The depth/breadth trade-off in the design of menu-driven user interfaces
International Journal of Man-Machine Studies
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A primary purpose of the current study was to consider menu "depth" (i.e., number of levels) versus menu "breadth" (i.e., number per level) in a multiwindow display. For example, a study by Miller (1981) (cited by Shneiderman, 1986) found that eight item menus with a depth of two levels resulted in the fewest errors and fastest retrieval of a designated target, as compared to two item menus at a depth of six levels or a single 64 item menu. Similar results by Kiger (1984) and Dray et. al.(1981) led Shneiderman (1986) to conclude that "fewer levels aid decision time." However, when a display can present more than one menu at a single level, as in the case of multiwindow presentation, an advantage in retrieval time might be obtained by increasing the number of levels presented. Specifically, adding an initial one item "heading" menu which indicates the information to be presented in a particular window might decrease total search time, since decreasing the time to locate the appropriate window may offset the increase in search time due to the addition of another level of search.