Microsoft Word Project Proposal
1
Task Analysis – Methods Project Adam Emfield Philip Jones Ryan McGarry Evolving Usability of Microsoft Word – Summary When Microsoft released the 2007 version of their Office suite, they drastically revamped the familiar user interface of menus and toolbars. One problem Microsoft has faced since this release is user complaints that the new interface, deemed the “Ribbon,” is too complicated, too different, or too confusing. In fact, many users are reverting to the 2003 version (or simply not upgrading at all). In an attempt to remedy this situation, Microsoft has updated the interface in the 2010 version of Office (now in beta) to rectify many issues users found when moving from the venerable 2003 edition to Office 2007. The most-used program in Microsoft Office for a majority of customers is Microsoft Word, so the scope of this project will only cover this program. We will compare differences in the 2003, 2007, and 2010 beta versions of Microsoft Word on a few simple tasks, including adding reader comments, changing printing options, and editing a set of formatting parameters. We propose that the 2003 version of Microsoft Word will offer the “easiest” operation for most users, and that the 2007 version will be the “hardest.” However, we expect to find that certain tasks will take less time and/or fewer user actions (mouse clicks or keyboard strokes) in 2007 due to the interface changes. We will be tracking key strokes, mouse clicks, and reaction time to determine which version is easier to use. Participants will be required to have a significant, defined amount of experience with Microsoft Word 2003 and Microsoft Word 2007. No experience will be required, or expected, with the Microsoft Word 2010 beta. For each task, the user will be given standardized instructions on what tasks he or she needs to complete. The instructions will remain the same for each version, so the user will be expected to “fill in the gaps” for any differences between versions. Information will be gathered by recording video and audio, as well as directly observing subjects. We will also interview our participants after completing the tasks. We will use three different task analysis techniques to analyze the data, including verbal protocol analysis, hierarchical task analysis (for each task, in each version), and a timeline analysis.
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A proposal to analyze the usability of Microsoft Word’s evolving interface.
Transcript of Microsoft Word Project Proposal
Task Analysis – Methods Project
Adam Emfield
Philip Jones
Ryan McGarry
Evolving Usability of Microsoft Word – Summary
When Microsoft released the 2007 version of their Office suite, they drastically revamped the
familiar user interface of menus and toolbars. One problem Microsoft has faced since this release is user
complaints that the new interface, deemed the “Ribbon,” is too complicated, too different, or too
confusing. In fact, many users are reverting to the 2003 version (or simply not upgrading at all). In an
attempt to remedy this situation, Microsoft has updated the interface in the 2010 version of Office (now in
beta) to rectify many issues users found when moving from the venerable 2003 edition to Office 2007.
The most-used program in Microsoft Office for a majority of customers is Microsoft Word, so the
scope of this project will only cover this program. We will compare differences in the 2003, 2007, and
2010 beta versions of Microsoft Word on a few simple tasks, including adding reader comments,
changing printing options, and editing a set of formatting parameters. We propose that the 2003 version
of Microsoft Word will offer the “easiest” operation for most users, and that the 2007 version will be the
“hardest.” However, we expect to find that certain tasks will take less time and/or fewer user actions
(mouse clicks or keyboard strokes) in 2007 due to the interface changes. We will be tracking key strokes,
mouse clicks, and reaction time to determine which version is easier to use.
Participants will be required to have a significant, defined amount of experience with Microsoft
Word 2003 and Microsoft Word 2007. No experience will be required, or expected, with the Microsoft
Word 2010 beta. For each task, the user will be given standardized instructions on what tasks he or she
needs to complete. The instructions will remain the same for each version, so the user will be expected to
“fill in the gaps” for any differences between versions.
Information will be gathered by recording video and audio, as well as directly observing subjects.
We will also interview our participants after completing the tasks. We will use three different task
analysis techniques to analyze the data, including verbal protocol analysis, hierarchical task analysis (for
each task, in each version), and a timeline analysis.
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