Tech Report HCIL-87-13

Wallace, D., Anderson, N., Shneiderman, B. (Oct. 1987)
Time stress effects on two menu selection systems
Proc. of the 31st Annual Meeting - Human Factors Society, (NY, NY) 727-731. Also Sparks of Innovation in Human-Computer Interaction, Shneiderman, B., Ed., Ablex (June 1993) 89-97. Also Human Factors Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction, Selections from Proc. of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meetings 1983-1994, Perlman, G., Green, G.K., Wogalter, M.S., Eds. (1995) 105-109.
HCIL-87-13

The optimal number of menu items per display screen has been the topic of considerable debate and study. On the one hand, some designers have packed many items into each menu to conserve space and reduce the number of menus, whereas on the other hand t here are designers who prefer a sparse display for menu structures and other videotex information. This study evaluated the effects of a broad/shallow menu compared to narrow/deep menu structure under two conditions of time stress for inexperienced users . Results indicated that time stress both slowed performance and increased errors. In addition, it was demonstrated that the broad/shallow menu was faster and resulted in fewer errors. Implications for menu design are discussed.