3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice

Chapter 11: Evaluation of 3D User Interfaces


Most of this book has covered the various aspects of 3D UI design. We have addressed questions such as, How do I choose an appropriate input device? How do I support wayfinding in large-scale environments? and What object manipulation techniques provide precise positioning? However, one of the central truths of human–computer interaction (HCI) is that even the most careful and well-informed designs can still go wrong in any number of ways. Thus, evaluation of UIs becomes critical. In fact, the reason we can provide answers to questions such as those above is that researchers have performed evaluations addressing those issues. In this chapter, we discuss some of the evaluation methods that can be used for 3D UIs, metrics that help to indicate the usability of 3D UIs, distinctive characteristics of 3D UI evaluation, and guidelines for choosing evaluation methods. We argue that evaluation should not only be performed when a design is complete, but that it should also be used as an integral part of the design process.


11.1. Introduction

    11.1.1. Purposes of Evaluation

    11.1.2. Terminology

    11.1.3. Chapter Roadmap

11.2. Background

    11.2.1. Tools for Evaluation Design and Implementation

    11.2.2. Evaluation Methods Used for 3D Interfaces

11.3. Evaluation Metrics for 3D Interfaces

    11.3.1. System Performance Metrics

    11.3.2. Task Performance Metrics

    11.3.3. User Preference Metrics

11.4. Distinctive Characteristics of 3D Interface Evaluation

    11.4.1. Physical Environment Issues

    11.4.2. Evaluator Issues

    11.4.3. User Issues

    11.4.4. Evaluation Type Issues

    11.4.5. Miscellaneous Issues

11.5. Classification of 3D Evaluation Methods

11.6. Two Multimethod Approaches

    11.6.1. Testbed Evaluation Approach

    11.6.2. Sequential Evaluation Approach

    11.6.3. Comparison of Approaches

11.7. Guidelines for 3D Interface Evaluation

    11.7.1. General Guidelines

    11.7.2. Guidelines for Formal Experimentation

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