How Think Time Impact User productivity?

Think time refers to the duration between when a user receives information and when they provide their response or input. In the context of GIS systems, it's the time users take to process displayed data before entering their next request. In GIS context:

- Minimum think time for desktop applications: 3 seconds

- Minimum think time for Web services: varies but should be reasonable

Think time significantly impacts user productivity. As display response times increase, available think time decreases, directly affecting users' ability to maintain their desired productivity levels. Here's how it works:

1. User Productivity Target: Users aim for optimal productivity levels, such as 10 displays per minute for desktop applications and 6 displays per minute for Web services.

2. Think Time Requirement: To maintain user workflows, users need at least 3 seconds of think time between each display transaction.

3. Display Response Time Impact: As display response times increase, less time is available for think time. If computed think time falls below the minimum required (3 seconds), productivity needs to be reduced to maintain the minimum think time and prevent user workflows from becoming batch processes.

For example:

- At optimal productivity (10 displays/minute for desktop apps), with a display response time of 5 seconds, users would have around 2.8 seconds of think time per display.

- To maintain a minimum think time of 3 seconds, users would need to reduce their productivity to approximately 7 displays per minute.

In essence, longer display response times force users to work slower to ensure they have enough time to process displayed data before entering their next request, thereby reducing overall user productivity.

Does it mean longer think time, the better productivity?

No, that's not correct. Longer think time does not necessarily mean better productivity. The optimal user productivity for GIS workflows is achieved with a reasonable minimum think time of around 3 seconds between display transactions. If think time becomes excessively long (>5-10 seconds), it can indicate that users are struggling to understand or process the displayed information, leading to reduced overall productivity and potentially lower-quality work.

The goal should be to maintain optimal user workflows with appropriate think times rather than simply aiming for the longest possible think times.