Facilitate Complex Search Tasks in Hypertext by Externalizing Functional Properties of a Work Domain

The premise of this study was that practical problem solving within a complex work domain (ergonomic design and integration of computer workstations) could be enhanced by a hypertext representation of that work domain. Two alternative hypertext representations were developed. The first consisted of an ecological interface design based on the means-end abstraction hierarchy (AH) approach (Vicente & Rasmussen, 1992). In this design, the goal-relevant constraints and functional relations within the domain were explicitly represented on the interface. The second hypertext interface was based on a more traditional classification hierarchy (CH) in which supraordinate categories were broken down into their components (part-whole relation). The relative effectiveness of the 2 approaches was compared using an experimental procedure in which participants solved ergonomic problems of increasing complexity. The results supported the following research hypotheses: (a) When performing a complex or problem-solving task,...