Studying the Mouse for CAD Systems

Four experiments were conducted to test the suitability of the mouse as a pointing device for CAD systems. The experimental tasks included simultaneously pressing more than one button (chording), repeated clicking of a single button, and moving the mouse while one or more buttons are held down. Although subjects did prefer some styles of interaction over others, quantitative measures (completion time and error counts) indicate that people can successfully perform all requested actions. Use of the nonpreferred methods therefore may be appropriate in systems where it is desirable to provide the user with several alternate inputs. Designers who make this decision should be aware, however, that substantial system overhead is required to test for multiple clicking and chording.