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Usability Evaluation of Smartphone Keyboard Design from an Approach of Structural Equation Model

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HCI International 2020 - Late Breaking Papers: Multimodality and Intelligence (HCII 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12424))

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Abstract

Keyboard input is the mainstream input method on smartphones, and the keyboard design plays an important role in input experience. Previous studies mainly measured descriptive variables through inputting phrases to evaluate the usability of keyboard design. However, the development of screen technology brings about more precise and attributional data that could in-depth explore and assess the details of keyboard design. This study adopted a single factor (Phone screen size: Small, 5-in. vs. Large, 6.5-in.) within-subject design through inputting English character pairs to build up the usability evaluation structural equation model. Traditional measurements and new attributional measurements, including Point Pressure, Point Interval Response Time, and Point Duration, were taken as modeling indicators. The results showed that Word Per Minute was not fitted to evaluate keyboard designs with other indicators in both screen sizes, and new attributional measurements could replace this indicator. For the large-screen smartphone, the well-fitted model consists of three factors, including Input Speed (Point Duration and Point Interval Response Time), Objective Experience (Point Pressure and Word Error Rate), and Subjective Feedback. For the small-screen smartphone, the well-fitted model consists of two factors, including Efficiency (Point Interval Response Time, Word Error Rate, and Point Duration) and Subjective Feedback. These findings provide an effective approach to evaluate the usability of keyboard design for future studies, thus enlightening the keyboard optimization method.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (Ergonomic design of curved keyboard on smart devices).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yincheng Wang, Yuqi Huang, Ke Wang & Jibo He

  2. Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China

    Junyu Huo

  3. Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Di Wu

Authors
  1. Yincheng Wang
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  2. Junyu Huo
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  3. Yuqi Huang
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  4. Ke Wang
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  5. Di Wu
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  6. Jibo He
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jibo He .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Crete and Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Constantine Stephanidis

  2. The Open University of Japan, Chiba, Japan

    Masaaki Kurosu

  3. Siemens Corporation, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Helmut Degen

  4. University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Lauren Reinerman-Jones

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Wang, Y., Huo, J., Huang, Y., Wang, K., Wu, D., He, J. (2020). Usability Evaluation of Smartphone Keyboard Design from an Approach of Structural Equation Model. In: Stephanidis, C., Kurosu, M., Degen, H., Reinerman-Jones, L. (eds) HCI International 2020 - Late Breaking Papers: Multimodality and Intelligence. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12424. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60117-1_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60117-1_22

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-60116-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-60117-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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