Usability and Cognitive Load in Heavy Machinery
Salo, Linda (2025)
2025
Tietojenkäsittelyopin maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in Computer Science
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-05-26
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202505266144
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202505266144
Tiivistelmä
Usability is an essential part of any product’s user experience. The importance of usability is emphasized especially in the context of human-machine interfaces, which may inherently include complex functionalities. The amount of cognitive load is also known to increase in relation to the complexity of the product in question. When the product itself is intricate by nature, the inherent amount of cognitive load is higher when using the product.
This thesis examines the connection between usability and cognitive load in the context of human-machine interfaces of complex heavy machinery. The aim was to understand the relationship between usability and the cognitive load, and whether the amount of experienced cognitive load can indicate the presence of usability issues. Usability was evaluated with task-based usability tests while the cognitive load was measured with self-assessment methods during the evaluation sessions. The research included five usability tests with experienced end users.
The research concluded that usability and cognitive load did not seem to have obvious connection. While on some level a connection could be found between efficiency and cognitive load as well as satisfaction and cognitive load, the amount of experienced cognitive load alone did not indicate the presence of usability issues. However, the type of usability issues encountered seemed to impact the amount of experienced cognitive load. The findings suggest that even though a connection could be found in some aspects between the usability test results and cognitive load, they are not interchangeable metrics as they are measuring different constructs.
This thesis examines the connection between usability and cognitive load in the context of human-machine interfaces of complex heavy machinery. The aim was to understand the relationship between usability and the cognitive load, and whether the amount of experienced cognitive load can indicate the presence of usability issues. Usability was evaluated with task-based usability tests while the cognitive load was measured with self-assessment methods during the evaluation sessions. The research included five usability tests with experienced end users.
The research concluded that usability and cognitive load did not seem to have obvious connection. While on some level a connection could be found between efficiency and cognitive load as well as satisfaction and cognitive load, the amount of experienced cognitive load alone did not indicate the presence of usability issues. However, the type of usability issues encountered seemed to impact the amount of experienced cognitive load. The findings suggest that even though a connection could be found in some aspects between the usability test results and cognitive load, they are not interchangeable metrics as they are measuring different constructs.