User-Sensitive Inclusive Design

Although “User-Centred”, “Participatory”, and other similar design approaches have proved to be very valuable for mainstream design, their principles are more difficult to apply successfully when the user group contains, or is composed of, older and/or disabled users. In the field of design for older and disabled people, the “Universal Design”, “Inclusive Design” and “Design for All” movements have encouraged designers to extend their design briefs to include older and disabled people. The downside of these approaches is that they can tend to encourage designers to follow a traditional design path to produce a prototype design, and only then investigate how to modify their interfaces and systems to cope with older and/or disabled users. This can lead to an inefficient design process and sometimes an inappropriate design, which may be “accessible” to people with disabilities, but in practice unusable. This paper reviews the concept that the authors have called “User-Sensitive Inclusive Design”, which suggests a different approach to designing for marginalised groups of people. Rather than suggesting that designers rely on standards and guidelines, it is suggested that designers need to develop a real empathy with their user groups. A number of ways to achieve this are recommended, including the use of ethnography and techniques derived from professional theatre both for requirements gathering and for improving designers’ empathy for marginalised groups of users, such as older and disabled people.     

Forum Theatre as a requirements gathering methodology in the design of a home telecommunication system for older adults

The ability to elicit requirements in the design of new technology has proved to be particularly problematic with older generations of users who have not grown up with the same level of familiarity and understanding of present day user interfaces as younger generations have. It is also widely acknowledged that older people are poorly represented in the development process of mainstream technology. In this paper, we critically examine how 'Forum Theatre' can be used as a requirements gathering methodology in the development of a novel digital television (DTV) based communication system. We demonstrate how live theatre established a 'common ground' between audience participants and actors in the facilitation of new ideas, and discuss how live theatre can be used to stimulate interest and understanding from designers and relevant professionals in the development of an unfamiliar and largely undefined technology for older adults.     

The use of theatre in requirements gathering and usability studies

This paper discusses the use of theatrical techniques to communicate to designers the user requirements for IT interfaces – particularly those of “extreme users” such as older people. The methodology and processes of producing such material in a video form are described, together with the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. The paper concludes by suggesting the various roles live theatre can play in user centered design. Although the research, on which this paper is based, focuses on the challenges presented by older and disabled users, the techniques described are applicable to a wider range of users.     

移情及其在产品设计中的应用研究

文章对移情及其在产品设计中的应用进行研究，首先从美学和心理学的角度论述了移情的起源，认为设计师可通过移情来透彻理解用户。获取设计信息。激发创作灵感。然后提出移情设计的过程可分为“产生”“沉浸”“联系”“分离”四个阶段。在此基础上分析了移情设计的方法。如“人类学的田野调查”“用户信息的交流”“用户行为的模拟”等。以及这些方法与传统设计方法的不同。最后结合设计实例阐述了移情设计的应用。     

A Design Thinking Rationality Framework: Framing and Solving Design Problems in Early Concept Generation

The concept of “Design Thinking” opens up debate regarding the prevalent human–computer interaction design practice. This article focuses specifically on the cognitive processes of designers during their early design activities. Two groups of designers—experts and novices—were asked to develop a fictitious vacuum cleaner. We then examined the different ways in which these groups manage their design thinking processes and how the groups choose design concepts. The empirical study revealed that expert designers are effective at framing design problems. They make quick decisions (through the use of the affect heuristic) but are more wedded to their own previously developed design concepts, which they do not change in subsequent design stages. In contrast, novice designers are less skilled in framing new design problems but better able to renounce their initial design concepts. These diverse design thinking approaches are linked to potential problems. We then discuss how to address these concerns in conjunction with empathy for the artifact (i.e., artifact empathy via the mediated self) or user (i.e., user empathy via the simulated self), problem framing with second-order semantic connotations, and irrationality when analyzing design solutions. Finally, we propose a design thinking rationality framework that can establish a designer's view of design activities and thereby assist designers educated in both creative and rational design decisions.     

Using Q methodology to explore user’s value types on mobile phone service websites

The website has been greatly extended and is popular all over the world for electronic commerce. Many technical tools and business functions can increase their reach by websites. The mobile phone service is an essential amenity for people. The intention of this research is to take an extensive look at different kinds of mobile phone website users. In this research, Q methodology is used to gather and analyze the data. According to the results, users’ types may be categorized into four groups: Online shoppers, Information seekers, Recreation demanders, and Easy users. The empirical results of this study can provide decision support intelligence for the websites designers to increase mobile phone website users’ satisfaction.     

设计旨在沟通：功能性产品设计中的三种语言

设计是人类移情作用的产物,旨在建立设计师与用户之间的双向沟通,达成双方的相互理解。然而,在功能性产品设计过程中,设计师的“命令”、产品的“应答”和用户的“请求”这三种语言之间存在着差别。文章旨在分析研究功能性产品设计过程中三种语言的交流过程,提出符合沟通逻辑的设计原则,对产品的用户需求满足起到一定的参考意义。     

创造产品的闪光点——从用户需求到产品设计

产品设计的目的是为了满足用户真正的需求,从用户需求到产品设计的过程是发现问题解决问题的过程。本文通过分析产品设计目标用户(人)的多种需求及吸引用户的产品闪光点,探讨了设计师创造吸引用户的产品闪光点的具体方法,同时指出设计中运用设计方法的方法是在用户具体的需求情境中解决设计问题。     

WebCT – The quasimoderating effect of perceived affective quality on an extending Technology Acceptance Model

Perceived affective quality is an attractive area of research in Information System. Specifically, understanding the intrinsic and extrinsic individual factors and interaction effects that influence Information and Communications Technology (ICT) acceptance and adoption – in higher education – continues to be a focal interest in learning research. In this regard, one type of affective reactions toward ICT (in our study, the WebCT), perceived affective quality, is an essential dimension in user technology acceptance.     

Designing for designers: Towards the development of accessible ICT products and services using the VERITAS framework

Among key design practices which contribute to the development of inclusive ICT products and services is user testing with people with disabilities. Traditionally, this involves partial or minimal user testing through the usage of standard heuristics, employing external assisting devices, and the direct feedback of impaired users. However, efficiency could be improved if designers could readily analyse the needs of their target audience. The VERITAS framework simulates and systematically analyses how users with various impairments interact with the use of ICT products and services. Findings show that the VERITAS framework is useful to designers, offering an intuitive approach to inclusive design.     

The influence of a knowledge-based system on designers' cognitive activities: a study involving professional web designers

Over the last few decades, several usability knowledge-based systems have been developed to provide user interface designers with usability knowledge (e.g. heuristics, usability guidelines, standards). Such systems are intended to assist designers during the design process, and to improve the usability of the user interface being designed. However, the assumption that such systems actually improve the usability of the resulting user interface remains to be demonstrated: virtually no systems have been empirically tested by designers who create products. In order to confirm this assumption, we conducted an experimental study in which professional web designers had to create webpages, either using a knowledge-based system – MetroWeb – or without it. This study was intended to determine the influence of MetroWeb on the professional web designers' cognitive activity, and to find out whether MetroWeb actually assists them to develop a user-centred design. The results show that the web designers did not very often use MetroWeb while designing webpages; however, rather surprisingly, the designers who did use MetroWeb more often exhibited a user-centred activity than those working without MetroWeb. We conclude this paper by discussing these findings, and suggesting future possible ways of research intended to assist designers to adopt a user-centred approach to their activity.     

Strategies for teaching older people to use the World Wide Web

Information is increasingly displayed digitally, yet less than half of the population of the UK use the Internet. Older people are especially unlikely to be Internet users and the consequent risks of digital exclusion must be addressed. A training course in computers and web use for older adults took place at the University of Dundee, with 15 participants. The course approach was to simplify application interfaces and to ensure that basic skills were learnt before more complicated tasks were presented. As part of this process, there was a focus on learning to use the computer before learners were introduced to the web with its wide variety of content. The course outcomes were positive and the authors report them here in order to reflect upon the experience and help others who set out to provide training for older people in web use.

Pragmatic research issues confronting HCI practitioners when designing for universal access

Many HCI products exclude potential users unnecessarily. Such exclusion often arises because of a mismatch between designers’ perceptions of the wants and needs of the end-user and their actual wants and needs. Sometimes the mismatch originates from the designer being unaware of the need to design inclusively, or of methods for implementing inclusive design. Other times the mismatch comes from the commissioner of the design, for example the client of a design consultancy. If the design commissioner specifies a target socio-economic group, but does not explicitly recognise that the group consists of users of varying functional capabilities, then the designers will often be given a design brief that overlooks the need to address the wider range of users, beyond simply the able-bodied. In either case, for universal access to be achieved effectively, information is required to identify the need for inclusive design and thus to generate demand, and design guidance is needed to help designers make inclusive design a reality. Currently, that information is largely unavailable to designers in an appropriate off-the-shelf format. This paper investigates methods for researchers to provide the kind of information that HCI designers need to design for universal access. It focuses on the profiling, recruitment and selection of users, along with the interpretation of the data gathered. In many instances, the HCI designer may also be the person performing the research, where specialist researchers are not available.     

Effects of accessible website design on nondisabled users: age and device as moderating factors

This study examined how implementing recommendations from Web accessibility guidelines affects nondisabled people in different age groups using different technical devices. While recent research showed positive effects of implementing such recommendations for nondisabled users, it remains unclear whether such effects would apply to different age groups and kind of devices. A 2 × 2 × 2 design was employed with website accessibility (high accessibility vs. very low accessibility), age (younger adults vs. older adults) and type of device (laptop vs. tablet) as independent variables. 110 nondisabled participants took part in a usability test, in which performance and satisfaction were measured as dependent variables. The results showed that higher accessibility increased task completion rate, task completion time and satisfaction ratings of nondisabled users. While user age did not have any effects, users showed faster task completion time under high accessibility when using a tablet rather than a laptop. The findings confirmed previous findings, which showed benefits of accessible websites for nondisabled users. These beneficial effects may now be generalised to a wide age range and across different devices.

Practitioner Summary: This work is relevant to the design of websites since it emphasises the need to consider the characteristics of different user groups. Accessible website design (aimed at users with disabilities) leads to benefits for nondisabled users across different ages. These findings provide further encouragement for practitioners to apply WCAG 2.0.     

Why Do Street-Smart People Do Stupid Things Online?

The systems we worry about securing include the people who use them. In everyday offline life, an average person's "security policy" consists of a few simple, intuitive rules. We believe that the majority of users continuously employ risk analysis heuristics to plan both their online and offline actions; the overwhelming problem of online security is that this analysis, in the online case, is based primarily on entirely wrong assumptions, intuitively derived from incorrect interpretation of GUI elements and processes. We propose a core user interface design principle for the designers to follow when considering and building trust-decision-related user interface features.     

Happy together: sensors and users

This issue of IEEE Internet Computing is focused on data-driven applications in sensor networks, which, in a literal sense, might not seem to have much to do with user experience (UE). We are hoping to offer some insights into how UE people might think about this problem area and others like it, what issues they might raise, and what opportunities could arise by considering those issues. The final message is that, although sensor-network management presents a unique set of challenges, the usual rules of user-centered design still apply: know your users; know their tasks; design, test, and repeat. In some highly technical domains, you might be designing for skilled, experienced users with a clear foundation of domain knowledge and expertise. From a UE design perspective, this means that the designers can assume the presence of this knowledge about the domain, and design the system around it. The interface that results could well be impenetrable to anybody outside the domain, but that might be okay - there's nothing wrong with building interfaces for experts if that's who your users are. The catch is that the UI designers has to learn enough about the domain that they can do the design, because so much of what makes it an effective interface is bound up in the domain's details. That's the route that gets you a great interface, and a great user experience.     

The efficacy of narrative video for raising awareness in ICT designers about older users’ requirements

This paper discusses the efficacy of narrative video to communicate some of the fundamental differences between older users of ICT interfaces and the interface designers who tend not to be familiar with the general perspectives and user requirements of this and other ‘non-typical’ target groups. Preliminary results show the impact such videos can have on relevant audiences’ perspective on designing systems for older adults. The findings suggest that they can influence the mind set of those with little or no experience of designing for older users and that this influence can persist in the longer term. The findings also suggest that the extent of this influence can be an appropriate alternative to that of meeting and interacting with older users in a user centred design process, which although very valuable can be a logistically (and otherwise) challenging element in the training of prospective software designers. The potential utility and limits of this approach are also discussed.     

Effective Communication in Requirements Elicitation: A Comparison of Methodologies

The elicitation or communication of user requirements comprises an early and critical but highly error-prone stage in system development. Socially oriented methodologies provide more support for user involvement in design than the rigidity of more traditional methods, facilitating the degree of user–designer communication and the ‘capture’ of requirements. A more emergent and collaborative view of requirements elicitation and communication is required to encompass the user, contextual and organisational factors. From this accompanying literature in communication issues in requirements elicitation, a four-dimensional framework is outlined and used to appraise comparatively four different methodologies seeking to promote a closer working relationship between users and designers. The facilitation of communication between users and designers is subject to discussion of the ways in which communicative activities can be ‘optimised’ for successful requirements gathering, by making recommendations based on the four dimensions to provide fruitful considerations for system designers.     

Intelligent Services for the Elderly Over the TV

The TV is usually considered just another channel to receive information and services. However, for certain users with special needs, such as the Disabled and Elderly, TV based interfaces could become the only suitable way to defeat interfacing barriers and enter the Information Society.Elderly users have special requirements with respect to user interfacing approaches and home delivered services. The EC funded project SAID proposes the combination of iTV technologies, agents based intelligent services and innovative “active” interfaces as the best way overcome the reluctancy elderly users show to the introduction of ICT technologies in their home environment. SAID uses state of the art agent technology to implement the following services: intelligent information assistants on the TV, automatic suggestions engine based on a stored user profile, automatic user monitoring and profile acquisition and intelligent mobile visits planner running over GPRS.