An Evaluation Of Integrated Zooming and Scrolling On Small-Screens

Jones, Steve and Jones, Matt and Patel, Dynal and Marsden, Gary and Cockburn, Andy (2005) An Evaluation Of Integrated Zooming and Scrolling On Small-Screens, International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 63, 271-303.

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Abstract

Speed-dependent automatic zooming (SDAZ) has been proposed for standard desktop displays as a means of overcoming problems associated with the navigation of large information spaces. SDAZ combines zooming and panning facilities into a single operation, with the magnitude of both factors dependent on simple user interaction. Previous research indicated dramatic user performance improvements when using the technique for document and map tasks. In this paper we propose algorithmic extensions to the technique for application on small-screen devices and present a comparative experimental evaluation of user performance with the system and a normative scroll-zoom-pan interface. Users responded positively to the system, particularly in relation to reduced physical navigational workload. However, the reduced screen space reduced the impact of SDAZ in comparison to that reported in previous studies. In fact, for one-dimensional navigation (vertical document navigation) the normative interface out-performed SDAZ. For navigation in two dimensions (map browsing) SDAZ supports more accurate target location, but also produces longer task completion times. Some SDAZ users became lost within the information space and were unable to recover navigational context. We discuss the reasons for these observations and suggest ways in which limitations of SDAZ in the small-screen context may be overcome.

Item Type:	Journal article (paginated)
Subjects:	Human-centered computing
Date Deposited:	30 May 2013
Last Modified:	10 Oct 2019 15:35
URI:	http://pubs.cs.uct.ac.za/id/eprint/862

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