TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: The Myth of Seven, Plus or Minus Two From:"Ed Wurster" <eawurster -at- hotmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 3 Dec 2003 09:16:44 -0500
Steven wrote:
> I believe studies were done in the eighties to find the optimal balance
> between depth (how many forms deep?) and breadth (how many items per
> form?) in menu structures; I believe Miller's work was validated then.
> It would be interesting to see some contemporary studies with Web pages
> and links on pages. That would be more persuasive than someone saying
> "is not!" (and me saying "is so!" 8^)
I see the rule of 7 as a practical minimum. Of course there are users who
can remember more, and it seems reasonable to assume we are evolving better
short-term memory, but a user-reader is not necessarily the "average one."
We could increase the minimum to 8, and see if that helps. This sounds like
a study that has been performed many times over. I'm sure the results will
turn up here.
Ed Wurster
http://www.eWurster.com/blog/
______________________________________________
Consulting, Programming and Maintenance
for Computer Systems and Networks
______________________________________________
Training, Technical Writing and Web Design
RoboHelp for FrameMaker is a NEW online publishing tool for FrameMaker that
lets you easily single-source content to online Help, intranet, and Web.
The interface is designed for FrameMaker users, so there is little or no
learning curve and no macro language required! Call 800-718-4407 for
competitive pricing or download a trial at: http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l4
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
