ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explain why psychological complexity is of interest to the designers of human–computer systems. They distinguish between intrinsic complexity and undue complexity. The authors describe that undue complexity is generally counterproductive in that it leads to more errors, frustration, and greater task completion times. Intuitively, it would seem that “ease of use” and “simplicity” constitute closely related concepts. However, they do differ in several ways. First, “ease of use” implies an empirical orientation. There are a number of interesting issues involved in measuring “ease of use” such as choosing the set(s) of reference users, representative tasks, and in choosing the dependent variables to be measure. As computing technology has become more intertwined with home life and entertainment, the importance of also using psychological complexity as a predictor of pleasure and preference is increasing.
