B.62 Emotion Detection: Application of the Valence Arousal Space for Rapid Biological Usability Testing to enhance Universal Access

Emotion is an important mental and physiological state, influencing cognition, perception, learning, communication, decision making, etc. It is considered as a definitive important aspect of user experience (UX), although at least well developed and most of all lacking experimental evidence. This paper deals with an application for emotion detection in usability testing of software. It describes the approach to utilize the valence arousal space for emotion modeling in a formal experiment. Our study revealed correlations between low performance and negative emotional states. Reliable emotion detection in usability tests will help to prevent negative emotions and attitudes in the final products. This can be a great advantage to enhance Universal Access

Investigating usability metrics for the design and development of applications for the elderly

Metrics-based benchmarks are crucial for measuring usability, particularly for special end user groups such as older adults. So far, usability metrics that are accessible and useful for software developers are still missing. Although usability standards are continually being developed and adapted to the rapid change in both software and computing hardware, the increasing diversity of elderly populations, both culturally and educationally, requires the development of a specific set of criteria. This paper studies two different aspects of usability for the elderly; passive and active interaction. It explores the limitations of active interaction, its potential causes and results. The long term goal is the development of new methods to counteract potential negative bias with regard to passive interaction. More specifically, we are investigating achievable metrics for the evaluation of passive technology trustworthiness and usability while categorizing them according to applicability for usability testing