@article {16965, title = {An evaluation of jump-ahead techniques in menu selection}, journal = {Behaviour \& Information Technology}, volume = {6}, year = {1987}, month = {1987///}, pages = {97 - 108}, abstract = {Menu selection systems provide a means of selecting operations and retrieving information which requires little training and reduces the need for memorizing complex command sequences. However, a major disadvantage of many menu selection systems is that experienced users cannot traverse the menu tree significantly faster than novices. A common solution to this problem is to provide the menu selection system with a jump-ahead capability.The purpose of this research was to evaluate two jump-ahead methods (type-ahead and direct-access). In the type-ahead method the user anticipates a selection on each of several successive menus and enters as many selections at one time as desired. In the direct-access method, each menu frame is assigned a unique name which the user must enter to locate it. Thirty-two students were given training on an information retrieval system for college course information and were required to learn the two jump-ahead methods in a counterbalanced design. The direct-access method resulted in fewer traversals to learn the system, lower error rates, and reduced learning time. The subjective impressions, obtained from post-experiment questionnaires and oral comments, indicated that the direct-access jump-ahead method was also preferred in a frequently used menu selection system. }, isbn = {0144-929X}, doi = {10.1080/01449298708901820}, url = {http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01449298708901820}, author = {Laverson,Alan and Norman,Kent and Shneiderman, Ben} }