What This Document Is
This document provides a focused exploration of GOMS (Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection Rules) modeling – a powerful technique within the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). It’s designed as an in-depth resource for understanding how to represent and analyze user cognitive processes when interacting with systems. The material delves into the core components of GOMS, explaining the relationships between user goals, the actions they take to achieve those goals, and the decision-making processes involved when multiple approaches are possible. It’s part of an advanced-level course, indicating a level of assumed prior knowledge in HCI principles.
Why This Document Matters
This resource is invaluable for students and professionals seeking to predict and evaluate user performance in interactive systems. Anyone involved in user interface design, usability testing, or cognitive engineering will find this material beneficial. Specifically, it’s useful when you need a structured way to model user behavior, identify potential usability issues, and compare different interface designs. Understanding GOMS modeling allows for a more systematic and theoretically grounded approach to interaction design, moving beyond intuition and subjective assessments. It’s particularly relevant when precise predictions about task completion time and error rates are needed.
Common Limitations or Challenges
While a robust technique, GOMS modeling isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. It requires a significant investment in time and effort to create accurate and detailed models. The effectiveness of GOMS relies heavily on a thorough understanding of the user’s cognitive processes and the specific task being analyzed. This resource focuses on the *principles* of GOMS, but doesn’t offer a shortcut to instantly creating effective models – practice and careful observation are essential. It also doesn’t cover every possible application or extension of the GOMS framework.
What This Document Provides
* A clear definition of cognitive modeling and its importance in HCI.
* A detailed breakdown of the four core components of GOMS: Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection Rules.
* An explanation of how these components interact to represent user behavior.
* Discussion of different levels of granularity for operators.
* An overview of the steps involved in constructing a GOMS model.
* An introduction to variations of GOMS modeling, including Keystroke-Level Model (KLM), CMN-GOMS, and CPM-GOMS.
* Illustrative examples to demonstrate the application of GOMS principles (without revealing specific solutions).
