The Comprehensibility of Printed Instructions and the Flowchart Alternative
- 1 April 1975
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
- Vol. 17 (2) , 183-191
- https://doi.org/10.1177/001872087501700209
Abstract
A few recent studies of open-book comprehension for printed instructions lead to the rule of thumb that such instructions will be understood correctly about two-thirds of the time. In the experiment reported here, two different flowchart formats were compared with standard paragraph instructions and were found to be superior in comprehension accuracy and speed. The two-thirds rule and the flowchart effect were both sustained in comprehension testing in a subsequent field trial.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Written information: Some alternatives to prose for expressing the outcomes of complex contingencies.Journal of Applied Psychology, 1973
- “Words, Words, Words”Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 1965