Usability for Diverse Users

Class 16

Dr. Komlodi

PWU Rules of Usability• Do not overuse bleeding edge technology and plugins• Do not use 3D, unless there is a strong practical need• Avoid bloated designs that cause information overload• Do not use splash pages• Avoid scrolling text and animated images• Use standard UI widgets, avoid custom ones• Always disclose the authors and sources of information• Do not use made-up words• Keep you content updated• Keep your design and language consistent within sites• Only ask for personal information if necessary• Integrate your web presence into one site

Prioritizing Usability Problems

• Severity of usability problems calculated from:– Frequency: how often the problem occurs– Impact: how severe the impact is on the user’s

experience– Persistence: does the problem happen only once or

over and over again

• Weigh each of these according to the context of your site

What Causes the Most Problems

• Search• Information architecture• Content• Product info• Category names• Layout• Workflow• Navigation• Links

Diverse Web Users

• Diverse user groups, who differ in:– Physical capability– Cognition and perception– Personality– Culture– Experience– Gender– Age

(Shneiderman, 1998)

Different Ages - Seniors

• Seniors– In U.S., 12 million people older than 65 were online as of

October 2005– Current websites are twice as hard to use for seniors as they

are for younger users

• Their problems?– eyesight, precision of movement, and memory

• Design for seniors– Larger font sizes - at least 12-point type as the default – Links, command buttons and other interaction objects -

reasonably large to be easy to click – Limit the use of pull-down menus and other moving interface

Different Ages - Children

• How children differ from adults?– Physically, socially, and cognitively – Have limited linguistic abilities, communicative

capabilities, motor, technical, and critical thinking skills

• Examples:– Younger children, especially non-readers or

beginning readers, tend to rely on visual and auditory cues, rather than on textual directions

The Trouble with Pulldowns

• You have to seek them out

• They’re hard to scan

• They’re twitchy

– Requires motor control – seniors and children are not always steady with the mouse

What are the problems?

How can we make it easier for children?

Color: Age & Gender

• Gender– Male: cooler colors (blues, greys, black)

• e.g. http://www.nfl.com/

– Female: warmer colors (reds and oranges).• e.g. http://www.ivillage.com/

• Younger vs. elder audience – Younger: brighter, more solid colors– Elder: more subdued colors

Cultural Aspects of Design

• Navigation modes (e.g. Arabs read from right to left)

• Country-specific icons, symbols, pictorials, and artifacts (e.g. mailbox icons, flags and emblems, architecture, regional plants, trees, foods, custom, and attire)

• Conventions and formats (e.g. date, currency, name, address, measurement scales, and weight units)

• Preferred content (e.g. Arabic cultures discourage the use of pictures of men, women, and animals but like elaborate text in a calligraphic style)

Color & Culture

Color China Japan Egypt France United States

Red Anger Danger

Aristocracy Danger Stop

Blue Heavens Clouds

Villainy Virtue Faith Truth

Freedom Peace

Masculine

Green Ming Dynasty Heavens

Future Youth Energy

Fertility Strength

Criminality Safety Go

Yellow Grace Nobility

Happiness Prosperity

Temporary Cowardice Temporary

White Death Neutrality Purity

HappinessGood luck

Birth Wealth Power

Death Purity

Death

Joy

Why Cultural Customization?

• Higher web site usability, accessibility, and interactivity

• A more favorable attitude toward the site.

• A state of “flow” and browsing comfort.

• Increased purchase intentions on the site.

USA

Japan

Argentina

Lebanon

Hungary