inclusive user experiences for older web users

Inclusive user experiences for older web users

David Sloan@sloandr

1st December 2011a11yLDN Meetup,

City University, London

Older Web Users and Inclusive Web

Design: it’s important!

Population increase in UK – projections for mid 2008-2033Source: Office of National Statistics

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What do we think we know?

• WAI-AGE project - applying “WAI accessibility” to older people

• Commercial research from Nielsen Norman, WebCredible

• Gerontechnology – academic research (psychology, medicine, computing science)

• …lots of guidelines

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Understanding age-related accessibility issues

1. Chronological age is not a reliable indicator of capability or performance. Also consider:

– (Cap)ability– Aptitude (technology experience)– Attitude (anxiety, perserverence)

Chisnell and Redish (2004) Designing Web sites for Older Adults: Expert review of Usability for Older adults at 50 web sites.

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Understanding age-related accessibility issues

2. Capability issues are highly individual, in terms of:

– The accessibility issue(s) a person may have– The way in which these issues were acquired– The rate that these issues change in severity– The impact of these issues individually and in

combination

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Age-related capability change

i. Sensory: Vision, Hearingii. Motor: Dexterityiii. Cognitive– Fluid intelligence (relating to processing and

reasoning, aptitude for learning, working memory, visual attention)

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Understanding age-related accessibility issues

3. Some capabilities are less prone to decline over time:

– Crystallised intelligence – knowledge acquired through learning and life experience

– May help explain older people’s relatively high success levels in ill-defined search tasks

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Social factors, ageing and inclusive UX

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Social factors, ageing and inclusive UX

• Non-engagement vs disengagement• Awareness of accessibility needs and

acceptability of solutions• Cognitive challenges of dealing with change

(individual; or relating to OS, device, interface)• The suitability of the “simplified” computer or

browser• Changing social status and access to help

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Ways forward: for authors and developers• Don’t ignore WCAG; look at WAI-AGE’s age-

related success criteria• Focus on reducing cognitive load• Develop empathy for the needs and wants of

older people – involve older people throughout user experience design

• Be sensitive to perceptions and awareness of “accessibility”

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Ways forward: Designing to support changing access needs• Simplifying the browsing experience– HTML 5 Form elements; AJAX for usability– Desktop and mobile apps – removing the browser UI

but preserving basic interaction conventions

• Accommodating age-related capability change– Normalising accessibility features (c/f TV volume;

control, iPad zoom)– Detection and gradual adaptation – e.g. our work

with the SUS-IT project http://sus-it.lboro.ac.uk

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Ways forward: Involving older people more effectively in web design• Taking advantage of the crystallised knowledge

of older web users– Involving older people in participatory design– User interface paradigms and metaphors that are

recognisable and appropriate• Understanding more about how older people

acquire and apply skills to use the Web– Ethnography of older people as Web learners and

users

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Summary• Older web users are not a homogeneous group• Older web users may have accessibility needs –

but may not know it or have the appropriate technology; or may resist certain “solutions”

• Focus on reducing cognitive demand on browsing

• This challenge won’t go away unless we all work to evangelise and practice UCD with older people (…our future selves)

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Acknowledgments• Paula Forbes and Sergio Sayago (photos; insight

from ethnography with older web users)• Prof Leela Damodaran and Wendy Olphert

(SUS_IT project )

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THANKYOU!

email: dsloan@computing.dundee.ac.uktwitter: @sloandr

blogs: www.58sound.com --- blog.dundee.ac.uk/eaccessibilitywork: www.dmag.org.uk --- www.computing.dundee.ac.uk

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