Developing Instrument To Measure Familiarity And Difficulty To Use Central Control Touchscreens Of New Energy Vehicles (Nev)

Abstract

This paper aims to explore user familiarity and difficulty in using central control touchscreens in New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) and assess the impact of these factors on users' perceived usefulness and ease of use. Given the inadequacy of existing measurement tools to fully cover the complexities of NEV user interfaces and user diversity, we developed a new research instrument. This instrument is based on Cognitive Load Theory and Social Cognitive Theory, covering difficulty-related constructs such as SystemComplexity, User Diversity, Emerging Technologies, Emotional and Psychological Factors, as well as familiarity-related constructs including Consistency, Affordance, Conventions, User Research, and Error Handling. Through a pilot study conducted among Tesla car users in Chengdu, China, data were analyzed using SPSS (version 27) and SmartPLS (version 4) software to determine the reliability and validity of the research instrument. Results of the Cronbach's alpha coefficients showed good internal consistency across constructs, ranging from 0.72 to 0.87, except for the "User Diversity" construct, which slightly fell below the acceptable threshold of 0.7 at 0.68. The study found that user familiarity and difficulty significantly influence the acceptance of central control touchscreens, indicating the need for designers to consider these factors in the development of NEV user interfaces. The results not only emphasize the importance of considering user familiarity and difficulty in NEV design but also provide crucial guidelines and assessment tools for future user interface design.