An approach to the design of a skill adaptive interface

Computer users vary greatly in their abilities to use a software interface efficiently. One factor that apparently affects users’ efficiency in using an interface is the changes in their skill levels. In this study, an adaptive interface (of menu and command) is presented that dynamically adjusts to users’ changing skill levels. The mechanism of an adaptive interface is described and discussed. The validity and usability of the adaptive interface is tested with 40 participants in an experiment that used a between‐subject experimental design for interface style. The independent variables were interface style (menu, command, hybrid, and adaptive) and skill level (starting session and ending sessions). The dependent variables were task completion time, number of steps used, ratio (of using menu mode over menu and command modes), perceived memory load, and satisfaction with the interface styles. The task‐completion time and ratio data indicate that the adaptive interface produced significantly better performance than the static hybrid interface at the end of the training sessions for experienced computer users. No significant differences were found for memory load and satisfaction ratings across the four interface styles.