HCI Track-A Universal Usability Week45

Lecture Notes on Universal Usability

Introduction to Universal Usability

Today’s lecture explored the concept of universal usability, which focuses on developing software systems that cater to everyone, regardless of their conditions, disabilities, or cultural backgrounds. The goal is to design interfaces that go beyond our own capabilities and consider the diverse needs of all types of users.

Learning Goals

• Realize that not everyone is like you: When building user interfaces, it’s crucial to recognize that users have varying abilities and needs.
• Understand different types of disabilities: Gain awareness of the disabilities that users may have and how these affect their interaction with technology.
• Learn about assistive tools: Familiarize yourself with the tools and technologies available to help disabled users.
• Design good user interfaces: Understand how thoughtful design can remove obstacles for people with disabilities.
• Consider cultural differences: Recognize that universal usability also encompasses cultural diversity, impacting how we design user interfaces globally.

Importance of Considering All Users

We often default to designing systems for able-bodied individuals similar to ourselves. However, this approach excludes a significant portion of the population. For example:

• Blindness: Affects around 0.6% of the population, totaling approximately 50 million people worldwide.
• Color Blindness: Occurs in 1 out of 12 men and 1 out of 200 women.
• Cerebral Palsy: Affects 1 out of 700 individuals, leading to limited muscle control.

By acknowledging these statistics, we can appreciate the importance of inclusive design.

Universal usabaility

• Addressing the needs of all users not just a privileged few
• “There’s no average user!”
• Users diffierent: Culture, Context, Age, Education, Disabilities

Two properties of an interactive system

• Useful:
  • Must meet user needs
    • => Collect, analyze and understand these needs
• Usable
  • Must be adapted to the capabilities of the users
    • => Know these capacities and their context of use
    • => Use adapted design methods and rules

Usability Goals and Measures

1. Time to learn
2. Speed of performance
3. Rate of errors by users
4. Retention over time
5. Subjective satisfaction

Types of Disabilities

Visual Impairments

Jack Chen’s Example

Jack Chen is a blind lawyer working at Google. Despite his lack of vision, he:

• Uses a screen reader to interact with his computer.
• Turns up the speech speed to process information more efficiently.
• Faces challenges with visual elements like redlining in legal documents, which his screen reader struggles to interpret.

Key Takeaway: With the right tools and adaptations, individuals with visual impairments can perform complex jobs effectively.

Assistive Technologies for Visual Impairments

• Screen Readers: Software that reads out text on the screen.
• Braille Displays: Devices that convert on-screen text to Braille characters.

Example: Using an iPhone as a Blind User

A blind user demonstrated how she operates an iPhone:

• Navigates by running her finger along the screen, which provides haptic feedback.
• Uses VoiceOver, a built-in screen reader that announces the selected items.
• Employs the Braille Screen Input for typing, allowing her to input text using Braille characters directly on the touchscreen.

Example: Blind Software Developer

Saqib Shaikh, a blind software engineer at Microsoft, showcased:

• Coding using Visual Studio with a screen reader.
• Listening to code and error messages at high speeds to increase efficiency.
• Overcoming challenges like identifying syntax errors without visual cues.

Key Takeaway: Advanced assistive technologies enable visually impaired individuals to engage in fields like software development.

Hearing Impairments

Example: Deaf Fortnite Gamer

• Visualizing Sound Effects: Epic Games introduced a feature in Fortnite that displays sound cues visually, helping deaf players compete effectively.
• Benefit to All Players: This feature also aids players with poor audio setups or those who prefer playing without sound.

Assistive Technologies for Hearing Impairments

• Automatic Captioning: Platforms like YouTube offer auto-generated captions, making content accessible to those with hearing impairments.
• Visual Alerts: Software can provide visual notifications for system sounds or alerts.

Key Takeaway: Features designed for accessibility often enhance the user experience for all users.

Motor Impairments

Brad’s Example with Cerebral Palsy

Brad, who has cerebral palsy and can only control his eyes, utilizes:

• Eye-Tracking Technology: Allows him to type, communicate, and even play video games.
• Assistive Software: Enables screen sharing and remote assistance from his aide during activities like online classes.

Key Takeaway: Eye-tracking and other input methods can empower individuals with severe motor impairments to interact with technology.

Assistive Technologies for Motor Impairments

• Adaptive Controllers: Devices like the Logitech Adaptive Gaming Kit offer customizable inputs (buttons, switches) tailored to the user’s abilities.
• Alternative Input Devices: One-handed keyboards, mouth sticks, or sip-and-puff systems for those with limited limb movement.

Example: Adaptive Gaming Controller

A gamer with limited arm function demonstrated:

• Using an adaptive controller with buttons positioned to suit his range of motion.
• Incorporating an analog throttle controlled by his mouth for precise in-game actions.

Cultural Differences in Design

Cultural diversity significantly impacts user interface design. Assumptions based on one’s own culture can lead to ineffective or inappropriate designs elsewhere.

Examples of Cultural Differences

Eating Utensils and Etiquette

• Chopsticks vs. Fork and Knife: Different cultures use various utensils, affecting the design of products like cooking apps or instructional materials.
• Chopstick Etiquette: Varies between countries like Japan, China, and Korea, influencing how products should respect local customs.

Web Design Aesthetics

• Yahoo Japan vs. Western Yahoo: Japanese websites often have denser information layouts and vibrant designs compared to their Western counterparts.
• Cultural Preferences: Minimalist designs may not appeal universally; designers should consider local aesthetic preferences.

World of Warcraft Localization

• Western vs. Chinese Versions: In China, in-game content featuring bones (considered bad luck) was replaced with culturally appropriate items like bread.
• Understanding Symbolism: Designers must be aware of cultural symbols and their meanings to avoid offense.

Internationalization and Localization

Definitions

• Internationalization (i18n): Preparing software to be easily adapted to various languages and regions without engineering changes.
• Localization (l10n): Adapting software for a specific region or language by translating text and adjusting cultural elements.

Considerations in Internationalization

• Character Sets: Supporting Unicode to handle diverse alphabets.
• Text Direction: Accommodating left-to-right and right-to-left languages.
• Date and Time Formats: Adjusting to regional standards.
• Cultural Etiquette: Respecting formalities and conventions in language use.

Key Takeaway: Effective internationalization and localization require thoughtful planning beyond mere translation.

Universal vs. Inclusive design

Disabilities and Activity Theory

• Activity
  • For a person with a disability, ‘activities’ may include achieving financial independence through vocational training or social integration through social activities. These activities are driven by underlying motivations, such as enhancing a sense of self-worth or fulfilling a need for social participation.
• Action
  • For people with disabilities, actions may include learning how to use a screen reader to perform specific tasks, such as finding information or sending mail. These behaviours are designed to achieve the overall activity goal of ‘effective communication’.
• Operation
  • For people with limited vision, the operation may be to complete text editing through voice input. This involves specific technical conditions (e.g. the precision of the speech recognition software) as well as the efficiency and accuracy of the operation.
• Activity level: The design needs to meet the deeper needs of the person with a disability, such as independence or social inclusion.
• Action level: Optimise the way specific tasks are performed to meet the goals of the person with a disability (e.g. accessible paths of movement).
• Operation level: Improvement of tools and techniques at the operational level to make interactions as smooth and efficient as possible (e.g. optimisation of Braille displays or screen readers).

Conclusion

Key Takeaways

• Don’t Assume Homogeneity: Users have diverse abilities and cultural backgrounds; designs should reflect this diversity.
• Inclusive Design Benefits All: Accessibility features often improve the experience for all users, not just those with disabilities.
• Start with Accessibility in Mind: Integrate universal usability principles from the beginning of the design process.
• Cultural Sensitivity is Crucial: Understanding and respecting cultural differences leads to more effective and accepted products.

By embracing universal usability, designers and developers can create more inclusive, effective, and widely adopted technologies.