Abstract

This paper proposes a new direction of research in the area of human-system interaction, based on previous research and new technology tools. The area of human-system interaction under investigation relates to the impact on human task performance of the concordance, or similarity, of the characteristics of the task and the characteristics of the interface. The application of new technology described in this paper is the use of force-feedback devices. Past research in this area suggests that human task performance will be higher if interfaces are constructed that share characteristics with the tasks to be completed.

A pilot study and full experiment are described in which subjects will complete typical computer-based tasks. The task of selecting choices from a pull-down menu system is described, and how force-feedback mouse control characteristics could be modified to coincide with the characteristics of that task. It is hypothesized that a subject performing such a task with a force-feedback mouse will have performance superior to that of a subject performing such a task with a standard mouse. The outcome of the study and experiment will shed light on the suitability of extending prior research on task:interface characteristic concordance into the realm of force-feedback devices.

Presented at and published in the Conference Proceedings of ICIS 2000 (the International Conference on Information Systems), Brisbane, Australia, December 10-13, 2000.