Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
• Present the signal in two modes or channels at the same time, such as visual and
auditory. This is common in sonar operation, where operators listen to a “ping” and
also see the target on a screen.
• Drink coffee and take other stimulants.
EXERCISE
Redesign the pull-down menu Format in MS Word (see Table 5.1).
One common design principle for pull-down menus is to put the most commonly used
information on top of the menu, thereby reducing the probability of having to look further
down. In Table 5.1 I estimated my own probabilities
p
of using all the functions. Replace
these numbers with your own estimated probabilities. Calculate the surprisal and the total
information, p log
2
1/p, in the menu. With these calculations as a basis, discuss how you
could redesign the pull-down menu.
TABLE 5.1
Estimated Probabilities of Using Certain Commands in
the Pull-Down Menu
Function
p
log
2
1/p p log
2
1/p
Font
0.20
—
—
Bullets/numbers 0.02
—
—
Alignment
0.01
—
—
Line spacing
0.10
—
—
Change case
0.35
—
—
Replace font
0.20
—
—
Slide design
0.05
—
—
Slide layout
0.05
—
—
Background
0.01
—
—
Object
0.01
—
—
RECOMMENDED READING
Wickens, C.D. and Hollands, J.G., 2000,
Engineering Psychology and Human Performance,
3rd
ed., New York: Prentice Hall.
