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Mark S. Shurtleff

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Publications by Mark S. Shurtleff (bibliography)

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1992
 
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Shurtleff, Mark S. (1992): Menu Organization through Block Clustering. In International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 37 (6) pp. 779-792.

Block Clustering is proposed as a method to derive the semantic relationships among entities that comprise application programs, operating system environments or programming environments. The procedure was derived from the literature on clustering in the biological sciences. The advantages of the procedure are that it relies on information obtained from design specifications, eliminating difficulties associated with designing through "expert" opinion, and allowing the procedure to be implemented early in the design of a system. Also the procedure works well with systems possessing a small or a large number of entities. Two cases studies of the Block Clustering method are presented for two different fourth generation programming languages. Specifically the 37 HyperTalk 1.5 properties were block clustered and found to have six menu topics. Also the 98 SuperTalk 1.5 properties were Block Clustered and found to have 11 menu topics. The results illustrate the utility of Block Clustering analysis for both small and large systems.

© All rights reserved Shurtleff and/or Academic Press

1988
 
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Shurtleff, Mark S., Jenkins, Joseph A. and Sams, Michelle R. (1988): Deriving Menu Structures through Modal Block Clustering: A Promising Alternative to Hierarchical Techniques. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 32nd Annual Meeting 1988. pp. 347-351.

Modal block clustering (MBC) is proposed as an approach more suited to the derivation of menu structures than hierarchical clustering techniques. Problems with the application of hierarchical techniques and pairwise similarity ratings (PWSR) from which the clusters are derived are discussed. MBC defines clusters based on the pattern of common command attributes and provides an objective way to determine the composition and number of menu panels to include in a menu structure. The method also objectively defines command redundancy for the menu panels. The method of MBC was applied to the 97 commands that comprise the CMS operating system resulting in 17 menu categories. The menu categories were used to design a help menu system. The MBC procedure provides a viable methodology for complex systems, such as CMS, which derive increased functionality from numerous command options. System designers can fruitfully and efficiently apply this methodology both to current systems and to proposed systems for which there are no expert users.

© All rights reserved Shurtleff et al. and/or Human Factors Society

 
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21 Feb 2010: Modified
25 Jun 2007: Added
28 Apr 2003: Added

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May 24

For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three.

-- Alice Kahn

 
 

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Read the fascinating history of Wearable Computing, told by its father, Steve Mann

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