Zooming, multiple windows, and visual working memory

ABSTRACT

Zooming and multiple windows are two techniques designed to address the focus-in-context problem. We present a theoretical model of performance that models the relative benefits of these techniques when used by humans for completing a task involving comparisons between widely separated groups of objects. The crux of the model is its cognitive component: the strength of multiple windows comes in the way they aid visual working memory. The task to which we apply our model is multiscale comparison, in which a user begins with a known visual pattern and searches for an identical or similar pattern among distracters. The model predicts that zooming should be better for navigating between a few distant locations when demands on visual memory are low, but that multiple windows are more efficient when demands on visual memory are higher, or there are several distant locations that must be investigated. To evaluate our model we conducted an experiment in which users performed a multiscale comparison task using both zooming and multiple-window interfaces. The results confirm the general predictions of our model.

References

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Index Terms

• Computing methodologies

  • Artificial intelligence

    • Philosophical/theoretical foundations of artificial intelligence

      • Cognitive science

• Human-centered computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

    • HCI design and evaluation methods

    • HCI theory, concepts and models

  • Interaction design

    • Interaction design theory, concepts and paradigms