Using paper mockups for evaluating soft keyboard layouts

Two soft keyboard layouts were evaluated for entry speed using paper mockups and hand timing. Twelve participants used a stylus to tap the well-known “quick brown fox” phrase five times on Qwerty and Opti layouts. Entry speeds differed significantly between the layouts: 29.5 wpm for Qwerty and 12.3 wpm for Opti. There was a significant improvement with practice over the five trails, particularly for the Opti layout (62.3%). The improvement was less with the Qwerty layout (35.3%), likely due to participants’ prior experience with the layout. The merits and limitations of the evaluation method are discussed. Keywords Soft keyboards, text entry, evaluation methods, walk-up usability

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: CASCON
• Authors: I. Scott MacKenzie, Janet C. Read
• Keywords: CASCON 2007, Education, Entry Speeds, Opti Layout, Soft Keyboards