COGNITIVE-ABILITIES AND INFORMATION-SYSTEM USABILITY

Two experiments were undertaken to determine how cognitive abilities of users of information systems and specific design features that might be implemented in information technology combine to create system usability. In one case, an interaction was found between logical reasoning and order of presentation of references. The cognitive ability was found to combine with system characteristics in a non-uniform manner. The existence of this interaction between user characteristics and system features is interpreted as an opportunity for incorporating user-selectable options in an information retrieval system. In the other case, there was no interaction between perceptual speed and the way index terms were presented in browsable displays. This suggests that user characteristics and system features combined uniformly to create system usability. This uniformity is interpreted as indicating that information system designers have a relatively simple choice between forms of browsable display.