Usability and biometric verification at the ATM interface

Abstract

This paper describes consumer driven usability research conducted during the development of a biometric replacement to PIN numbers to enable the understanding of usability and user acceptance of leading edge biometric verification techniques. The research considered different techniques for security and identified the need for multiple types of evaluation during the design process. Coventry designed the research method and tools, the user interface to the biometric demonstrations and managed their application over a 3 year period. Usability of security is a key area of Coventry’s human-centred evaluation methods research. The other authors contributed knowledge of previous studies; dynamic anthropometry (Graham Johnson) and statistical analysis for fingerswipe (Antonella de Angeli). The work adds to the body of knowledge on the usability of security methods. It shows how usability techniques can be applied and how user opinion is influenced by many factors other than the design. Coventry was subsequently invited to deliver keynotes at the Biometrics annual conference, the Financial Cryptography conference. Her work led to the book chapter: Coventry, L. Usable Biometrics, Chapter in Crannor, and Garfinkel, S. Usability and Security, 2005. This research was the first to explore usability and user expectations in the evaluation of biometric devices. It influenced the development of biometric technology on ATMs and the role of training, marketing and user lead-through in the successful adoption of the technology. Coventry’s approach has been cited and used in speech technology (Carl Turner), biometrics in the air transportation industry (Prof Angela Sasse), personal photos as pictorial passwords (Thomas S. Tullis , Donna P. Tedesco), authentication using graphical passwords, and graphical password systems (Susan Wiedenbeck , Jim Waters , Jean-Camille Birget , Alex Brodskiy , Nasir Memon), multiple graphical passwords (Moncur, and Leplatr