Citation, please.

July 22, 2013 7:44 PM

Is there actual scientific research behind this oft-cited UI response time => human perception table? Or is it just "conventional wisdom." If not, I'd love to see the original research and know how it was conducted.
posted by ignignokt to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

"US DOD MIL-STD 1472-F Human Engineering Standard has the most widely accepted requirements for maximum allowed response time (from Table XXII, page 196, times in seconds)."

I've seen Jakob Nielson's book Usability Engineering cited as the reference for this table, so perhaps the book has more concrete references.

Actual testing of the effect is also possible, since we're talking about how people perceive things. How do these fade-out buttons feel? (via)
posted by daveliepmann at 8:39 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I don't have access to it for free, but Nielson's Usability Engineering references Response time in man-computer conversational transactions, from Robert Miller in 1968.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:46 PM on July 22, 2013

Response by poster: Hey, thanks—looks like it's online here! And his preface says something to the effect of, "I ran experiments, but for the sake of time, not with scientific rigor, so consider these 'indicative, not conclusive.'"
posted by ignignokt at 9:46 PM on July 22, 2013 [1 favorite]