Lightweight task/application performance using single versus multiple monitors: a comparative study

It is becoming increasingly common to see computers with two or even three monitors being used today. People seem to like having more display space available, and intuition tells us that the added space should be beneficial to work. Little research has been done to examine the effects and potential utility of multiple monitors for work on everyday tasks with common applications, however. We compared how people completed a trip planning task that involved different applications and included interjected interruptions when they worked on a computer with one monitor as compared to a computer with two monitors. Results showed that participants who used the computer with two monitors performed the task set faster and with less workload, and they also expressed a subjective preference for the multiple monitor computer. CR Categories: H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI)]: User Interfaces Evaluation/methodology