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Effects of Visual Signaling in Screenshots: An Eye Tracking Study
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Effects of Visual Signaling in Screenshots: An Eye Tracking Study
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Journal Article
Effects of Visual Signaling in Screenshots: An Eye Tracking Study
2019
Overview
Purpose: Screenshots are an important means of visualization in software documentation. One question technical communicators need to address when dealing with screenshots is whether visual signaling elements, such as arrows or frames, should be added in order to highlight relevant
information. This article reports the results of an experimental study that examined whether signaling elements successfully guide visual attention of readers to relevant screenshot information as intended. A second goal was to find out whether visual signaling has a positive impact on how
accurate and fast users execute the tasks which the screenshots support.
Method: Two versions of a software tutorial were constructed that included screenshots with or without signaling elements. Participants' eye movements were recorded while they studied the tutorial and
executed the tasks described therein. In addition to eye movement measures, accuracy of task execution and time to complete the tasks were determined as measures of overall success on the tasks.
Results: Participants working with tutorials that used visual signaling executed
more tasks correctly. No differences were found regarding the time needed to complete the tasks. Analysis of the eye tracking data showed that participants fixated relevant screenshot areas longer and more often if highlighted by signaling elements.
Conclusions: The results
provide evidence that adding signaling elements to screenshots is an effective means to guide the visual attention of users. As predicted by the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, visual signaling does not simply increase interest in pictures but helps users to select relevant information.
Publisher
Society for Technical Communication
Subject
