Usability Enhancement of SMS Interface for Illiterate Users

This article analyzes several User Interface (UI) designs and puts forward some more general design principles for interfaces designed for low-literate users. The results of this study highlight the importance of text-free interfaces compared to text-based interfaces for the illiterate and low-literate population. The study developed a Short Message Service (SMS) interface consisting of many design elements, including graphical icons, voice, and text reduction. The participants were more satisfied with the designed SMS interface as compared to the traditional text-based interface of SMS. We believe that if the user interface is appropriately designed, users will not need formal literacy, computer skills, or any external help to operate the application. It has been shown that an interface with minimal or no text but one or more graphics, audio, and digital components is helpful for users with low literacy rates

The adoption intention of travel-related app: a framework integrating perceived characteristics of innovation and software quality

This thesis aims to analyze the views of customers who have great appetite for tourism on the tourism application. According to the perception characteristics of technology acceptance model, innovation diffusion theory and software quality model, the thesis sets up the research model and puts forward the corresponding research hypothesis on the combination of current research results. In the manner of questionnaire design and collection and data processing, data analysis and hypothesis verification will be conducted by the use of structural equation model. The research result implies that application design attributes and application performance features are key to promote the adoption of mobile travel application. In addition, this research broadens our horizons on the accidental impact of application attributes on adoption behavior through adding user gender as a variable to the model, and increases an awesome theoretical basis for future research in this field.Esta tese tem como objetivo analisar as visões de potenciais turistas com grande interesse por aplicações turísticas. De acordo com as características de percepção do modelo de aceitação de tecnologia, teoria da difusão da inovação e modelo de qualidade de software, a tese estabelece o modelo de investigação e propõe hipóteses de investigação correspondentes, sobre a combinação de resultados da pesquisa atual. Uma vez realizado o desenho do questionário e feita a recolha e processamento de dados, a análise de dados e a verificação de hipóteses foram conduzidas pelo uso do modelo de equações estruturais. O resultado da pesquisa implica que os atributos de design do aplicativo e os recursos de desempenho do aplicativo são fundamentais para promover a adoção do aplicativo móvel de viagem. Além disso, esta pesquisa amplia os horizontes sobre o impacto acidental de atributos de aplicação no comportamento de adoção, adicionando o gênero do usuário como uma variável ao modelo, e aumenta uma importante base teórica para pesquisas futuras neste campo

Some problems of designing for augmentative and alternative communication users: an enquiry through practical design activity

The submission is concerned with, and addresses, problems of designing for people with disabilities, with specific reference to people who are illiterate and cannot speak. People with such disabilities often depend on electronic AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices for interpersonal communication. A central theme of the thesis, however, is that such products, and products intended for people with disabilities more generally, have characteristics that inadequately attend to users' needs. Through a combination of practical product development and literature reviews, the thesis demonstrates how improvements to AAC devices 'can be made through user-participatory, usercentred and more sensitive and perceptive design. Literature reviews in the following subjects are reported: AAC; the operational knowledge base for design and disability; user participatory design; and wearable computing. At the core of the thesis is the presentation and discussion of an empirical case study, carried out by the researcher, to design and develop the Portland Communication Aid (PCA). The PCA was conceived as an AAC product that would attempt to redress the inadequacies of predecessor devices. The design activity for the PCA is traced in the thesis, from initial concepts and development models through to a working prototype. Key ideas and essential principles of the design are illustrated. Throughout the work on the PCA, many problems associated with designing for people with severe communication disabilities were encountered. These problems, as with their resolutions, comprised matters of both designing (as an activity) and design (as product specification). The thesis contains comprehensive exposure and analysis of these problems and resolutions. In particular, the value of shaping meaning, metaphor, and other product semantics into devices intended for use by people with disabilities is explored. The study provides two substantive conclusions. First, that both the activity and the outcomes of Industrial Design have a valuable role in the empowerment and rehabilitation of AAC users. And second, that key principles have been identified that will enable designers to better identify, articulate and respond to the needs of people with communication disabilities (and the needs of people with disabilities more generally

The role of metaphor in user interface design

The thesis discusses the question of how unfamiliar computing systems, particularly those with graphical user interfaces, are learned and used. In particular, the approach of basing the design and behaviour of on-screen objects in the system's model world on a coherent theme and employing a metaphor is explored. The drawbacks, as well as the advantages, of this approach are reviewed and presented. The use of metaphors is also contrasted with other forms of users' mental models of interactive systems, and the need to provide a system image from which useful mental models can be developed is presented. Metaphors are placed in the context of users' understanding of interactive systems and novel application is made of the Qualitative Process Theory (QPT) qualitative reasoning model to reason about the behaviour of on-screen objects, the underlying system functionality, and the relationship between the two. This analysis supports reevaluation of the domains between which user interface metaphors are said to form mappings. A novel user interface design, entitled Medusa, that adopts guidelines for the design of metaphor-based systems, and for helping the user develop successful mental models, based on the QPT analysis and an empirical study of a popular metaphor-based system, is described. The first Medusa design is critiqued using well-founded usability inspection method. Employing the Lakoff/Johnson theory, a revised version of the Medusa user interface is described that derives its application semantics and dialogue structures from the entailments of the knowledge structures that ground understanding of the interface metaphor and that capture notions of embodiment in interaction with computing devices that QPT descriptions cannot. Design guidelines from influential existing work, and new methods of reasoning about metaphor-based designs, are presented with a number of novel graphical user interface designs intended to overcome the failings of existing systems and design approaches

Integrated Web Accessibility Guidelines for Users on the Autism Spectrum - from Specification to Implementation

This research presented a compendium of web interface design guidelines and their implementation on a transport-planning website based on the needs and preferences of users on the autism spectrum. Results highlighted the importance of having simple navigation and meaningful headings, icons, labels and text to facilitate understanding and readability; these findings offer guidelines for the design of web user interfaces to continue improving the web experience of autistic users, and therefore of the whole community

Impact of website navigation on user experience

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Driven Marketing, specialization in Digital Marketing and AnalyticsThe online interactions between consumers and brands determined the need for companies to have a solid infrastructure to support their users. Furthermore, it is crucial to have a good web navigation system to guarantee that consumers can find, access, and use the information that is displayed within it. But, for customers to be able to navigate successfully, companies must consider the website interface as well. The happy marriage of website architecture and interface creates a cohesive user experience. The present study aims to investigate the effect that website navigation on an e-commerce website. Specifically, in how it can impact Key Performance Indicators such as Conversion Rate, Product Wall View Rate, and Percentage to Product Details Page. The company's subject of study is Company X, specifically Company X’s website. Furthermore, we developed a new main navigation and left-hand navigation design with the aim of improving the User Interface and Experience. We also were able to improve the consumers capacity to accomplish tasks more effectively. eThe model conducted a mixed method approach

The design of speech-based automated mobile phone services using interface metaphors

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Interface metaphor is a widely used design technique for interactive computer systems. The advantages of using interface metaphors derive from their ability to promote active learning, which enables a user to transfer knowledge from a familiar real world domain, to an unfamiliar computing domain. Interface metaphor is not currently used for the design of automated phone services, and it was the aim of this thesis to examine whether interface metaphor could improve the usability of speech-activated automated mobile phone services. A human-centred design methodology was followed to generate, select, and develop potential metaphors, which were used to implement metaphor-based phone services. An experimental methodology was then used to compare the usability of the metaphor-based services with the usability of currently available number-based phone services. The first experiment examined the effect of three different interface metaphors on the usability of a mobile city guide service. Usability was measured as a range of performance and attitude measures, and was supplemented by telephone interview data. After three consecutive days of usage, participants both preferred, and performed better with, the service that was based on an office filing system metaphor. Experiment two was conducted over a six week period, and investigated the effect of users' individual differences, and the context of use, on the usability of both the office filing system metaphor-based service, and a non-metaphor service. The results showed that performance with the metaphor-based service was significantly better than performance with the non-metaphor service. The usability of the metaphor-based service was not significantly affected by users' individual characteristics and aptitudes, whereas the number-based service was, suggesting that metaphor-based services may be more usable for a wider range of potential users. Usability levels for both services were found to be consistent across both private and public locations of use, suggesting that speech-activated mobile phone services provide a flexible means of information access. Experiment three investigated the strategies used by participants when interacting with mobile phone services, specifically the visualisation strategy that was used by two thirds of the metaphor-based service participants in experiment two. In addition to the attitude and performance measures used for experiments one and two, face-to face interviews were conducted with participants. The results indicated that significantly more participants visualised the metaphor-based services relative to a non-metaphor service, and that visualisation of the service structure led to significant performance improvements. This thesis has demonstrated the usability benefits of interface metaphor as a design technique for speech-based mobile phone services. These benefits of metaphor appear to derive from their ability to provide a mental model of the phone service that can be visualised, and their ability to accommodate the individual differences of users

An adaptive environment for personal information management

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This dissertation reports the results of research into the provision of adaptive user interfaces to support individuals in the management of their personal information. Many individuals find that they have increased responsibility for managing aspects of their own lives, including the information associated with their jobs. In contrast with traditional approaches to information management, which are generally driven by organisational or business requirements, the requirements of personal information management systems tend to be less rigidly defined. This dissertation employs research from the areas of personal information management and adaptive user interfaces - systems which can monitor how they are used, and adapt on a personal level to their user - to address some of the particular requirements of personal information management systems. An adaptive user interface can be implemented using a variety of techniques, and this dissertation draws on research from the area of software agents to suggest that reactive software agents can be fruitfully applied to realise the required adaptivity. The reactive approach is then used in the specification and development of an adaptive interface which supports simple elements of personal information management tasks. The resulting application is evaluated by means of user trials and a usability inspection, and the theoretical architectures and techniques used in the specification and development of the software are critically appraised. The dissertation demonstrates an application of reactive software agents in adaptive systems design and shows how the behaviour of the system can be specified based on the analysis of some representative personal information management tasks.EPSRC (Award Reference Number 95700906

Design revolutions: IASDR 2019 Conference Proceedings. Volume 3: People

In September 2019 Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University was honoured to host the bi-annual conference of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) under the unifying theme of DESIGN REVOLUTIONS. This was the first time the conference had been held in the UK. Through key research themes across nine conference tracks – Change, Learning, Living, Making, People, Technology, Thinking, Value and Voices – the conference opened up compelling, meaningful and radical dialogue of the role of design in addressing societal and organisational challenges. This Volume 3 includes papers from People track of the conference