Analysis of Visual Search Requirements addressed in current Usability Testing Methodologies for GUI Applications- An Activity Theory Approach

摘要

The field of Human Computer Interaction still strives for a generalized model of visual search tasks (icon search, menu search, text search, label search, search through hypertext and feature recognition). The existing models of visual search, in spite of being impressive, are limited under certain perspectives due to lack of generality. The paper tries to provide a holistic approach the modeling of visual search tasks in graphical user interfaces from the Activity Theory (AT) perspective with the aim of rendering a theoretical bridge between HCI and Psychology. Protocol Analysis revealed that complex interaction of behavior, cognition and motor action manifest in these tasks. The results have been analyzed and possible modifications have been identified to provide theoretical support to aid Usability Testing Techniques for GUI applications.