DIS 2012: Designing for Cognitive Limitations

Scott McCrickardVirginia Tech

Clayton LewisUniversity of Colorado, Boulder

Workshop overview

9.00-9.20 Workshop Introduction 9.20-10.30 Participant Introductions10.30-11.00 Morning Break 11.00-12.30 Cognitive Walkthroughs 12.30-14.00 Lunch 14.00-15.30 Scenario Prototyping 15.30-16.00 Afternoon Break 16.00-17.30 Future Directions

What are cognitive limitations?

limitations that result in the user’s performance on cognitive tasks falling outside of a normal range

includes limitations from: situation: driving, walking, multitasking,

interacting with others disability: autism, ADD/ADHD, stroke, aphasia,

brain injury, Alzheimer's, dementia, … may be temporary or long-lasting

About cognitive disabilities difficulty with mental tasks

memory attention language math problem-solving (at various stages)

often accompanied by other disabilities visual (low vision or blind) hearing disabilities physical disabilities

Designing for cognitive disabilities

address difficulty with mental tasks avoid lengthy interactive processes break interactions into separate pages give reminders of progress (e.g., page 2 of 4) explain how to fix errors use visual cues to focus attention support multimedia display and interaction use language appropriate for the target audience require minimal math skills, when possible

the same guidelines for cognitive limitations?

Capturing problems Most “accepted” design knowledge doesn’t

hold when designing for cognitive limitations We have been using claims to capture key

issues in designing for cognitive limitations Claims always include a feature together with

potential upsides and downsides, and may include other supporting material (pictures, quotes, citations, etc.)

Claims are falsifiable hypotheses that are meant to start debates, not serve as the final word

Example claim:The use of smartphone technology to

replace dedicated accessibility devices+ Accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers offer

new input methods that can be more accessible than traditional input devices

For people with sufficient neurological and motor ability, the accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc. that are built into most modern smartphones offer the possibility for spatial- and gesture-based interfaces (Li, Dearman & Truong, 2010)

— BUT, damage to a single multi-use device would have multiple problems As reported in (Kane et al., 2009) the independence gained from mobile

devices has the problem of putting the user at significant risk in the event of a failure. One blind participant explained the decision to carry a dedicated GPS despite having a phone with overlapping functionality: “If something happens to my phone, I'd still want to be able to have my [GPS]. If my [GPS] breaks, I still want to be able to have my phone.”

Example claim:

Peripheral interfaces for cumbersome but beneficial tasks (like setting IM status)

+ can lead to neglected tasks being performed more frequently (Hausen, 2012)

+ can be completed without direct focus by many people after two weeks (Hausen, 2012)

- BUT may require training and/or a steep learning curve (Hausen, 2012)

- BUT, it is difficult to assess effectiveness of peripheral interactions

About the organizers Scott McCrickard

Associate Professor of Computer Science and member of the Center for HCI at Virginia Tech

research interests include design methods, notification systems, divided attention situations

Clayton Lewis Professor of Computer Science at the

University of Colorado, Boulder Scientist in Residence at the Coleman Institute

for Cognitive Disabilities

Coleman Institute thrust: shape mainstream technology

Participant introductions Those with position papers:

Joshua Hailpern, HP Labs Doris Hausen, University of Munich Gavin Wood, Newcastle University Young Seok Lee, Motorola Mobility

Others: Justin Brockie, Therap Services Margot Brereton, Queensland Univ. of

Technology Mathew Kipling, Newcastle University

Break Reconvene at 11.00 Next up: cognitive walkthroughs of a

camera app on various Android devices an expert review from the perspective of

users with cognitive limitations

The problem Issues with using the camera app on

various Google Android devices (i.e., mobile phone, small tablet, large tablet)

Consider goals of users with cognitive limitations due to disabilities, use while mobile, distraction, etc.

Consider different camera tasks, including taking a picture, zooming, taking a black-and-white picture, emailing a picture, etc.

Cognitive walkthroughs An analytic evaluation technique that

focuses on a target user population Helps understand why errors take place

identify opportunities for future design

To be applied to a common interface that is often used by people with cognitive limitations

Discussion From each group:

Briefly summarize the cognitive limitation and task sets that you considered, and any key findings

[How] did the cognitive walkthrough approach help you identify key areas of concern?

From each participant: What new knowledge did you gain from this

activity? What unsolved problems emerged? Can you frame it in terms of a claim (UI feature, upsides, downsides) that reflects the problem?

Product Testing Laboratory Principal Investigator: Greg McGrew, MEBME

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Funding is provided by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research under the US Department of Education, Grant #H133E090003, the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, the Department of Pediatrics and the Colorado Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Center, (IDDRC), University of Colorado.

The Usability Testing Program evaluates human factors issues pertinent to specific products through a process of data collection on ‘real people’ performing ‘real tasks’. In essence, people with disabilities that would normally use the type of product to be tested will be asked to perform tasks for which the product was designed. These sessions, along with pre and post test interviews, are digitally recorded to gather structured data and feedback from participants on the product. Usability metrics, including time on task, errors, and satisfaction, are applied to the results.

Usability Testing Program

Formal usability testing involves capturing real users (people with disabilities or caregivers that represent the target market for the AT or consumer product) using the product, attempting to accomplish tasks for which the product was designed. The example at the right shows a parent (participant) setting up a book reading product for their child’s use. During the test this activity is recorded and then analyzed against an optimal performance scenario. This enables us to identify problems, difficulties, and missteps made by the participant, and analyze them to determine what design features or documentation may have contributed to their cause.

The Testing Process

From 5 to 20 participants are recruited for each product test session. This number depends on the test objectives. For each test, there is typically and optimal series of steps to complete it. Usability metrics are applied to each test, comparing this optimal path to the one carried out by the participant. Metrics include the number of errors, time-on-task, success/non-success, and efficiency. In addition, a standardized measure of usability is applied through administration of the System Usability Survey developed by IBM. Satisfaction is assessed through administration of a short post-test survey.

Usability Metrics

Cognitive Walkthrough Method

Step 1 Pick a mobile device as an example Work out how to take a picture and

create a scenario: List the actions you must take, and… …what is on the screen after each action,

and… …any other feedback, eg sounds Since you have the phone in front of you,

your descriptions can be brief

Step 2 Critique each action

Will the user know what to try to do at this point? Why?

Will the user know how to do it? Why? Are there wrong actions that may look

correct? If the correct action is taken, will the

feedback show this, or create doubt? Very Important: This is not a user

test!

Very Important!This is not a user test! Critique each action

Will the user [not you] know what to try to do at this point? Why?

Will the user [not you] know how to do it? Why?

Are there wrong actions that may look correct [to the user, not you]?

If the correct action is taken, will the feedback show this, or create doubt [in the user, not you]?

Lunch Follow Mat to lunch! Reconvene here at 14.00 Next up: designing some prototypes

targeting people with cognitive limitations we’ll use three techniques developed to

encourage the consideration of limitations

The problem Issues with using the camera app on

various Google Android devices (i.e., mobile phone, small tablet, large tablet)

Consider goals of users with cognitive limitations due to disabilities, use while mobile, distraction, etc.

Consider different camera tasks, including taking a picture, zooming, taking a black-and-white picture, emailing a picture, etc.

Discussion From each group:

Briefly summarize the cognitive limitation and task sets that you considered, and any key findings

[How] did the cognitive walkthrough approach help you identify key areas of concern?

From each participant: What new knowledge did you gain from this

activity? What unsolved problems emerged? Can you frame it in terms of a claim (UI feature, upsides, downsides) that reflects the problem?

From problems to solutions

The first activity examined widely-used interfaces through the perspective of a person with a cognitive limitation a new perspective, new knowledge

The afternoon activity will apply our collective knowledge to design problems deeper understanding of key questions,

appreciation for future directions

Prototyping tools PIC-UP

a card set for notification systems that captures key user interface claims (Wahid, 2011)

Cognitive claims the set of claims extracted from the

workshop position papers (all of us, 2012)

Context cards a card set that captures different user

contexts to be considered during design (haptimap.org)

Problem domains Design a notification system for a senior

center, in which many of the target users will have diminishing cognitive skills (PIC-UP)

Design a mobile application to help people with speech loss from aphasia actively learn to communicate (Cognitive Claims)

Design a mobile application to help a target user population (of your choosing) navigate around a university campus (Context Cards)

Break

Reconvene at 16.00 Next up: future directions

for the field (government initiatives, funding opportunities, collaboration possibilities)

for each of us for future workshops and other events

Discussion From each group:

Briefly summarize the task sets you considered, non-traditional populations, and any key findings

[How] did the card set help you identify key areas of concern?

From each participant: What new knowledge did you gain from this

activity? What unsolved problems emerged? Can you frame it in terms of a claim (UI feature, upsides, downsides) that reflects the problem?

Future directions for each of us for future workshops and other events for the field (government initiatives,

funding opportunities, collaboration possibilities)

Profile-based presentation is a key aim of the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure initiative.

Gregg Vanderheiden

Profile-based Presentation

The Fluid project is developing technology for storing user preferences in user profiles accessed from the cloud.

Jutta Treviranus OCAD University, Toronto

Profile-based PresentationTo respond to preferences when rendering Web content, the approach uses a form of Inversion of Control (IoC), enhanced to permit specification of user preferences when services are requested.

Colin Clark

Antranig Basman

Future directions for each of us for future workshops and other events for the field (government initiatives,

funding opportunities, collaboration possibilities)