Abstract: This study presents evidence that a prototype touch interface technology emulating basic interaction techniques of a mouse pointing device is comparable in overall usability to a conventional mouse for a direct manipulation, graphical windowing software environment. The touch technology prototype involves using either a stylus or finger, with an overlay sensitive to changes in capacitance. Users practiced each technique (mouse, stylus, finger, keyboard with no mouse), in the context of carrying out office-related tasks on the first of a two day study, and then eight similar test tasks on the second day, in a completely within-subject design. Significant effects for time on task were found for Techniques and Tasks for five practice tasks on the second day of the study. The clearest significant effect was that the stylus technique was faster than the keyboard. A qualitative analysis of errors indicates that there were problems with the precision of pointing using the finger, and to a lesser extent the stylus and mouse. User comments and ratings indicate that the stylus and mouse were preferred comparably, and were preferred to the finger and keyboard techniques.

Keywords: CRT; Direct manipulation; Empirical studies; Hardware development; Mouse; Pointing device input; Stylus; Touchscreen; VDT/VDU

Originally published: Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 33rd Annual Meeting, 1989, pp. 325-329

Republished: G. Perlman, G. K. Green, & M. S. Wogalter (Eds.) Human Factors Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction: Selections from Proceedings of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meetings, 1983-1994, Santa Monica, CA: HFES, 1995, pp. 172-176.