Sysadmins and the need for verification information

Abstract

Traditional usability measures may not be sufficient for some specialized users, such as system administrators. Because of their broad range of responsibilities for highly complex and risky business environments, these users also need tools that are powerful, informative, and credible. To do their work, system administrators need the ability to verify the work they have done. That verification comes from accurate and available information that we refer to as information credibility. This exploratory research aims to address the relationship between task complexity, task risk, and verification information seeking in GUI tools used by system administrators. Potential antecedents of information verification are identified and a model is proposed that addresses how aspects of the task and environment affect the need for verification. Findings suggest that task complexity is a significant indicator of the need for verification information. Armed with this knowledge, practitioners can anticipate the needs of system administrators and design GUI tools with information credibility in mind.