FittsStudy

Given the performance limitations of the first computer models, navigating the terminal-powered layouts involved a keyboard-based interaction to carry out the digitized tasks that the hardware of the time was capable of processing.

However, with each improvement made in terms of raw computing power, a transition from the traditional text-based modus operandi was made to preliminary versions of what are now regarded as graphical interfaces equipped with interactive visual cues the likes of buttons and application borders that forego the steep learning curve of typing out each command by hand.

This transition also required the use of an additional peripheral in the form of a pointing device that has become ubiquitous to most PC users. One way of measuring your speed and accuracy when utilizing a mouse is through FittsStudy, an in-depth pointing task analyzer that tracks your input.

When launched, the app lets you start a test in which the user is meant to click or tap on targets in either metronome-style movement patterns using large vertical bars of varying widths or circles whose numbers and radii can be adjusted. The results can then be displayed in the form of .xml reports that let you preview the movement patterns of each trial.