Universal usability
Encyclopedia
Universal usability refers to the design of information and communications products and services that are usable for every citizen. The concept has been advocated by Professor Ben Shneiderman
, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park
. He also provided a more practical definition of universal usability – “having more than 90% of all households as successful users of information and communications services at least once a week.”
The concept of universal usability (“usable by all”) is closely related to the concepts of universal accessibility (“accessible by all”) and universal design
(“design for all”). These three concepts altogether cover, from the user’s end to the developer’s end, the three important research areas of information and communications technology (ICT)
: use, access, and design.
Sarah Horton has developed a set of universal usability guidelines for web design. The basic principles are:
Harry Hochheiser and Ben Shneiderman have also developed the Universal Usability Statement Template, which describes a Web site’s content, browser requirements, network requirements, and other characteristics that may influence its usability.
” has been used by advocates of universal usability to explain how ICT products designed for disabled
users can be beneficial to all users. Sidewalk curb-cuts are added to accommodate wheelchair users, but the benefits extend to baby carriage pushers, delivery service workers, bicyclists, and travelers with roller bags. In the context of ICT design and development, universal usability is often tied to meeting the needs of people with disabilities. The adaptability needed for users with physical
, visual
, auditory
, or cognitive disabilities is likely to benefit users with differing preferences, tasks, hardware, etc. Hence, electronic curb-cuts – system functions that are designed for people with disabilities – may be usable by everyone in various usage situations. It might be expensive to transform an existing system to meet universal usability standards, but the extra cost of integrating electronic curb-cuts into a new system can be minimalized.
Scholarly papers on these four areas have been presented at the 1st Conference on Universal Usability in Arlington, VA, USA (2000) and the 2nd Conference on Universal Usability in Vancouver, Canada (2003).
Ben Shneiderman
Ben Shneiderman is an American computer scientist, and professor for Computer Science at the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park...
, a computer scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. He also provided a more practical definition of universal usability – “having more than 90% of all households as successful users of information and communications services at least once a week.”
The concept of universal usability (“usable by all”) is closely related to the concepts of universal accessibility (“accessible by all”) and universal design
Universal design
Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....
(“design for all”). These three concepts altogether cover, from the user’s end to the developer’s end, the three important research areas of information and communications technology (ICT)
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
: use, access, and design.
Challenges of universal usability
There are three major challenges to universal usability:- Supporting a broad range of hardware, software, and network access. With the advance of ICT, users’ hardware, software, and network configurations are changing. The variety of ICT products creates complex systems with a broad range of hybridity. For example, would a software product be usable to users running Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
on a CentrinoCentrinoThe Centrino brand represents Intel Wi-Fi and WiMAX adapters. It was formerly a platform-marketing initiative from Intel until January 7, 2010....
laptop with broadband Internet access and to those who have Windows 98Windows 98Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
on a Pentium IIPentium IIThe Pentium II brand refers to Intel's sixth-generation microarchitecture and x86-compatible microprocessors introduced on May 7, 1997. Containing 7.5 million transistors, the Pentium II featured an improved version of the first P6-generation core of the Pentium Pro, which contained 5.5 million...
desktop with 56K dial-up? - Accommodating individual differences among users, such as age, gender, disabilities, literacy, culture, income, and so forth. Individual differences can be roughly categorized into three types: physical, cognitive, and socio-cultural. In the field of HCIHCIHCI may refer to:- Computing :* Home Computer Initiative, a United Kingdom government programme designed to increase the use of computers in the home...
, research attempts have been centering on accommodating physical and cognitive differences by isolating various specific factors such as spatial ability, speed of movement, eye-hand coordination, and so forth. However, previous literature has demonstrated that individual differences are difficult to pin down and difficult to generalize from one context to another. - Bridging the knowledge gap between what users know and what they need to know about a specific system. Two issues need to be resolved: (i) Building a user model to access individual user’s background knowledge on a specific system; (ii) Integrating the mechanism of evolutionary learning.
Principles of universal usability design
The key to universal usability is recognizing the diversity of user population and user needs. There is no “average” user on whom a system should be based. Although in some cases it is possible to accommodate technology variety and individual differences in one system, multi-layer designs are the most promising approach to achieving universal usability. That is, when a single design cannot accommodate a large fraction of the user population, multiple versions or adjustment controls should be available to users. For example, a novice user can be provided with only a few options; after gaining confidence and experience, the user can choose to progress to higher levels of tasks and the accompanying interface.Sarah Horton has developed a set of universal usability guidelines for web design. The basic principles are:
- Design simply: Design simple sites, emphasizing important elements and using simple structures and clean, standards-based markup.
- Build well: Take full advantage of these inherent properties, such as fallbacks, flexibility, and user control, to construct universally usable Web sites.
- Favor HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
over other formats: Html is the best format for universal usability. Provide documents in nonstandard formats, such as PDF and FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
, only as an alternative to accessible html.
Harry Hochheiser and Ben Shneiderman have also developed the Universal Usability Statement Template, which describes a Web site’s content, browser requirements, network requirements, and other characteristics that may influence its usability.
Electronic Curb-Cuts
The analogy “curb-cutCurb cut
A curb cut , curb ramp, dropped kerb , pram ramp, or kerb ramp is a solid ramp graded down from the top surface of a sidewalk to the surface of an adjoining street. It is designed for pedestrian uses and commonly found in urban areas where pedestrian activity is expected...
” has been used by advocates of universal usability to explain how ICT products designed for disabled
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
users can be beneficial to all users. Sidewalk curb-cuts are added to accommodate wheelchair users, but the benefits extend to baby carriage pushers, delivery service workers, bicyclists, and travelers with roller bags. In the context of ICT design and development, universal usability is often tied to meeting the needs of people with disabilities. The adaptability needed for users with physical
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, visual
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
, auditory
Hearing impairment
-Definition:Deafness is the inability for the ear to interpret certain or all frequencies of sound.-Environmental Situations:Deafness can be caused by environmental situations such as noise, trauma, or other ear defections...
, or cognitive disabilities is likely to benefit users with differing preferences, tasks, hardware, etc. Hence, electronic curb-cuts – system functions that are designed for people with disabilities – may be usable by everyone in various usage situations. It might be expensive to transform an existing system to meet universal usability standards, but the extra cost of integrating electronic curb-cuts into a new system can be minimalized.
Current Research Development
Current trends in the Universal Usability research include:- MultimodalMultimodal interactionMultimodal interaction provides the user with multiple modes of interfacing with a system. A multimodal interface provides several distinct tools for input and output of data.- Multimodal input :...
or adaptiveAdaptive user interfacesAn adaptive user interface is a user interface which adapts, that is changes, its layout and elements to the needs of the user or context and is similarly alterable by each user....
user interface - Universal usability of commercial and e-government websites
- Interface solutions for older adult users and users with disabilities
- ContextualizationContextualizationContextualization may refer to:* Contextualization , the process of contextualising the biblical message as perceived in the missionary mandate originated by Jesus...
of universal usability
Scholarly papers on these four areas have been presented at the 1st Conference on Universal Usability in Arlington, VA, USA (2000) and the 2nd Conference on Universal Usability in Vancouver, Canada (2003).
Examples
- Computer systems allowing the interchangeable use of several input devices, e.g. track ball, mouse keyboard, joy stick or laser pointer.
- Computer keyboard that accommodate the physical differences between user, e.g. distance between keys, size of keys, and required pressure.
- IBM’s Web Adaptation Technology transforms Web pages “on-the-fly” to meet individual needs.
- Websites that provide both multimedia version (for high bandwidth users) and text-only version (for low bandwidth users).
- NIH Senior Health features "one-click" text adjustment, contrast control, and text-to-speech technology.
See also
- UsabilityUsabilityUsability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job...
- Usability testingUsability testingUsability testing is a technique used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate a product by testing it on users. This can be seen as an irreplaceable usability practice, since it gives direct input on how real users use the system...
- Universal designUniversal designUniversal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....
- World Usability DayWorld Usability DayWorld Usability Day or Make Things Easier Day promotes the value of usability, usability engineering, user-centered design, universal usability, and every user's responsibility to ask for things that work better...
- KnowbilityKnowbilityKnowbility is an American non-governmental organization based in Austin, Texas, working to support the independence and empowerment of people with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology...