I will be posting the papers I write for Champlain courses. I am required to maintain the "academic standards" and thus my language in these kind of posts might be dry and boring. But I have really done research for these. So take them seriously.
Shneiderman, B. “Universal Usability.” Communications of the ACM 43 (2000): 84-91. 19 January, 2009.
Annotation:
The goal of universal access to technology is compelling. Succeeding against the vast market is sure to give technology developers and marketers a tough time; especially if the product or service has to scale from 10 specially-trained users to a hundred thousand one-time users. Older technologies such as postal services and televisions have attained universal usability, but computing still proves to be a challenge (Myers).
The three challenges put forth are
1) Technology variety,
2) User diversity and
3) Gaps in user knowledge.
These challenges, if solved, would help everyone from government agencies, professionals to the average home user. Critics point that due to usability issues, an ‘Internet-apartheid’ might be on the rise. Technology enthusiasts might be proud of the accomplishments of the Internet, but they haven’t understood the problems of those who have stayed away. Plasticity of the interface is needed for users with diverse physical, visual or cognitive disabilities. Usability skeptics point that accommodating such users will lower common denominator of the system, which will be useless to most users. Also, accommodating for the low-end will restrain innovations at the high end. However, if the developers are aware of these concerns, then usability issues will be avoidable. Providing new technologies as an add-on will be smoother for the users to adapt to, rather than establishing an all new standard for every new feature. Implementing layered approached are the best when planned in advance, but retrofitting is often difficult.
The first challenge is to support the wide range to equipment, both hardware and software, that users employ. Advancing technologies are often looked up to as a competitive advantage, but implementing them often disrupts broadening markets. Modular software developments that preserve file format compatibility are the right direction to go. Network access challenges require creative strategies on the developer’s part to make their work available to users having differently configured networks.
Secondly, accommodating thousands of users, having different characteristics, in diverse environments prove to be the next challenge. Here, localizing content by geography and presenting age-specific content would be the way to go. Presenting different content to users according to their domain knowledge is preferable. Language specific products or services will be greatly useful to non-English users. Providing speech recognition for the blind, customized interfaces for the disabled would benefit them. Providing macros and templates for oft-repeated tasks will be appreciated by those using them.
Finally, the gaps in user knowledge need to be plugged in. Directing the first time user from one software control to another by providing lucid instructions, while having to-the-point help files for experts would be highly effective. Having a system to support evolutionary learning, like how players acquire a new weapon in a game, is a technique that numerous daily-use-software developers could apply. Allowing the user to control the complexity of the device should be the aim of the designers.
Attaining universal access to technology based information and communication will require a deep commitment to the centrality of usability. Companies who have captured a fraction of the market are admired for their products and services, but from now on, the stress should be on getting the new adopters.
Additional references:
Myers, Brad. “A Brief History Of Human Computer Interaction Technology.” ACM interactions. Vol. 5, no. 2, March, 1998. pp. 44-54.
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