Pros,Cons,and Changing Behavior: An Application in the Use of the Keyboard to Issue Commands

Abstract

Despite the fact that keyboard issued commands (KICs) are more efficient than other command methods, experienced users often do not adopt them. In order to examine the factors underlying this phenomenon, a study is presented which investigated the relationships between users' level of knowledge with Microsoft Word, the importance they placed on the costs and benefits of using KICs, and how these factors related to the use of KICs in Microsoft Word. Results indicate that benefits are more strongly associated with the actual use of KICs than costs. The application of these findings to the human factors domain and the implication of the results to facilitate the adoption of efficient techniques and behaviors are discussed.

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