Visual cues to reduce error in computer-based routine procedural tasks

Research has shown that one type of common procedural error, postcompletion error, occurs systematically under high working memory load. Studying the effects of different interventions on this reproducible and well-explained error type may help extend our understanding of the underlying psychological mechanisms behind human error and interactive task behavior. Experiment 1 was an investigation of the error-reducing efficacy of a simple visual cue and a separate downstream error cost condition. While neither was found to be reliably effective, this inquiry provided valuable insight that led to a follow up study. In Experiment 2, a cue based on design guidelines and a mode indicator were implemented to explore possible reasons for why the previous interventions failed. Only the cue had a reliable effect, demonstrating the difficulty of designing a successful intervention. Finally, a computational model based in ACT-R was developed to provide theoretical demonstration of this finding.