Genetic algorithm can optimize hierarchical menus

Hierarchical menus are now ubiquitous. The performance of the menu depends on many factors: structure, layout, colors and so on. There has been extensive research on novel menus, but there has been little work on improving the performance by optimizing the menu's structure. This paper proposes an algorithm based on the genetic algorithm (GA) for optimizing the performance of menus. The algorithm aims to minimize the average selection time of menu items by considering movement and decision time. We show results on a static hierarchical menu of a cellular phone where a small screen and limited input device are assumed. Our work makes several contributions: a novel mathematical optimization model for hierarchical menus; novel optimization method based on the genetic algorithm (GA). Author Keywords Hierarchical menu, optimization, genetic algorithm. ACM Classification Keywords H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces -- Interaction styles, Screen design.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Shouichi Matsui, Seiji Yamada
• Keywords: CHI 2008, Genetic Algorithm, Hierarchical Menu, Human Computer Interaction, Keywords Hierarchical Menu