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Christine Knowles

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Publications by Christine Knowles (bibliography)

1988

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Knowles, Christine (1988): Can Cognitive Complexity Theory (CTT) Produce an Adequate Measure of System Usability?. In: Jones, Dylan M. and Winder, R. (eds.) Proceedings of the Fourth Conference of the British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Specialist Group - People and Computers IV August 5-9, 1988, University of Manchester, UK. pp. 291-307.

“Superficial interface characteristics alone (e.g., mouse movements, command names, syntax) cannot adequately explain novices' learning difficulties. A source of error in user/system interaction can occur when there is a mismatch between the system and the user in terms of the way in which the domain is being represented by the system and the user's ability to carry out tasks which effect changes in the domain. Kieras and Polson (1985), proposed that cognitive complexity theory (CCT) could provide some quantitative measure of the usability of an interface. CCT represents job-task knowledge using production rules, which in conjunction with a task-to-device mapping structure attempts to provide a formal description of both user knowledge and device behaviour. CAD systems in the fashion industry provide an interesting opportunity to assess CCT by focusing on the highly skilled design activity of pattern cutting. This study tests the basic tenets of CCT and its ability to predict errors and learning difficulties when using CAD tools for pattern cutting, and goes on to suggest that the quality of the system's representation of the domain can, in part, determine interface complexity such that a purely quantitative measure of user-task knowledge (e.g., counting production rules) is both limited in application and inappropriate as a reliable metric for evaluating sources of complexity in an interface.”

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