IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2007

Goal-Orientation, Goal-Setting, and Goal-Driven Behavior in Minimalist User Instructions

Hans van der Meij University of Twente

Abstract

This paper opens with a summary of minimalist design strategies that aim to optimize user instructions. Next, it discusses three research efforts to further improve these strategies. The common focus in these efforts is the attention to people's goal-related management and control of attention, time, and effort. First, a comprehensive framework for designing procedures - the four components model - is described. The design principles for the goal component focus on supporting the user's goal orientation and goal setting. Second, two experiments are reported that studied the problem of when it is best to present conceptual information. When instructions employed a learning-by-doing approach, users clearly preferred a work-flow mode of presentation. This mode optimally exploits the user's momentary interest in conceptual information during goal-driven task execution. The third research effort concentrates on user affect in instructions. The main idea is that motivation and emotion play a key role in task appraisals and corresponding actions. After discussing theories and design approaches, an experiment is discussed in which instructions were optimized for affect. Good results for perceived relevance and self-confidence were found in all conditions. Presence of an affect-oriented co-user did not enhance these effects. The paper concludes that the contribution of the efforts extends beyond the minimalist framework from which they originated.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2007-12-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2007.908728
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
affect and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Meng (2023)
    Using Eye Tracking to Study Information Selection and Use in Procedures
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Lam et al. (2017)
    The social help desk: examining how Twitter is used as a technical support tool
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Meij (1997)
    The ISTE approach to usability testing
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Carroll et al. (1996)
    Ten misconceptions about minimalism
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Meij (1996)
    Does the manual help? An examination of the problem-solving support offered by …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 10 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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