Usability and Accessibility Lecture 7 – 09/03/10

1. Usability and AccessibilityLecture 7 – 09/03/10 Dr. Simeon Keates

2. Exercise – part 1 • Each group will be assigned a type of website • Group 1 – car rental sites (e.g. Avis, hertz, alamo, budget) • Group 2 – airline flight booking sites (e.g. flysas, virginatlantic, ba, sterling) • Group 3 – travel insurance sites (e.g. columbusdirect) • Group 4 – luggage (e.g. tumi) • Group 5 – clothing (e.g. versace, lacoste) • You must look at a minimum of 3 sites • For each website, use Wave ( http://wave.webaim.org/ ) to examine the reported accessibility of each site

3. Exercise – part 2 Question: How does Wave compare with CynthiaSays? • Now try the Vischeck colour simulator (http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck) on the same sites • And then try a screen reader (http://webanywhere.cs.washington.edu/) Question: Have you changed your opinion about the overall accessibility of the sites? Answer: Performs same checks. Output more visual (and usable). Answer: No(?). Some groups said “Yes!”

4. Exercise – part 3 Deliverable: • Next week you will be testing your own sites • Develop a plan for how you will test your sites to make sure that they are as accessible as possible Have all groups done this? Note: need for valid HTML/XML version before sites can be fully tested with screen reader software, etc.

5. Quantifying exclusion

6. How are people excluded? • For example, dexterity: • can pick up items, turn handles and control switches with one hand but not the other • has severe difficulty utilising products (i.e.: picking and pouring a full kettle) • cannot pick up a cup or turn a handle with either hand

7. Information requirements Users Capabilities Ergonomic Features Physical Attributes

8. Information available For capabilities: • Great Britain Follow-up Survey (Grundy et al., 1999) • Thirteen capability scales ranging from • 0 (fully able) through • 0.5 (minimal impairment) to • 12.5 (most severe impairment)

9. Typical capability scale

10. Disability score • Weighted disability score = worst • + 0.4second worst • + 0.3third worst • Score then mapped to a ten pointseverity category

11. Severity category

12. Information available For physical attributes: • Adult data (Peebles and Norris, 1998) • Older adult data (Smith et al., 2000)

13. Product assessment A three level approach: • Review the ideal product • Review the requirements • Review the actual product

14. Product assessment A four-step review process: • Specify the context of use • Assess physical attributes • Assess capability demands • Eliminate multiple counting

15. A case study - the kettle • (a) An early kettle (b) Corded kettle (c) Cordless kettle

16. A case study - a kettle Consider the following example: • The ideal product demands no more than drinking from a cup • The actual product is a metal cordless kettle • The requirements suggest a lighter, smaller kettle is possible

17. Specify the context of use In this case it will be assumed that: • The kettle will be positioned to suit the height and mobility of the user • The actions required will be to fill the kettle with water, switch it on and to pour the boiling water into a cup

18. Assess physical attributes In this case it may be assumed that: • Hand and finger size have no significant impact on the users’ ability to use the products

19. Assess capability demands

20. Eliminate multiple counting 10 8 6 Motion Capability 4 Scale: 2 1m 0 -2 Full -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Capability Sensory Capability

21. Eliminate multiple counting 10 Product demands 8 6 Motion Capability 4 Scale: 2 1m 0 -2 Full -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Capability Sensory Capability

22. Eliminate multiple counting 10 Product demands 8 6 Motion Capability 4 Scale: 2 1m 0 -2 Full -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Capability Sensory Capability

23. Assessment summary

24. Summary • Why quantify? • • A better product is a more inclusive product • • Or a more inclusive product is a better product? • • Hence managers and designers need be able to evaluate the inclusive merit of their products

25. Summary • We can quantify exclusion • We can identify sources of exclusion • Thus, we can counter exclusion

26. Some questions to ponder... • Q - The death of “inclusive” design? • Is it possible to design to ‘include’ users? • Q - What level of exclusion is reasonable or acceptable? • Q - Cannot or will not?

27. Putting accessibility into the design process

28. Designing for accessibility - Key features • It is imperative that the user wants and needs for the product are identified accurately • Designing for accessibility relies on the ability to identify potential accessibility difficulties with a product • Those difficulties need to be prioritized and then fixed or removed

29. cheap • perceived to be easiest • not particularly effective • accessible products • perceived to be expensive/difficult • can be very effective - if done correctly Designing for accessibility - Reactivity or proactivity? Reactivity - retrospective design consideration Proactivity - designed for accessibility

30. Designing for accessibility - Identifying causes of exclusion • User observation • “Gold” standard, but potentially pricey • Self assessment • Fast, cheap, highly variable • Expert assessment • Depends on the expert • Simulation • More repeatable than self-assessment • Can all impairments be simulated?

31. Designing for accessibility - Remedying causes of exclusion • Can this feature be removed? • Do we need it? • Can this feature be changed to make it more accessible? • Can we make it bigger? • Can a complementary method of offering the functionality be added? • Can we add a second button? • Can the functionality be offered in an alternative way? • Does it have to be a button? Can it be a slider? • Can an auxiliary aid (or assistive technology) be offered to supplement to feature? • Can we persuade the user to buy another bit of kit to use this product?

32. Level 1 - Problem requirements Defining the problem • Original design or review? • Identify user wants Example tools • Engineering Requirements Capture techniques • Usability analyses of existing designs • Talking to people (e.g. users, design commissioners) • Sociological models

33. Level 2 - Problem specification Defining the functions • What should this product do? Example approaches • Workflows • Task diagrams, etc.

34. Level 3 - Output to user Output mechanics of system • Nature of output (e.g. aural, visual) • Output media (e.g. screens, speakers) • Anthropometrics / ergonomics • User sensory capabilities • Environment Example tools • Anthropometric/ergonomic data sets • Population capability data

35. Level 4 - User mental model Mapping system behaviour to user expectations • Content • Structure • Order of interaction • User mental model • User cognitive capabilities Example tools • Cognitive walkthrough • Questionnaires / interviewing

36. Level 5 - Input from user Allowing the user to control the system • Nature of input (e.g. analogue, text) • Input media (e.g. keyboard, mouse, buttons) • Ergonomics / anthropometrics • User motor capabilities Example tools • User performance trials • User models (e.g. Fitts’ Law, MHP)

37. Level 6 - Functional attributes Verify and validate functionality • Does the system offer the required functionality? • Is the system practically acceptable to the users? Example tools • Formal usability analyses & user trials • Discount analyses (e.g. heuristic evaluation) • Questionnaires / interviews

38. Level 7 - Social attributes Verify and validate match to user wants and aspirations • Is the system socially acceptable to the users? • Does the user want to use it? Example tools • Formal usability analyses & user trials • Questionnaires / interviews

39. 7 level model - summary • Level 1 - Problem requirements • Level 2 - Problem specification • Level 3 - Output to user • Level 4 - User mental model • Level 5 - Input from user • Level 6 - Functional attributes • Level 7 - Social attributes

40. Universal Access and Royal Mail • 1 in 7 Royal Mail customers “disabled” • Must comply with DDA... … and lead by example

41. Case study - The Personal Information Point

42. Applying the 7 level approach to the PIP What is the aim of the PIP? Level 1 - Level 2 - Level 3 - Level 4 - Level 5 - Level 6 - Level 7 - What are the system requirements? How does the user receive information from the PIP? Does the user understand what is happening/required? How does the user enter information? Does the PIP meet the functionality needs? Does the PIP meet the stated aim?

43. LEVEL 1 - System aims Objectives • Introduce Royal Mail customers to technology • Pathfinder for future ‘kiosks’ • Users • Typical Royal Mail customers • Design suggestions • Aims need to be more clearly defined

44. LEVEL 2 - System requirements Objectives Not really defined!!! • Reduce queue length • Improve customer service • DDA compliant • Users • Typical Royal Mail customers • Design suggestions • Tasks and functionality need to be specified

45. LEVEL 3 - User output Concept system • Visual video footage - LCD screen • Audio soundtrack - telephone handset • Assessment • Screen too high and not adjustable ? • Audio output not duplicated ? • Visual output not duplicated ?

46. Screen too high…

47. Screen too high • Female population (16+) = 24,125,000 • Female population (65+) = 5,475,000 • % excluded (16+) = 25% • % excluded (65+) = 50% • Total excluded (16+) ≈ 6,000,000 • Total excluded (65+) ≈ 2,700,000

48. Output not duplicated Hearing: • “Difficulty following a conversation against background noise” • (16+) = 1,922,000 • (65+) = 1,232,000 Vision: • “Has difficulty seeing to read ordinary newspaper print” • (16+) = 1,313,000 • (65+) = 871,000

49. LEVEL 3 - User output Concept system • Visual video footage - LCD screen • Audio soundtrack - telephone handset • Assessment • Screen too high and not adjustable - • Audio output not duplicated - • Visual output not duplicated - 6,000,000 1,900,000 1,300,000 • Design suggestions • Lower screen with adjustable angle • Information channel duplication

50. LEVEL 4 - User understanding Concept system • No content at time of assessment • However, planned to have National Savings products • Assessment • Not possible for this level • However, review your earlier exercise on this… • Design suggestions • Use another product for this!