DRAFT: Human Factors Criteria for the Design and Acquisition of Non
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Non-keyboard Interaction Devices Draft for review and comment Human Factors Criteria for the Design and Acquisition of Non-keyboard Interaction Devices: A Revision to Chapter 9 of the Human Factors Design Standard Vicki Ahlstrom, Human Factors Team-Atlantic City Bonnie Kudrick, Titan Corporation June 2004 Draft Final Report and Standard DOT/FAA/CTxx/xx This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161 US Department Sponsored by of Transportation The Human Factors Group Federal Aviation Administration Washington, DC 20591 Non-keyboard Interaction Devices Draft for review and comment NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturer's names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. This document does not constitute FAA certification policy. This report is available in Adobe Acrobat portable document format (.pdf) at the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center’s full-text technical reports web site: http://actlibrary.tc.faa.gov and at the Human Factors Team website: http://hf.tc.faa.gov/. Non-keyboard interaction devices Draft for review and comment Non-keyboard interaction devices Draft for review and comment Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. DOT/FAA/CTxx/xx 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date June 2004 Human Factors Criteria for the Design and Acquisition of Non-keyboard Interaction Devices: A Revision to Chapter 9 of the Human Factors Design Standard 6. Performing Organization Code AJP-6110 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Vicki Ahlstrom & Bonnie Kudrick DOT/FAA/CTXX/XX 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Human Factors Team-Atlantic City Federal Aviation Administration 11. Contract or Grant No. William J. Hughes Technical Center Atlantic City International Airport, NJ 08405 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Federal Aviation Administration Final Report Human Factors Research and Engineering Group 800 Independence Ave., S.W. 14. Sponsoring Agency Code ATO-P Washington, DC 20591 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract This document contains updates and expands the design criteria and scope of non-keyboard interaction devices from the Human Factors Design Standard. A research team of human factors experts evaluated the existing guidelines for relevance, clarity, and usability. They drafted new guidelines as necessary based on relevant sources and they reorganized the document to increase usability. This resulted in extensive changes to the original document, including the addition of new guidelines, sources, and topic areas. This report contains a brief introduction along with the modified guidelines. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Guidelines This document is available to the public through Human factors the National Technical Information Service, Joystick Springfield, Virginia, 22161 Mouse Non-keyboard Interaction Devices Pointing devices Standard 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 80 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized Non-keyboard interaction devices Draft for review and comment Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the following people for giving their time and lending their expertise by reviewing this document: Chris Baber, PhD at the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, Alex Chaparro, PhD at Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas and I. Scott Mackenzie, PhD at York University, Toronto, Canada. We would also like to thank Dave Hess and Carol Hewitt, who created clear and accurate graphics for the document. Non-keyboard interaction devices Draft for review and comment Table of Contents Page 1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose.......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope............................................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Shall and Should ........................................................................................................... 2 2.0 Method .......................................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Review of HFDS chapter.............................................................................................. 2 2.2 Reorganization .............................................................................................................. 3 2.3 Additional information.................................................................................................. 3 2.4 Expert review................................................................................................................ 3 3.0 Summary of changes.................................................................................................... 4 Appendix A – Chapter 16 Human Factors Standard for Non-Keyboard Interaction Devices (NKIDs) iii Non-keyboard interaction devices Draft for review and comment 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) relies on countless devices to interact with the systems that make up the National Airspace System (NAS). In recent years, the number and type of interaction devices available to computer users has increased. As the FAA modernizes the NAS, decision-makers will be faced with a vast array of options for possible interaction devices. It is important for these decision-makers to have current information on non-keyboard interaction devices for the safety and performance of those using the devices as well as minimizing costs to FAA programs. This report and the associated set of updated standards and guidelines were developed to meet this need. This document summarizes the process followed by the research team in the development of an updated and revised set of non-keyboard interaction device design criteria. The research and revision process used for creating this set of design criteria is explained in this document, followed by an appendix containing the design criteria itself. The material in the appendix is intended to replace the current material on non- keyboard interaction devices in the Human Factors Design Standard (HFDS). Although the material on interaction devices was originally combined with the material on keyboards in a single chapter, the research team decided to present the interaction devices and keyboards information in two separate chapters based on an analysis of how people use the HFDS. An informal review of human factors studies conducted for acquisition programs indicated that these two topics are often addressed separately in acquisition and design activities. Thus, having two individual chapters, each focusing on a specific topic, allows the users to be more specific in the requirements definition process. This decision was validated by discussions with human factors practitioners currently working with FAA programs. In this chapter “interaction devices” replaces the term input devices, to imply a less limited functionality of entering data into a computer system (Baber, 1997). In general, the keyboard is the most common data input device, while non-keyboard interaction devices such as mice, trackballs, and joysticks are used more frequently for cursor control and interaction with the system than they are for input. This chapter provides design criteria for pointing devices, touch screens and some alternative interaction devices. Despite overlap in the research on keyboards and touch screens, distinctions between criteria for keyboards and touch screens are sufficient to be addressed separately. 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this document is to provide an updated set of non-keyboard interaction device guidelines and standards that meet the need of the FAA missions and systems. 1 1 Non-keyboard interaction devices Draft for review and comment 1.2 Scope This document is limited in scope to human factors guidance related to non-keyboard interaction devices. Generally, the statements in this chapter refer to devices used to interact with data in computer systems. There are devices that could fit both under the category of control and interaction devices (such as knobs, dials, and switches), however, this chapter focuses on devices primarily used for computer interaction. Some of the most common interaction devices include: touch screens, speech recognition, mice, trackballs, joysticks, and light pens. The majority of the devices referred to in this chapter can be considered pointing devices. A pointing device is a non-keyboard device that allows a user to navigate rapidly around the computer screen and to specify and select objects for manipulation and action. Examples include a mouse, trackball, stylus and grid, and light pen. Pointing devices are typically used for cursor control and direct manipulation of graphical objects such as icons. 1.3 Shall and Should Each standard specified is identified