TY - JOUR T1 - The Efficiency, Usability and Preference of User Interface with Regards to Topological Structure and Task Type AU - , Chien-Hsiung Chen AU - , Wen-Chih Chang AU - , Wen-Te Chang JO - Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences VL - 3 IS - 7 SP - 538 EP - 544 PY - 2008 DA - 2001/08/19 SN - 1816-949x DO - jeasci.2008.538.544 UR - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=jeasci.2008.538.544 KW - Topology KW -task difficulty KW -usability KW -user interface design AB - This study investigates user interface task performance in terms of 3 design proposals (linear, hierarchical and network types), 3 task difficulties (easy, medium and hard), 6 usability self-report criteria (enjoyability, layout, understandability, learnability, fluency and convenience), as well as participants’ subjective evaluation. The participants were 36 college students. As the study result indicated, different degrees of task difficulty were interrelated with the topological structure of user interfaces. When task difficulty was very high, both network and hierarchical types of structure resulted in better user performance. In contrast, when task difficulty was low, the linear type of structure performed better. The network type of structure had the highest rating in a self-report usability questionnaire and user preference. Our results integrate the evaluation of user performance, usability and preference and provide an example of the use of topological structures to evaluate interfaces. ER -