Usability evaluation involving participants with cognitive disabilities

Authors:
Auli Lepistö;Saila Ovaska
Affiliations:
University of Kuopio;University of Tampere
Venue:
Proceedings of the third Nordic conference on Human-computer interaction
Year:
2004

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Abstract

People with cognitive disabilities benefit from new computerized tools for maintaining social contacts. Their need for easy-to-use applications has been established. However, there is little research on improving usability evaluation methods with this user group. We conducted a case study with a group of users with cognitive disabilities. Pilot test findings indicated that a think aloud test would not work well with this user group. Therefore, instead of a conventional usability test, we conducted an informal walkthrough, in addition to classroom observation and interviews. Our study shows a need to collect data with several complementary methods, and to adjust the methods to suit the characteristics of the participants. Without observational methods, many usability problems would have been missed. Furthermore, the special characteristics of this user group have to be taken into account also in expert evaluation.