An EPSS Interface Design

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This article describes the features of an electronic performance support system that is used by the staff in eight aboriginal communities to find and fill in the forms and documents required to administer and register land and membership transactions. The design of this system is based on the simple principle that work consists of transactions and tasks. A tasks is a distinct unit of work, like filling out a form or entering data in a computer. A transaction is a series of tasks that must be completed to fulfill an objective.

The resulting electronic performance support system has three basic components.

• A navigational interface that allows a user to find a particular task or transaction.
• An infobase (Gery, 1991, pp.35) that contains the information about tasks, transactions, procedures and the governing legislation.
• The application programs used to perform the required tasks.

You can download a copy of this program.

NAVIGATION INTERFACE

The navigational interface is the network of computer screens that enable a user to find, select and perform tasks. When designing a navigational interface it is important to consider that your users will likely have different levels of knowledge and experience. You do not want to slow down the experienced user, but you will want to give the new user enough guidance and information that they will have a reasonable chance of finding the required transaction or task.

The navigational interface of the Land and Membership Registration System (LAMRS) has five basic components. The relationship of these components is illustrated in the following figure.

• List of Tasks

  The list of tasks is the most direct route for finding and performing tasks. The list contains the name of the tasks sorted in alphabetical order. The user can use a search function to find the task or filter the list to display similar types of tasks. This component is primarily for the experienced user that already knows what tasks are required to complete a transaction.

• List of Transactions and Checklist

  From the list of transactions a user can open a checklist of tasks. The user can then perform a task and return to the checklist. The system puts a check mark beside each completed task. The list of transaction is sorted alphabetically by the transaction name or description. A user can search for a transaction name or filter the list to show similar types of transactions.

• Subject Index

  The subject index is like a book index. It allows a user to search for a task or transaction by an alphabetical index entry. If a user selects a transaction, the system will open a checklist. If the user selects a task the system will open the appropriate task system. A user can also jump to a guided task selection program.

  The subject index was intended to give new users a reasonable good chance of finding a particular task or transaction. I found that even some of the more experienced users liked to use this system. It allowed them to quickly open a task, checklist or guided task selection program from a single screen.

• Guided Task Selection

  The guided task selection programs enable a user to find an appropriate transaction by responding to a series of questions. The questions will eventually lead to a checklist of the tasks that are required to complete the transaction.

  In developing the system, I found that is important to enable user's to backup through the questions. Some users found that this feature helped them to better understand the complex rules that governed a particular set of transactions.

  With LAMRS, the user responds to the questions by clicking the mouse pointer on a large button, with a helpful icon. This feature allows the user to more quickly move through the series of questions. It is important that the questions be phrased in fairly simple terms that avoids the use of double negatives. The systems also allow the user to pop-up another window to get more information about the question and the reasons for the question.

• Program Map

  I found it useful to include a program map that shows the relationship of the various components of the navigation interface. The user can click on the map to display the screens for the list of tasks, list of transactions, subject index or guided forms selection programs. The map proved to be very helpful when training new user's.

• INFOBASE

  The infobase contains information about each task or transaction. This information is presented in layers. This layering allows a user to drill down to find additional information about a task or transaction, while not having to wade through the information to get the job done.

  The first layer of the infobase is contained in the navigation interface. These interface screens contain important information about tasks and transactions. I decided to minimize the amount of information that appears on these screens, so that the experienced users could move more quickly through the system. The less experienced users can get more information about a task or transaction by click on a button. This action will display information contained in the second layer of the infobase.

  The second level of information can provide the user with critical information about completing the task or transaction. This information should enable the user to decide if the selected task or transaction is appropriate and what action, if any, needs to be taken.

  The third level can provide the user with more general information about the task or transaction, like the purpose and why it is necessary. The LAMRS infobase contains the sections of the legislation that govern a particular transaction.

  At the request of the users, the system has the capacity to print the information in the second and third layers of the infobase. Some users found this very helpful because it allowed them to substantiate the reasons why certain actions needed to be taken.

  PROGRAMMING THE EPSS

  I used four different software programs to develop LAMRS. This approach allowed me to phase the implementation of the system. It also allowed me to use programs that most of the users already know. The following figure shows the relationship of these components.

The navigation interface was developed with Visual Basic and Microsoft Access. The database contains the list of tasks, transactions and subject index entries. The use of a database simplifies the maintenance of the systems and allows you to quickly add new information without having to recompile the program. This component was technically the most complex.

I used the windows on-line help program to display information from the second and third levels of the infobase. Using this on-line help program has a number of advantages. Firstly it is built into the windows program and most people who use windows programs are already somewhat familiar with the operation of the program. Secondly the program's hypertext and topic features gave me greater control over the presentation of information. Thirdly the on-line help topics are relatively easy to create. Fourth, the program has built in features for printing and copying information. Finally the program can be opened from many different windows programs.

I employed the users' word processing program for all the notice letters and by-laws forms. The letters and forms are setup as merge documents that prompted the user to insert the required information. Once the merge process is complete, the user can modify the letter according to their needs or style. I subsequently include a feature that allows the users to modify the master document.

A forms filler program is used for most of the tasks. With this program each form is stored as a separate file. The forms can be quickly changed by simply distributing the updated form file. The form filler also included a feature that allows a user to very quickly pop-up a message box that describes how to enter information in each area of the form and what information to enter.

CONCLUSIONS

Before implementing the system the users would frequently call the central office to get information about the forms required for a certain type of land or membership transaction. Explaining all the details over the phone was very difficult. Unless the user took good notes it was likely that they would not remember all the details. The next time they encounter the same transaction they would call again. With LAMRS we gained a tool for explaining these complex processes. We could simply guide the user through the process of using LAMRS to find the forms and information they needed. Now the user need only remember how to use the system to find the information.

The user will likely take the system at face value. If you present a checklist of tasks that contains some optional tasks, make sure that you flag the tasks as optional other wise the user will likely complete the task. You cannot always depend on the user to drill down in the infobase to find this type of information.

The use of the system has significantly reduced the time it takes to train new employees and implement changes to the system. The users are now less concern with detail procedural information and more interested in the concepts and principles underlying the operation of the land and membership registries.

An electronic performance support system can be a powerful tool for improving performance and reducing training costs. In some circumstances it is possible to develop a sophisticated electronic performance support system using relatively simple programming tools and existing resources.

© Bill Miller, 1996