Two software usability studies were conducted that used magnitude estimation (line production) in an ease-of-learning comparison of the command and panel-entry interface of the IBM Hierarchical Storage Manager (HSM), Release 3.2 program product. The first study revealed a number of user-interface problems with the prototype panels, which were then corrected in the released product. The second study verified that these changes significantly improved the panel interface of HSM. Both direct and indirect comparisons were used in the evaluations and a power function showing the relationship between perceived difficulty and task-completion time was reported.
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