Understanding User Frustration with Modern Interfaces

Frustrating Experiences

Sources of user frustration with contemporary user interfaces include:

• User frustration originated from interface complexity, network disruptions, and malicious interferences.
• Hard-to-use computers can affect workplace productivity, users' moods, and interactions with coworkers.
• Interruptions appear to be troubling to users.
• Memory serves as an indication of where frustration occurs while using technologies such as operating systems, web browsers, text editors, email clients, mobile devices, digital video recorders, and others.
• User frustration with mobile devices has increased over the years.
• Email has become a source of frustrating "spam."

Frustrating Experiences (cont.)

The top causes of frustration reported were:

• Page layout causing confusing screen-reader feedback.
• Conflict between the screen reader and the application.
• Poorly designed or unlabeled forms.
• No alternative text for pictures.
• A three-way tie between misleading links, inaccessible PDFs, and screen-reader crashes.

Challenges for Information Visualization

• Importing and cleaning data: preprocessing.
• Combining visual representations with textual labels.
• Finding related information and integrating it.
• Viewing large volumes of data.
• Integrating data mining to let statistical analysis see subtle trends.
• Integrating with analytical reasoning techniques.
• Collaborating with others.
• Achieving universal usability with visualization tools.
• Evaluation.

Expectations and Attitudes

Three primary factors influence users' expectations and attitudes regarding response time:

• Previous experiences: The first factor influencing acceptable response time is that people have established expectations based on their past experiences of the time required to complete a given task.
• Individual personality differences: A second factor influencing response-time expectations is the individual's tolerance for delays.
• Task differences: Other factors influencing response-time expectations include task complexity and users' familiarity with the task.

Action Models of Response-Time Impacts

• Rapid task performance, low error rates, and high satisfaction can come from:
  • Knowledge of the objects and actions necessary for the problem-solving task.
  • Solution plans that can be carried out without delays.
  • Elimination of distractions.
  • Feedback provided.
  • Errors avoided or easily handled.
• Other conjectures in choosing the optimum interaction speed include:
  • Novices perform better with slower response times.
  • With little penalty for an error, users prefer to work more quickly.
  • Users prefer rapid action when tasks are familiar and easily comprehended.
  • If users have experienced rapid performance previously, they will expect it in future situations.