CONCEPTUAL VERSUS PROCEDURAL SOFTWARE TRAINING FOR GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACES - A LONGITUDINAL-FIELD EXPERIMENT

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are rapidly becoming ubiquitous in or ganizations. Most of what we know about software training comes from s tudies of command-line interfaces. This paper compares concept-based v ersus procedure-based content of training materials. Concept-based mat erials define the nature and associations of the objects in the interf ace, while procedure-based materials define how specific tasks are car ried out. This comparison was done using a field experiment. Eighty-tw o volunteers participated in a three-week Windows training program and completed a follow-up questionnaire seven months later. The results s how that the amount learned in such sessions is a function of neither concept-based nor procedure-based training. GUI training should provid e both kinds of information because trainees need to learn both. In ad dition, trainers should be aware of an apparent early plateau in learn ing the Windows GUI.