Human-Computer User Interface Design for Semiliterate and Illiterate Users

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has revolutionized the lives of the people. The technology is embedded in daily life of literate or semiliterate/illiterate users. However, the user interface (UI) requirements for semiliterate/illiterate users are different from that of an educated person. The researchers of Human Computer Interaction for Development (HCI4D) face challenges to improve the usability of a UI for the semiliterate users. Therefore, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is conducted to provide a set of design factors and guidelines for UI development of semiliterate users. The study is based on extensive research gathered from literature to understand the user-centered design (UCD) approach, enhancing user experience (UX) for semiliterate users. This study analyses fifty two research articles that are published during 2010-2020. The findings shed light on the systematization of UI design guidelines for semiliterate/illiterate users. These guidelines can help in taking advantage of ICT during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis shows that seventeen main design factors are indispensable for designing UI of semiliterate users. The most suggested design factors include localization and graphics, which should be incorporated in UI for the target population. Moreover, the lag in the design factors as personalization and consistency open a road for future research

The trade-off between usability and security in the context of eGovernment

Electronic government (e-government) implements a wide range of online services that are supported by the latest information communication technology (ICT) and accessible by devices that have great mobility in delivering services to citizens. The ongoing rapid advancements of these portable devices make user centred service design more challenging and complex as citizens’ demands, needs and preferences are varied and become more complicated over time. Also, existing research reveals that e-government still experiencing the challenge of creating better users’ interaction in terms of accessing online information and using electronic services. Among a variety of reasons for this challenge, usability and security have been recognised in previous research to be the main reasons in users’ decisions to use e-government services and need to be investigated. In addition, to the limited attention given to users’ preferences and human-centred design guidelines, creates more unusable and unsecure services. This research attempts to investigate the trade-off between usability and security from a user perspective, in order to understand how users, perceive the usability and security of e-government services by focusing on three elements of e-government. The research investigates three aspects related to e-government services, when new service being introduced, new devices being integrated, and new technology adopted. Each research study examines one of these aspects to explore how users or citizens perceive them in term of usability and security. By conducting these three studies, the researcher seeks a clear and comprehensive picture of users’ attitudes, opinions and preferences, and a rich insight into users’ needs. This research tries to explain user requirements for new services, devices and technology implemented in e-government settings, in terms of usability and security features. A mixed methods strategy, using quantitative and qualitative methods, is used capture users’ experiences and attitudes to the use of e-government services in terms of usability and security. These methods help us understand the three, related, aspects of e-government through the eyes of the participants rather than in categories predetermined by the researcher. Therefore, a questionnaire survey is used, with open-ended questions, and focus group research. A broader landscape view on the present state of users’ perception and attitudes about the trade-off between usability and security was studied and reported according to the findings from the three studies. The three studies findings and the literature review help the researcher to propose a set of usability and security guidelines to improve e-government services, which in turn would improve e-services usability and security aspects. The proposed set of guidelines complement the general usability guidelines or heuristics by considering user concerns and insights. The author presented some recommendation based on the findings of each study. These guidelines can be useful to guide designers to develop a usable and more secure e-services that match with users’ requirements

An Investigation of the Impact of Task-Types on the Reactivity of the Concurrent Think-Aloud in Usability Testing

The Concurrent think-aloud (CTA) is primarily used to understand users’ task based cognitive processes. However, is not without limitations. CTA procedures varies widely among practitioners. Also, it has been known to cause reactivity: an artificial change in task performance. This is problematic because it may alter the accuracy of task performance. Also, research on reactivity within usability testing have shown mixed findings. Thus, conclusions cannot be drawn to attest to whether reactivity occurs due to varying administration procedures and therefore we must now consider its relationship to other test-based factors. This research will be the first to systematically investigate the impact of task-type on reactivity of the CTA and the first to systematically investigates practitioners working habit in terms of their views on reactivity when using CTA in practice. Three studies were conducted, the first study investigates the Impact of task-types on the Reactivity of CTA and uses a mixed design. The results suggest that, thinking aloud during usability testing does not cause reactivity, and task type does not impact concurrent think-aloud. However, sensemaking tasks increase mental demand. The second study investigates the impact of task-type on two different think-aloud protocols and uses a mixed design. The result indicates that, the classic think-aloud method led to more successful task completion and no reactivity, while the explicit instruction produced fewer successful task completions and a higher mental workload. The explicit instruction produced less verbalisation, resulting in fewer relevant explanatory utterances, contradicting expectations. The third study uses an interview method to explores practitioners' experiences, views on reactivity and challenges when using the think-aloud method within usability testing. These studies demonstrates unequivocally that CTA should not be abandoned in usability studies as it provided valuable think-aloud data and helped identify usability issues. Additionally, practitioners should not replace the traditional think- aloud approach with explicit instruction, as explicit instruction had a greater influence on participants' behaviour. Ericsson and Simon's recommendations should be used for concurrent data collection, as it ensures data validity and generates the same type of data as explicit instruction while reducing reactivity