Improving Window Switching Interfaces

Authors:
Susanne Tak;Andy Cockburn;Keith Humm;David Ahlström;Carl Gutwin;Joey Scarr
Affiliations:
Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Canterbury, 8140, New Zealand Christchurch;Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Canterbury, 8140, New Zealand Christchurch;Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Canterbury, 8140, New Zealand Christchurch;Department of Informatics Systems, Klagenfurt University, Klagenfurt, Austria A-9020;Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5C9;Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Canterbury, 8140, New Zealand Christchurch
Venue:
INTERACT '09 Proceedings of the 12th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Part II
Year:
2009

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Abstract

Switching between windows on a computer is a frequent activity, but current switching mechanisms make it difficult to find items. We carried out a longitudinal study that recorded actual window switching behaviour. We found that window revisitation is very common, and that people spend most time working with a small set of windows and applications. We identify two design principles from these observations. First, spatial constancy in the layout of items in a switching interface can aid memorability and support revisitation. Second, gradually adjusting the size of application and window zones in a switcher can improve visibility and targeting for frequently-used items. We carried out two studies to confirm the value of these design ideas. The first showed that spatially stable layouts are significantly faster than the commonly-used recency layout. The second showed that gradual adjustments to accommodate new applications and windows do not reduce performance.