Information Systems Interaction Readiness Scales

The Information Systems Interaction Readiness (ISIR) Scales are a set of self-reported scales that take about 10 minutes to complete and assess user attitudes toward interacting with given information systems (IS). Because the scales provide an overall picture of user experiences related to various mediated actions in interacting with IS, they can be used to evaluate and compare IS usability in terms of (input) interface, output (interface), and (interaction) rules.

Corresponding to three mediated actions involved in user-system interaction (i.e., using interface to enter input, reading output to receive information, and following rules to communicate with a system), ISIR Scales assess three subconstructs: Input Willingness, Output Receptivity, and Rule Observance. For each, a set of same items measures the affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of user attitudes. To evaluate users' typical feelings, beliefs, and intentions, all items take the semantic differential (SD) form. That is, each item is a pair of bipolar adjectives that elicits responses over a seven-level range in between (from − 3 to 3, including zero).

There are 14 different SD items for each subconstruct: six affective, six cognitive, and two behavioral. The selection of affective and cognitive items was based on an understanding of users' typical beliefs and feelings in interacting with IS from a survey study. These items are categorized into Evaluation, Power, and Activity (EPA) dimensions as commonly found in SD scales, in addition to the Intention dimension for the behavioral component (Table 1).

The implications of these dimensions in the context of user-system interaction are specified in the instructions so that subjects can clearly understand the meaning of each item. For example, part of the instructions for Input Willingness scales reads: When I use [system name] interface to enter my input,…I am _____ to do so (disinclined/inclined; hesitant/eager);…I feel _____ toward the interface (dislike/like; rejecting/accepting);…I find that the utilization of my input is _____ (foolish/wise; harmful/beneficial). The wording in the above example indicates, subsequently, the Intention dimension of the behavioral component, the Evaluation dimension of the affective component, and the Power dimension of the cognitive component.

ISIR Scales have exhibited excellent psychometric properties in terms of content, predictive, and construct validities. An overall ISIR score, as well as subscores at different levels, can be calculated by summing the individual item scores or taking simple/weighted averages. The direction (− or +) and magnitude of the ISIR scores indicate whether and how the users are prepared [Page 465]and willing to interact with given IS. Moreover, the SD items and structure (Table 1) may also be applied to the study of other mediated human activities.