【Topic】Five Studies of Web Delay

【Speaker】Dennis Galletta

【Time】2007-11-12 9:30-11:00

【Venue】Room 453, Weilun Building

【Language】English

【Organizer】Department of Management Science and Engineering

【Background Information】

Abstract

The benefits of using the Internet are partially offset by one aspect of its usability: highly variable, intermittent, but frequent inter-page delay. For several years, the HCI literature has studied user reactions to long computer response time in clerical applications, but few studies haveexamined this problem in the domain of the Web. Examining the delay problem in a Web context is important, because the Web touches many more users, most of whom have little formal computer or task training. Hence, we have examined in our labs consequences of delay, along with factors thatinteract with delay. Some of our experiments have been published and some are still in process. Consequences of delay that we examined include userattitudes, behavior, and performance. More recently, we have developed objective and subjective models of impacts, including stress, performance, and decision-making behaviors. Factors that we have examined for interactions include site depth, information scent (familiarity with terminology used in organizing the site), variability of the delay, and feedback (continuous and gradual filling of the screen to make it obvious that the page is indeed loading). Experiment 1 (n = 196) provided seven levels of delay, ranging from zero to twelve seconds (in two-second increments), and discovered that ill effects began as delay exceeded two seconds. Experiment 2 (n = 160) introduced two other factors from the HCI literature, and with a 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA, we assessed the interactions between delay, site depth, and familiarity with the terminology in the site. As predicted, we found a significant three-way interaction. Consistent with more traditional literature, we also found strong direct effects. Experiment 3 (n = 152) employed another 2 x 2 x 2 design, but along with delay we analyzed the effects of variability and feedback as interacting variables. Analysis revealed that page-loading feedback is only important when there are long delays, and variability does not seem to be important in influencing attitudes, behavior, and performance of users. Experiment 4 (n = 206) again compared reactions to the same levels of delay, but this time with Mexican subjects. It was found that Mexicans were more patient than subjects in theUnited States. In both studies, the outcomes differed when comparing a familiar site with an unfamiliar site, suggesting that interactions should be examined more formally. Conclusions from the four completed studiesare that user impatience is high; that the results of delay can differ with culture; and that the variables that interact with delay are familiarity with site terminology, depth of the site, and feedback (in a slow site). Variability does not seem to interact with delay. The fifth study, inprogress, examines only scent and delay, but breaks the model into subjective (assessed via questionnaire) and objective parts. Objective assessment of stress is provided by psychophysiological instruments,objective assessment of web preferences is measured by choice of switching sites for remaining tasks, and objective assessment of ease of use is inobserving the actual number of steps needed to complete the task. The study in process introduces psychophysiological measures to expand our notion of web browsing outcomes. While we have barely scratched the surface in examining web delay, several implications can be drawn from thecompleted studies for both practitioners and researchers.

Biography

Dennis Galletta is President of AIS, is an AIS Fellow, and is Professor of Business Administration at the Katz Graduate School of Business,UniversityofPittsburgh, where he has been since 1985. He has fond memories of the time he spent with a great set of colleagues at the Fox School of Business and Management,TempleUniversityduring the 2004-2005 academic year. He obtained his doctorate in 1985 at theUniversityofMinnesota(major advisor: Gordon B. Davis) with a major in management information systems and a minor in psychology. His specificresearch interests lie in the areas of end-user attitudes, behavior, and performance. He teaches Human-Computer Interaction to PhD, MBA, and undergraduate students, Information Systems to MBA students and executives, and Electronic Commerce to MBA students and executives. Hehas published articles in journals such as Management Science, Information Systems Research, Journal of MIS, Journal of AIS, Communications of the ACM, European Journal of Information Systems, Decision Sciences, Communications of the AIS, Accounting Management andInformation Technologies, and Data Base, and also published a textbook with Prentice-Hall (long ago). He served as editor of SIGOIS Bulletin, the newsletter of the ACM Special Interest Group on Office Information Systems, and is, or has been, on the editorial boards of journals such as Information Systems Research (AE, 2006-present), Canadian Journal of Administrative Science (AE, 2006-present), Data Base,(AE 1993-1995; SE 1996-present), Journal of AIS (board member, 2005-present), International Journal of Information Systems and Management (2006-present), Information Systems and eBusiness Management (board member, 2003-present), Cycle Time Research (AE, 1996-present), and MIS Quarterly (AE, 1999-2002). He and Ping Zhang recently edited two books on HCI in MIS, part of the Zwass Advances in MIS series. They werefortunate to have gotten 37 fine manuscripts from 72 authors, most who require no introduction. Many reflect on their specialty areas of a decade or more of work! Please request one of each for your library! He is also an active reviewer for 10 other journals and several conferences. He is recuperating from serving as co-program chair of ICIS 2005 with David Avison. For a recent AMCIS conference in August 2003, he served as co-program chair with Jeanne Ross. He is the Editor-In-Chief of ISWorld. He served as the ICIS Treasurer from 1994-1998, chaired theInaugural AIS Americas Conference on Information Systems in 1995, was VP of Member Services for AIS from 2001-2003, was a member of AIS Council representing theAmericasin 1996 and 1997, and taught information systems courses on the Fall 1999 voyage of Semester at Sea. As a CPA, he has public accounting experience and has taught Continuing Professional Education courses for the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and Half Moon Seminars. On Sunday evenings, he used to teach 10th, 11th, and 12th grade CCD (during various years) at St. Catherine ofSwedenChurchin the North Hills ofPittsburgh, where he also served on the Finance Committee.