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Vol.30 No.4, October 1998
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Instead of focusing our review in this issue on only one text, we have decided to present readers with descriptions of three texts that have been submitted for review. We think you'll find each of these interesting. If you would like to be a "guest reviewer" for the Bulletin and review any of these texts (or a similar text) in more depth, please contact me at kmcgraw@mindspring.com.
233 pages; 1997 Springer publication
This book provides an in-depth coverage of the ergonomics of computer pointing devices. It uses a human-centered design perspective, emphasizing the importance of human performance experimental research as a basis for both the evaluation of existing pointing devices and the design of new devices. The text includes 1) a comprehensive background on psychomotor research of human pointing performance; 2) a summary of the results of twenty years of ergonomic research on individual devices and inter-device comparisons; and 3) an extensive explanation of how computer pointing device performance is integrated into task analysis. Two case studies provide detailed descriptions of experimental methodologies for comparison of one pointing device against a baseline device, and for detailed analysis of the factors limiting human performance of a single device.
280 pages; 1998 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates publication
This book is comprised of nineteen chapters with content ranging from psychological perspectives, Web user populations, and Web design guidelines, to research and development, and collaboration and visualization. It includes the perspectives of a broad range of experts in human factors, cognitive psychology, and Web development. It reports research addressing issues associated with the design and usability of Web products. The book seeks to fill two voids: 1) it makes the expertise, knowledge, and practices of human factors available to the Web development community and 2) it provides a comprehensive source for human factors practitioners responsible for the design of usable Web-based products.
416 pages; 1998 publication by MIT Press and the Society for Technical Communication
This text describes a presentation and instructional paradigm called minimalism. The minimalist approach has its origins in the study of people's learning problems with computer systems, and its foundations in the psychology of learning and problem solving. When applied to technical documentation such as manuals, online help, and performance support components, it can make learning to use a computer application more efficient. The minimalist approach is based on what people do spontaneously to find meaning when learning something new. It supports the rapid achievement of realistic goals from the start. It emphasizes the importance of designing for error recognition and recovery as basic instructional events. The book's many examples will help researchers and practitioners apply and develop this new approach to supporting the user of a system.
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