Browsing by Author "Bessiere, Katie"
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Item Determining Causes and Severity of End-User Frustration(2003-01-21) Ceaparu, Irina; Lazar, Jonathan; Bessiere, Katie; Robinson, John; Shneiderman, BenWhile computers are beneficial to individuals and society, frequently, users encounter frustrating experiences when using computers. This study attempts to measure, through 111 subjects, the frequency, cause, and the level of severity of frustrating experiences. The data showed that frustrating experiences happen on a frequent basis. The applications in which the frustrating experiences happened most frequently were web browsing, e-mail, and word processing. The most-cited causes of the frustrating experiences were error messages, dropped network connections, long download times, and hard-to-find features. The time lost due to the frustrating experiences ranged from 30.5% of time spent on the computer to 45.9% of time spent on the computer. These disturbing results should be a basis for future study. (UMIACS-TR-2002-51) (HCIL-TR-2002-11)Item Determining Causes and Severity of End-User Frustration (2002)(2005) Ceaparu, Irina; Lazar, Jonathan; Bessiere, Katie; Robinson, John; Shneiderman, Ben; ISRWhile computers are beneficial to individuals and society, frequently, users encounter frustrating experiences when using computers. This study attempts to measure, through 111 participants, the frequency, cause, and the level of severity of frustrating experiences. The data showed that frustrating experiences happen on a frequent basis. The applications in which the frustrating experiences happened most frequently were web browsing, e-mail, and word processing. The most-cited causes of frustrating experiences were error messages, dropped network connections, long download times, and hard-to-find features. The time lost due to frustrating experiences ranged from 47-53% of time spent on a computer depending on the location and study method. After discarding extreme cases the time lost was still above 38%. These disturbing results should be a basis for future study.Item Help! I'm Lost: User Frustration in Web Navigation (2003)(2005) Lazar, Jonathan; Bessiere, Katie; Ceaparu, Irina; Robinson, John; Shneiderman, Ben; ISRComputers can be valuable tools, and networked resources via the Internet can be beneficial to many different populations and communities. Unfortunately, when people are unable to reach their task goals due to frustrating experiences, this can hinder the effectiveness of technology. This research summary provides information about the user frustration research that has been performed at the University of Maryland and Towson University. Causes of user frustration are discussed in this research summary, along with the surprising finding that nearly one-third to one-half of the time spent in front of the computer is wasted due to frustrating experiences. Furthermore, when interfaces are planned to be deceptive and confusing, thisItem Social and Psychological Influences on Computer User Frustration(2003-01-21) Bessiere, Katie; Ceaparu, Irina; Lazar, Jonathan; Robinson, John; Shneiderman, BenAs computer usage has proliferated, so has user frustration. Even devoted and knowledgeable users encounter annoying delays, incomprehensible messages, incompatible files, and indecipherable menus. The frustration generated by these problems can be personally disturbing and socially disruptive. Psychological and social perspectives on frustration may clarify the relationships among variables such as personality types, cultural factors, goal attainment, workplace anger, and computer anxiety. These perspectives may also help designers, managers, and users understand the range of responses to frustration, which could lead to effective interventions such as redesign of software, improved training, better online help, user discipline, and even resetting of national research priorities. (UMIACS-TR-2002-90) (HCIL-TR-2002-19)Item Social and Psychological Influences on Computer User Frustration (Newhagen book chapter, 2002)(2005) Bessiere, Katie; Ceaparu, Irina; Lazar, Jonathan; Robinson, John; Shneiderman, Ben; ISRAs computer usage has proliferated, so has user frustration. Even devoted and knowledgeable users encounter annoying delays, incomprehensible messages, incompatible files, and indecipherable menus. The frustration generated by these problems can be personally disturbing and socially disruptive. Psychological and social perspectives on frustration may clarify the relationships among variables such as personality types, cultural factors, goal attainment, workplace anger, and computer anxiety. These perspectives may also help designers, managers, and users understand the range of responses to frustration, which could lead to effective interventions such as redesign of software, improved training, better online help, user discipline, and even resetting of national research priorities.Item Understanding Computer User Frustration: Measuring and Modeling the Disruption from Poor Designs(2003-01-21) Bessiere, Katie; Ceaparu, Irina; Lazar, Jonathan; Robinson, John; Shneiderman, BenUser frustration in the use of information and computing technology is a pervasive and persistent problem. When computers crash, network congestion causes delays, and poor user interfaces trigger confusion there are dramatic consequences for individuals, organizations, and society. These frustrations not only cause personal dissatisfaction and loss of self-efficacy, but may disrupt workplaces, slow learning, and reduce participation in local and national communities. We propose a Computing Frustration Model with incident specific and individual variables to guide research. Our study of 108 computer users shows high levels of frustration and loss of 1/3 to 1/2 of time spent. The importance of the users' goals and the severity of the disruption were correlated with frustration. Those who had strong self-efficacy, indicated by a willingness to stick to solving the problem, reported lower levels of frustration. Implications for users, software developers, managers, and policymakers are discussed. Keywords: user frustration, user interface design, training, helpdesk, computer experience, computer anxiety (UMIACS-TR-2002-89) (HCIL-TR-2002-18)Item User Frustration with Technology in the Workplace (2004)(2005) Lazar, Jonathan; Jones, Adam; Bessiere, Katie; Ceaparu, Irina; Shneiderman, Ben; ISRWhen hard to use computers cause users to become frustrated, it can affect workplace productivity, user mood, and interactions with other co-workers. Previous research has examined the frustration that graduate students and their families face in using computers. To learn more about the causes and effects of user frustration with computers in the workplace, we collected modified time diaries from 50 workplace users, who spent an average of 5.1 hours on the computer. In this experiment, users reported wasting on average, 42-43% of their time on the computer due to frustrating experiences. The causes of the frustrating experiences, the time lost due to the frustrating experiences, and the effects of the frustrating experiences on the mood of the users are discussed in this paper. Implications for designers, managers, users, information technology staff, and policymakers are discussed.