Natural command names and initial learning: a study of text-editing terms
Communications of the ACM
Learning and remembering command names
CHI '82 Proceedings of the 1982 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Designing in the dark: logics that compete with the user
CHI '86 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
The case against user interface consistency
Communications of the ACM
User-tailorable systems: pressing the issues with buttons
CHI '90 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
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An experiment is reported in which subjects previously naive to text editing learned to use a set of editing commands. Some subjects used abbreviations from the beginning. Others began by using full command names, then switched to the (optional) use of abbreviations, either of their own devising or of our selection. We found significant differences in the number and nature of the errors produced by subjects in the different conditions. People who created their own abbreviations did most poorly, and did not appear to learn from this experience. Those who used abbreviations from the start were more likely to fall into error through misrecalling the referent names. The results suggest aspects of the underlying cognitive representations, with implications for the design of software interfaces.