Learning and remembering interactive commands in a text-editing task

Abstract

Users of interactive computer systems often experience difficulty in learning and remembering the command vocabulary needed to communicate with the system. This study investigates how task and vocabulary differences affect initial learning and subsequent memory for commands used in a simple editing task. Systems with semantically specific terms were learned no more quickly than systems with semantically general terms, but the nature of the command vocabulary induced different learning strategies. Users of the specific vocabulary made less use of help (provided in the form of a command menu and definitions of operations) than did usersof the general command vocabulary. However, users ofthe specific vocabulary appeared to take more time actively considering options before deciding to consult HELP. These strategy differences were reflected in users' memory for the commands and the task operations 2 weeks later. In addition, the learning strategies adopted were dependent on user's predispositions as measured by individual difference questionnaires.