When choosing the type of keyboard that one uses, comfort and efficiency are the key determining factors. On this account, a well-designed ergonomic keyboard should also ensure that one is able to use the PC faster in typing and other activities. The features of an excellent keyboard are the main factors in choosing the suitability of a particular keyboard. It should also cater to the needs of the typist, such as those who are considered to be slow typing, persons with disability and those who have slower visual searching abilities. Two distinct types of keyboard have existed for many years, namely QWERTY and DVORAK, since the development of the frit typing machine in 1808. The paper seeks to evaluate the reason why QWERTY design is considered to be of poor quality and the recent improvements that have been put in place to enhance its efficiency.
Limitations of QWERTY Keyboard
The first factor that makes the QWERTY keyboard considered a low design is the time taken to adapt it and memorize the location of the keys. The keys on the board need to be arranged logically, and thus, one may need to take time to familiarize oneself with the location of the specific keys. It, in turn, lowers the time, especially for those who are semi-skilled or have low skills in typing. It makes it hard for those who are turned off as well to memorize the location of the random keys on the keyboard. Ciobanu et al. (2015) note that the position of the keys is based on the left and right alternation of a person’s forehead, thus limiting the effectiveness of its use. It thus brings about unexplained physical and mental fatigue as one has to multitask until they are fully aware of the position of the keys on the keyboard.
The keyboard also slows down the typing speed because of the random placement of the keys and the fact that the keyboard design is best suited for the English language. Different languages have different characters that are arranged in a different alphabetical order in the respective language. Therefore, the QWERTY keyboard creates an immense inconvenience when looking for keys that certainly do not match with other languages except English. The original design was meant to avoid key jamming rather than improve efficiency (Buzing, 2003; Ciobanu et al., 2015). Moreover, the keys are not matched on the keyboard based on the common frequency of use as compared to other types of keyboards. It slows the speed of hand movement and, thus, time-consuming for a typist to locate the keys whenever they are typing, which in turn compromises their performance.
The design of the keyboard also increases the number of typing errors mostly because of the biomechanics of the hands, especially when there is too much workload to handle. The layout of the keyboard and the location of the keys are likely to cause more typing errors as a typist tries to locate the common keys when working under the stress of other stressing situations, such as being on the first day of a new job or when learning new typing skills that they are not used (Buzing, 2003). It also affects the flow of information between the person’s brain and the hands as one shifts from one part of the keyboard to the other, searching for the specific keys.
Additionally, the design of the keys also plays a role in increasing the limitation of the QWERTY keyboard. The keyboards that are made of smaller key sizes and that are flat tend to increase the inaccuracy of typing, which in turn affects the general performance of the keyboard (Hsiao et al., 2013). Therefore, the keyboard has been changed to make it better.
New adjustments to enhance performance
There have been recent changes to the keyboard as a measure of enhancing its performance. They include changing the character layout and location of keys. It has been used as the basis for developing other keyboard types, such as Colemak, Workman and Neo. These changes also make it easy for one to have a keyboard that meets their needs (Brahambhatt, 2023). It also ensures there is an even load distribution of typing load. The introduction of a soft keyboard also allows one to adjust the keyboard size and layout in line with the respective needs and efficiency. However, the conventional design remains the same, with many people still stuck with the keyboard design. The main reason for this is that people still love the status quo and that they find it challenging to adjust to other types of keyboards even though they may be more efficient.
Conclusion
The discovery of the QWERTY keyboard was the dawn of a new era in the typist world. More than ever, people could avoid key jamming, which was common at the time. However, the keyboard still held limitations that made it inefficient. It causes low typing speed, physical and mental fatigue, reduced performance, and difficulty adjusting. However, adjustments to improve character location on the keyboard have been put forth to enhance it, thus leading to the development of other types.
References
Brahambhatt, R. (2023). Why we use the QWERTY keyboard layout — and why it is probably not the best design. https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/culture/lifestyle/qwerty-keyboard-design-30082022/
Hsaio, H. et al. (2013). Design and evaluation of small, linear QWERTY keyboards. Applied Ergonomics, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2013.09.001
Buzing, P. (2003). Comparing Different Keyboard Layouts: Aspects of QWERTY, DVORAK and Alphabetical Keyboards. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252214871
Ciobanu, O. et al. (2015). The keyboard remains the least ergonomically designed computer device. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristian-Gavat-2/publication/304413393_The_keyboard_remains_the_least_economically_designed_computer_device/links/5aba5ae9458515fcc95e08b3/The-keyboard-remains-the-least-economically-designed-computer-device.pdf
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