[05/17/2024] GOMS and Keystroke-Level Model
Last updated
Last updated
A Good Intro
GOMS is a modeling technique (more specifically, a family of modeling techniques) that analyzes the user complexity of interactive systems. It is used by software designers to model user behavior. The user's behavior is modeled in terms of Goals, Operators, Methods and Selection rules, which are described below in more detail. Briefly, a GOMS model consists of Methods that are used to achieve Goals. A Method is a sequential list of Operators that the user performs and (sub)Goals that must be achieved. If there is more than one Method which may be employed to achieve a Goal, a Selection rule is invoked to determine what Method to choose, depending on the context.
The Keystroke-Level Model is a simplified version of GOMS. It was proposed by Card and Moran (1980) as a method for predicting user performance. Using KLM, execution time is estimated by listing the sequence operators and then summing the times of the individual operators. KLM aggregates all perceptual and cognitive function into a single value for an entire task, using a heuristic. KLM also does not employ selection rules. The original KLM had six classes of operators: K for pressing a key, P for pointing to a location on screen with the mouse, H for moving hands to home position on the keyboard, M for mentally preparing to perform an action, and R for system response where the user waits for the system. For each operator, there is an estimate of execution time. Additionally, there is a set of heuristic rules to account for mental preparation time.
A Good HCI Paper Using KLM
Why GOMS
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