I'm reading a thesis which discusses Task-focused user interfaces. They discuss an application which adapts/filters views based on relevant items determined by an interaction history. They prove their interface (Eclipse Mylyn) results in higher productivity for programmers.
Although I don't doubt these results are correct I wonder whether such an adaptive user interface doesn't have any downsides as well. Personally, I rely a lot on knowing what to expect where in the interfaces I use. I wonder whether an interface which changes over time (hides/moves certain items) doesn't sometimes result in a downgraded user experience.
More particularly, I'm looking for studies which evaluate possible downsides to adaptive user interfaces.
Answer
Somewhere near the end of the thesis they reference a paper from 2004 which discusses this very subject. A comparison of static, adaptive, and adaptable menus.
abstract
Software applications continue to grow in terms of the number of features they offer, making personalization increasingly important. Research has shown that most users prefer the control afforded by an adaptable approach to personalization rather than a system-controlled adaptive approach. No study, however, has compared the efficiency of the two approaches. In a controlled lab study with 27 subjects we compared the measured and perceived efficiency of three menu conditions: static, adaptable and adaptive. Each was implemented as a split menu, in which the top four items remained static, were adaptable by the subject, or adapted according to the subject's frequently and recently used items. The static menu was found to be significantly faster than the adaptive menu, and the adaptable menu was found to be significantly faster than the adaptive menu under certain conditions. The majority of users preferred the adaptable menu overall. Implications for interface design are discussed.
Although the adaptable menu was preferred by the majority of subjects (55%), the adaptive menu did have support (30%). By contrast, only 15% of subjects wanted the static menu, even though it was the optimal split menu (based on measurements beforehand).
They suggest further research into combining both methods in a mixed-initiative design. E.g. have the system periodically suggest additions/deletions.
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