The effect of feedback on keying performance

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Telecommunications Engineering
• Auditory Feedback Systems

Background:

• Advancements in telephone signalling and keypad technology necessitate evaluating electronic feedback's impact on user performance.
• Previous research has explored feedback mechanisms, but optimal strategies for new keypads remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effect of electronic auditory feedback on conventional keypad performance.
• To identify the most effective type of electronic feedback for improving touch keypad performance.
• To compare user performance between conventional and novel touch keyphones with optimized feedback.

Main Methods:

• An experiment was conducted using a conventional keypad to evaluate auditory feedback's effect on speed and accuracy.
• A series of experiments investigated various feedback types for touch keypads.
• Performance with touch keyphones incorporating optimal feedback was compared against conventional keyphones.

Main Results:

• Electronic auditory feedback showed no significant impact on keying speed, accuracy, or user opinion with conventional keypads.
• An electronic tone delivered through the earpiece emerged as the most effective feedback for touch keypads.
• Conventional keyphones demonstrated significantly higher accuracy than touch keyphones, even with optimized feedback.

Conclusions:

• Auditory feedback alone does not enhance conventional keypad performance.
• Optimized auditory feedback can improve touch keypad performance, but accuracy may still lag behind conventional designs.
• Further improvements for touch keypads could involve mitigating spurious signalling times.