reader feedback; (b) conflict between screen reader and application; (c) poorly designed/unlabeled forms; (d) no alt text for pictures; and (e) 3-way tie between misleading links, inaccessible PDF, and a screen reader crash. Most of the causes of frustration, such as inappropriate form and graphic labels and confusing page layout, are relatively simple to solve if Webmasters and Web designers focus on this effort. In addition, the more technically challenging frustrations, such as screen reader crashes and conflicts, need to be addressed by the screen reader developers. Blind users in this study were likely to repeatedly attempt to...

What Frustrates Screen Reader Users on the Web: A Study of 100 Blind Users

It is well-accepted that learnability is an important aspect of usability, yet there is little agreement as to how learnability should be defined, measured, and evaluated. In this paper, we present a survey of the previous definitions, metrics, and evaluation methodologies which have been used for software learnability. Our survey of evaluation methodologies leads us to a new question-suggestion protocol, which, in a user study, was shown to expose a significantly higher number of learnability issues in comparison to a more traditional think-aloud protocol. Based on the issues identified in our study, we present a classification system of learnability issues, and demonstrate how these categories can lead to guidelines for addressing the associated challenges.

/pdf/a-survey-of-software-learnability-metrics-methodologies-and-1vty19ou5i.pdf

A survey of software learnability: metrics, methodologies and guidelines

When hard-to-use computers cause users to become frustrated, it can affect workplace productivity, user mood and interactions with other co-workers. Previous research has examined the frustration that students and their families face in using computers. To learn more about the causes and measure the severity of user frustration with computers in the workplace, we collected modified time diaries from 50 workplace users, who spent an average of 5.1 hours on the computer. In this exploratory research, users reported wasting on average, 42 – 43% of their time on the computer due to frustrating experiences. The largest number of frustrating experiences occurred while using word processors, email and web browsers. The causes of the frustrating experiences, the time lost due to the frustrating experiences, and the effects of the frustrating experiences on the mood of the users are discussed in this paper. Implications for designers, managers, users, information technology staff and policymakers are discussed.

/pdf/workplace-user-frustration-with-computers-an-exploratory-430smvj9q4.pdf

Workplace user frustration with computers: an exploratory investigation of the causes and severity

https://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/papers/Lazar2006Severity.pdf

Severity and impact of computer user frustration: A comparison of student and workplace users

When poorly-designed computers frustrate users, their productivity, mood, and interactions with co-workers deteriorate. To learn more about the causes and effects of user frustration with computers in the workplace, modified time diaries were collected from 50 workplace users. This research-in-progress paper will discuss the research methodology, as well as preliminary findings.

https://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/papers/Lazar2003User.pdf

User Frustration with Technology in the Workplace

This chapter introduces the research and application of the Web-STAR project, which began at Towson University in 2002. The main goal and purpose of the Web-STAR (Web-Survey Tool for Analyzing Requirements) project is to provide a standardized survey tool that developers can use to determine the user requirements for existing or new Web sites. The Web-STAR will allow this most vital stage in the development process to take place within a convenient, tested, and cost-effective method. Based on existing work in user evaluation design, Web-STAR will take sound 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.irm-press.com IRM PRESS This chapter appears in the book, Issues of Human Computer Interaction edited by Anabela Sarmento. Copyright © 20 5, IRM Press, an imprint of Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 38 Lazar, Jones & Greenidge Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. development practices and apply them to user requirements in the design of informational websites. This chapter presents the research-in-progress development, testing and current status of Web-STAR.

Adam Jones

Papers

Workplace user frustration with computers: an exploratory investigation of the causes and severity

Severity and impact of computer user frustration: A comparison of student and workplace users

User Frustration with Technology in the Workplace

Web-STAR: Development of Survey Tools for Use with Requirements Gathering in Web Site Development