Optimizing hierarchical menus by genetic algorithm and simulated annealing

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 performance by optimizing the menu’s structure. This paper proposes algorithms based on the genetic algorithm (GA) and the simulated annealing (SA) for optimizing the performance of menus. The algorithms aim to minimize the average selection time of menu items by considering the user’s pointer movement and search/decision time. We will show the experimental results on a static hierarchical menu of a cellular phone as an example where a small screen and limited input device are assumed. We will also show performance comparison of the GAbased algorithm and the SA-based one by using wide varieties of usage patterns. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces — Interaction styles, Screen design. General Term...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: GECCO
• Authors: Shouichi Matsui, Seiji Yamada
• Keywords: GECCO 2008, Genetic Algorithm, Hierarchical Menu, Optimization, Simulated Annealing