GOMS Model
Goals, Operators, Methods and Selection
Model
Model based evaluation
Overview of GOMS
• GOMS is a method for describing a task and
the user‟s knowledge of how to perform the
task in terms of Goals, Operators, Methods
and Selection rules.
• Consider the text editing example in the
following figure
GOMS
• Goals
– Goals are simply user‟s goal
– What does he/she wants to achieve using the
software?
• Operators
– Operators are the actions that the software allows
the users to take
– With the original command line interface, operators
are commands and its parameters, typed on a
keyboard
– The most common operator are at “Keystroke level”
and include moving the cursor, clicking the mouse
button etc. (involve keyboard and mouse)
– Example from GUI?
• Methods
– Well-learned sequences of subgoals and operators
that can accomplish a goal.
• For our example, method is
– Highlight the text to be moved
– Type Ctrl-x
– Move the cursor to the desired location
– Click the mouse button
– Type CTRL-v
• Notice that this expression of the method is a
combination of operators (actions not readily
decomposable) and subgoals (easily decomposable to
more primitive actions)
• Selection Rules
– If there is more than one method to accomplish the
same goal, then selection rules are required
– Selection Rules are personal rules that users follow
in deciding what method to use in a particular
circumstance.
– For example, if the text to be moved is one or two
character long, then the specific person may delete it
from wrong location and rewrite it in the right
location. If the text is three or more characters long
that person may use keyboard shortcuts.
– So, these personal selection rules depend on the
length of the word.
• GOMS analyses are applies to situations in which user
will be expected to perform the tasks that they have
already mastered.
KLM: The Keystroke-level
Model
• The simplest GOMS technique
• Given the task and the method the KLM uses
duration estimates of these keystroke level
operators to predict the time a skilled user will
need to execute the task.
Types of operators in KLM
• K Keystroking, actually striking keys, including shifts
and other modifier keys.
• B Pressing a mouse button.
• P Pointing, moving the mouse (or similar device) at
a target.
• H Homing, switching the hand between mouse and
keyboard.
• D Drawing lines using the mouse.
• M Mentally preparing for a physical action.
• R System response which may be ignored if the user
does not have to wait for it, as in copy typing.
Example
• We are using a mouse-based editor. If we
notice a single character error we will point at
the error, delete the character and retype it,
and then return to our previous typing point.
– Move hand to mouse H[mouse]
– Position mouse after bad character PB[LEFT]
– Return to keyboard H[keyboard]
– Delete character MK[DELETE]
– Type correction K[char]
– Reposition insertion point H[mouse]
MPB[LEFT]
Execution Time Calculation
– Move hand to mouse H[mouse]
– Position mouse after bad character PB[LEFT]
– Return to keyboard H[keyboard]
– Delete character MK[DELETE]
– Type correction K[char]
– Reposition insertion point H[mouse]
MPB[LEFT]
• T
execute =T+T+T+T+T+T+T
K B P H D M R
• = 2t + 2t + t + 3t + 0 + 2t + 0
K B P H M
Operator Time (s)
K Press key
good typist (90 wpm) 0.12
poor typist (40 wpm) 0.28
non-typist 1.20
B Mouse button press
down or up 0.10
click 0.20
P Point with mouse
Fitts‟ law 0.1 log2(D/S + 0.5)
average movement 1.10
H Home hands to and from 0.40
keyboard
D Drawing – domain dependent -
M Mentally prepare 1.35
R Response from system – measure -
Task
• Do a keystroke-level analysis for opening up
an application in a visual desktop interface
using a mouse
• Method 1 Double clicking on application icon
• Method 2 Using a menu
Method 1 : Double clicking on
application icon
Steps Operator Time
1. Move hand to mouse H[mouse] 0.400
2. Mouse to icon P[to icon] 1.100
3. Double click 2B[click] 0.400
4. Return to keyboard H[kbd] 0.400
Total time 2.300
Method 2 : Using a Menu
Steps Operator Time
1. Move hand to mouse H[mouse] 0.400
2. Mouse to icon P[to icon] 1.100(or Fitts Law)
3. Click to Select B[Left click] 0.200
4. Click to Pop up Menu B[Right click] 0.200
5. Pause M 1.350
6. Drag to open P[drag] 1.100 (or Fitts Law)
7. Click to Select „Open‟ B[Left click] 0.200
8. Return to keyboard H[kbd] 0.400
Total time 4.950
References
• Chapter 12, Human Computer Interaction
by Alan Dix
• Chapter 08, Usability Engineering Life Cycle
by Deborah J. Mayhew
