User Interface Rating FormThe "User Interface" of an interactive instructional product, e.g, a multimedia program, is a critical element of the product that must be carefully evaluated. If the user interface is not well-designed, learners will have little opportunity to learn from the program. This rating form includes ten major criteria for assessing the user interface for an interactive program, such as "ease of use" and "screen design." Not all of the criteria may be relevant to the particular program you are evaluating, but most of them will. You may need to add additional criteria to thelist. Novice users of interactive instructional products are generally not good candidates for usingthis form. The people rating the user interface should be experienced users of the type of programyou are asking them to rate. Even better, they could be experienced designers of interactive programs.Instructions:1. The “User Interface Rating Form” should be used by experienced interactive multimedia designers or users to rate the interface of a new program or one under development. 2. The ten criteria used in the “User Interface Rating Form” are explained in detail at the end of the instrument itself. 3. Some criteria may not be relevant in every IMM program.User Interface Rating Tool for Interactive Multimedia© 1993 Thomas C. Reeves, Ph.D. & Stephen W. Harmon, Ed.D.Instructions: For each of ten user interface dimensions illustrated below, rate the program you have reviewed on a one to ten scale by circling the appropriate number under the dimension. (Accompanying this tool are definitions for each of the ten user interface dimensions.) Please add any comments that may help to clarify or explain your rating. If a specific dimension does not seem appropriate to the interactive program you are reviewing, do not circle any numbers on the scale for that dimension and add a brief comment to explain your response. Difficult Easy1. Ease of Use 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Comments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Difficult Easy2. NavigationComments: Comments: UnmanageableManageable3. Cognitive Load1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Comments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NonePowerful4. Mapping Comments: Violates Principles Follows Principles5. Screen Design 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Comments: IncompatibleCompatible6. Knowledge Space Compatibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ObtuseClear 7. Information Presentation Comments:Uncoordinated Coordinated 8. Media Integration Comments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Displeasing Pleasing9. AestheticsComments: Dysfunctional Functional10. Overall Functionality Comments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Please add other comments related to the user interface of this program below:Definitions for User Interface Rating ToolUser Interface Dimension 1 – Ease of Use"Ease of Use" is concerned with the perceived facility with which a user interacts with an interactive multimedia program. Figure 1 illustrates a dimension of such a program ranging from the perception that the program is very difficult to use to one that is perceived as being very easy to use. Like many of the dimensions described in this tool, ease of use is both an aggregate and individual dimension. For example, in the aggregate sense, the Windows interface is generally perceived as easier to use than the command interface of the Microsoft disk operating system (MSDOS). However, in the individual sense, some people may perceive the MS-DOS interface to be easier to use because of their own unique experiences and attributes. EasyDifficult Ease of Use Figure 1. "Ease of Use" dimension of user interface. User interface dimensions may be highly correlated with how well users enjoy using a specific program. Whether users like a program may be more or less important, depending on the intent of the program and the context for its use. Certainly, not liking an interactive program that is intended to be highly motivating is a major problem, whereas users' affect for a program may be less important in a training context in which strong extrinsic motivational factors exist. Nonetheless, in the long run, improving the user interface dimensions of multimedia, such as "easeof use," is a highly desirable goal, regardless of context. User Interface Dimension 2 – Navigation"Navigation" is concerned with the perceived ability to move through the contents of an interactive program in an intentional manner. Figure 2 illustrates a dimension of interactive multimedia ranging from the perception that a program is difficult to navigate to one that is perceived as being easy to navigate. An important aspect of navigation is orientation, i.e., the degree to which a user feels that he/she knows where he/she is in a program and how to go to another part of it. This is a critical variable because users frequently complain of being lost in a interactive program (Utting & Yankelovitch, 1989). Designers use several ways of supporting navigation and maintaining orientation. A popular approach to navigation is the WIMP (window-icons-mouse-pointing) interface. EasyDifficult NavigationFigure 2. "Navigation" dimension of user interface. User Interface Dimension 3 – Cognitive LoadUsing an interactive program requires different mental efforts than performing tasks via print or other media. In order to make any meaningful response to an interactive program, users must cope with and integrate at least three cognitive loads or demands, i.e., (a) the content of the program, (b) its structure, and (c) the response options available. To use interactive programs, users must perceive options, conceptualize a choice, and make some physical action, all while mentally coordinating the demands of these three cognitive loads. The user interface is the vehiclethat allows perceptual, conceptual, and physical contacts with the interactive program. In terms of "cognitive load," the user interface can seem unmanageable (i.e., confusing) at one end of the continuum and easily manageable (i.e., intuitive) at the other end (see Figure 3).