Modeling Trial-and-Error Navigation With a Sequential Decision Model of Information Scent
Users often struggle to locate an item within an information architecture, particularly when links are ambiguous or deeply nested in hierarchies. Information scent has been used to explain why users select incorrect links, but this concept assumes that users see all available links before deciding. In practice, users frequently select a link too quickly, overlook relevant cues, and then rely on backtracking when errors occur. We extend the concept of information scent by framing navigation as a sequential decision-making problem under memory constraints. Specifically, we assume that users do not scan entire pages but instead inspect strategically, looking "just enough" to find the target ...
| Authors | Xiaofu Jin, Yunpeng Bai, Antti Oulasvirta |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.HC |
| Published | 12 March 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 12 March 2026 |
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