Monitor Size And Aspect Ratio Productivity ... - Advanced News

Monitor Size and Aspect Ratio
Productivity Research
A Comparison of Single and Dual
Traditional Aspect Displays with a
Widescreen Display over Productivity

Background and Methodology
NEC recently commissioned the University of Utah to conduct research on productivity
gains of widescreen monitors versus dual or single traditional aspect ratio monitors.
This study compared 26-Inch MultiSync widescreen (MS LCD2690 at 1920x1200
resolution), 24-inch MultiSync widescreen (MS LCD2470WNX at 1920x1200 resolution)
and 20-inch MultiSync traditional format (MS LCD2070NX at 1600x1200 resolution)
monitors.
Additional references were made to the findings from the 2003 multi-monitor
productivity study which compared dual versus single 18-inch MultiSync traditional
format monitors (MS LCD1855NX at 1280x1024 resolution).
Ninety-six respondents were randomly assigned a display sequence
which included a single 20-inch monitor configuration, a dual
20-inch monitor configuration, and either a 24-inch Wide
or 26-inch Wide monitor configuration.
Respondents were randomly assigned both text and
spreadsheet editing tasks, which were completed
on each display configuration. Time and editing
performance measurements were analyzed for each
respondent on each monitor configuration.

Productivity Summary
Increasing screen space increases
productivity
However, these productivity gains
max out and begin to decline once
the screen becomes too large
When multiple windows are used for typical work, the standard 17-inch
monitor and smaller are considerably less productive choices than larger
options
Large widescreen monitors can be equally or more productive than dual
screen monitors
And both are more effective than smaller, single screen monitors

Productivity Summary (Cont’d)
The 20-inch std format monitor returned an 18% increase in performance scores over
the single 18-inch monitor and performed slightly better than even dual 18-inch
monitors
The research tested user performance among text and spreadsheet tasks to
determine productivity differences by the leading widescreen and dual screen uses

Productivity Summary (Cont’d)
There is clearly a task/display interaction which follows a bell curve pattern.
Productivity is likely to increase as screen size increases until the until the maximum
threshold is reached. There is a point to which screen space becomes so large that
productivity gains will flatten and eventually decline

Preference Summary
Preference is not a good predictor
of a users’ performance, but does
impact overall satisfaction levels
End-users significantly preferred
larger screen real estate, either
through a dual configuration or
larger widescreen monitor, over
single standard aspect screens
The 26-inch MultiSync widescreen,
24-inch MultiSync widescreen, and
the dual 20-inch MultiSync monitors
were significantly preferred over the
single 20-inch traditional format
monitor

Preference Summary (Cont’d)
Both widescreen and dual were preferred to single traditional format
monitors because they are:
Users that preferred widescreen over dual cited the side-by-side screens
could be closer and the lack of a bezel break aided preference for
widescreen

Single Screen vs. Dual Screen vs. Widescreen
Performance Measures

Analysis of Performance Measures:
Text Editing Task
Widescreen was consistently the best performing configuration on text
editing tasks
And both the 24-inch widescreen and 20-inch dual screens were significantly
more productive than the 20-inch single monitor configuration in completing
these text tasks
Note: Text task confidence interval at +/- 4.7%

Analysis of Performance Measures:
Spreadsheet Editing Task
Although dual monitors take more time to set up than either single or
widescreen monitors, dual monitors allowed for faster edits than did
widescreen which allowed for faster edits than did the 20-inch single
traditional monitor
Overall in the spreadsheet task, the dual 20-inch monitors performed
the best with a slight lead over the 24-inch widescreen
Note: Spreadsheet task confidence interval at +/- 4.4%

Single Screen vs. Dual Screen vs. Widescreen:
Aptitude Groups
Respondents were placed into one of three aptitude groups, novice,
intermediate or advanced based on skill level using the single traditional
monitor configuration
Not surprisingly, aptitude had an effect on performance across display
configurations
The novice aptitude group consistently had significantly higher performance
on the MultiSync widescreen compared to the single traditional monitor
Intermediate and Advanced aptitude respondents performed equally well on
the MultiSync widescreen and dual screen configurations and better than the
single 20-inch monitor
The display configuration will have the most impact on all work when
the user is less experienced
Widescreen and dual configurations reduce the productivity gap between
aptitude levels
The 24-inch MultiSync widescreen is particularly beneficial for inexperienced users

Single Screen vs. Dual Screen vs. Widescreen
End User Preference

Recommendations
Proper choices in display configuration can have a significant impact on
performance
With many office workers spending their entire day on the computer,
monitor size and configuration becomes an extremely important
component of the desktop set up
Not only does screen space impact a users’ productivity, screen space
effects the amount of satisfaction obtained from the work
With the costs of larger LCD displays falling, the smaller, (less than 19-inch)
monitor is no longer justified in terms of productivity returns and worker
well-being
Based on performance and preference from this study, large widescreen
or multiple monitor configurations are recommended for use in any situation
where multiple documents of information are an ordinary part of the work

Recommendations (Cont’d)
The increasing number of possible display configurations with their different productivity
curves encourages efforts to match the display configuration with the type of work to be
done and the skill level of the individual doing that work
Another highly productive desktop configuration would include dual monitors with at
least one being a larger widescreen monitor
As notebooks replace more desktop PCs in the workplace, a larger widescreen
monitor alongside the laptop easily allows for this desktop configuration and could
maximize productivity and preference

Productivity Curve
By plotting productivity gains from the sizes tested in the research we can
approximate productivity gains for 19-inch traditional format and 22-inch
wide, as well as dual 19-inch monitors

Single Screen vs. Dual Screen vs. Widescreen:
Return On Investment
Based on the productivity gains obtained when increasing screen space over
current leading monitor sizes, significant cost savings can be realized
# of Additional Days of Production Company Would Realize Per Year
Single 24" Wide
Single 22" Wide
Dual 19" Std
Single 19" Std
Dual 17" Std
Single 17" Std
x250
Employees
x500
Employees
x1000
Employees
x5000
Employees
20,270 40,541 81,081 405,405
16,544 33,088 66,176 330,882
14,050 28,101 56,202 281,008
5,161 10,321 20,642 103,211
8,152 16,304 32,609 163,043
No Gain
Net Annual Cost Savings (After Add'l Electricity and Monitor Cost)
Single 24" Wide
Single 22" Wide
Dual 19" Std
Single 19" Std
Dual 17" Std
Single 17" Std
x250
Employees
x500
Employees
x1000
Employees
x5000
Employees
$ 2,324,891 $ 4,649,783 $ 9,299,565 $ 46,497,826
$ 1,978,612 $ 3,957,224 $ 7,914,449 $ 39,572,244
$ 1,564,908 $ 3,129,817 $ 6,259,634 $ 31,298,169
$ 549,374 $ 1,098,748 $ 2,197,495 $ 10,987,476
$ 840,977 $ 1,681,953 $ 3,363,907 $ 16,819,535
No Gain