Windows 95 Menu Styles:
Windows Explorer vs. My Computer
Results
The results of the experiment are listed in the following table. The calculations are based on the raw data (see Appendix B).
Windows Explorer My Computer
Single WindowMy Computer
Cascading WindowsMean 221.6 208.7 266.6 Median 223 209 267 Standard Deviation 19.1 19.9 24.2 Below is a graph of the average times for the three different navigation styles. The fastest treatment was My Computer with a single window.
Participants were given a subject survey to complete after the experiment. The results are listed in the following table. (Refer to Appendix D for raw data.)
Windows Explorer My Computer (Cascading Windows) My Computer (Single Window) Ease of Comp. Ease of Use Info. Displayed Lack of Errors Personal Pref. Ease of Comp. Ease of Use Info. Displayed Lack of Errors Personal Pref. Ease of Comp. Ease of Use Info. Displayed Lack of Errors Personal Pref. Mean 3.6 3.7 4.0 3.8 3.7 3.2 3.1 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.6 4.0 Median 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 Std. Dev. 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 The following graph shows subjective ratings of five different categories: Ease of Comprehension, Ease of Use, Information Displayed, Lack of Errors, and Personal Preference. Windows Explorer was rated the highest for ease of comprehension, information displayed, and lack of errors. My Computer with the single window was most preferred. Windows Explorer and My Computer with the single window were tied in terms of ease of use.
Summary Groups Count Sum Average Variance Windows Explorer 25 5539 221.6 363.6 My Computer
(Single Window)25 5218 208.7 397.6 My Computer
(Cascading Windows)25 6666 266.6 585.0
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit Between Groups 46265.0 2.0 23132.5 51.6 0.0 3.1 Within Groups 32309.0 72.0 448.7 Total 78573.9 74.0
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Department of Computer Sciences
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