ABSTRACT
User interfaces typically rely on navigation controls to help the user traverse the target system or information space. Navigation controls come in many shapes and forms, ranging from simple buttons to complex hierarchical menus for large applications. In large-scale systems, simple navigation controls may not provide sufficient cues to help the user determine where to navigate. This could be detrimental to usability and performance especially when there is penalty (e.g., as page loading time or bandwidth use) associated with inadvertent or erroneous navigation.
We propose a methodology based on cognitive modeling for augmenting navigation controls with relevant information to assist the user in negotiating the intended application space. Our methodology is based on applying a form of cognitive task analysis, goal-directed task analysis (GDTA), to determine the user’s goals and decisions related to the task being performed and augmenting applicable navigation controls based on the identified situation awareness (SA) requirements. GDTA methodology has been used extensively in a variety of commercial, aviation, and military domains to determine SA requirements.
