Cross-national usability study of a housing accessibility app: findings from the European innovage project

The present usability study concerns an evaluation of an Android based mobile application (app) targeting housing accessibility issues, in a prototype stage for a touch tablet. The objective was to identify and compare elicited usability issues involving senior citizens in two different national contexts: Sweden and Latvia. Applying a problem discovery approach, the study included individual sessions in home environments and follow-up user forums; researchers and user panel participants collaborated to formatively evaluate the app. To support decision-making, the task for the participants was to process information about their present or projected future functional capacity and environmental barriers in their current dwelling. The task was also to make use of a database of professionally assessed available apartments that could be considered for relocation. Data generated in the two countries were analyzed and compared. The results generated new knowledge on relevant usability issues in the two countries and were used to provide design recommendations for the app. The identified usability issues point to a need for a more thorough exploration of design solutions that are tailored for the targeted group of people aging with functional limitations. The results also highlight how national and cultural contexts may influence perceived usability and acceptance and thereby indicate the need to consider these contexts early on and throughout the development process. Tips for usability practitioners: Be aware of possible cross-national differences and handle those challenges in a structured and predefined way, and use real data and real sites to reach close and first-hand experiences.

[1]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  Housing Enabler — Metodik för bedömning och analys av tillgänglighetsproblem i boendet. Manual för fullständigt instrument och screeningverktyg. , 2010 .

[2]  Ted Boren,et al.  Thinking aloud: reconciling theory and practice , 2000 .

[3]  David R. Millen,et al.  Rapid ethnography: time deepening strategies for HCI field research , 2000, DIS '00.

[4]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  Residential normalcy and environmental experiences of very old people: changes in residential reasoning over time. , 2014, Journal of aging studies.

[5]  P. Ehn,et al.  Design: design matters in Participatory Design , 2012 .

[6]  Qingxin Shi,et al.  Communication patterns and usability problem finding in cross-cultural thinking aloud usability testing , 2008, CHI Extended Abstracts.

[7]  Vern L. Bengtson,et al.  The Epidemiology of Ageing , 2005 .

[8]  B. Lundman,et al.  Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. , 2004, Nurse education today.

[9]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  Cross-National User Priorities for Housing Provision and Accessibility — Findings from the European innovAge Project , 2015, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[10]  Debora Shaw,et al.  Handbook of usability testing: How to plan, design, and conduct effective tests , 1996 .

[11]  Alex Genov,et al.  Usability testing with real data , 2009 .

[12]  Gunilla Harnsten.  The Research Circle--Building Knowledge on Equal Terms. , 1994 .

[13]  L Magnusson,et al.  Supporting family carers through the use of information and communication technology--the EU project ACTION. , 2002, International journal of nursing studies.

[14]  Jane A. Cauley,et al.  The Epidemiology of Aging , 2012, Springer Netherlands.

[15]  Jeffrey Rubin,et al.  Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests , 1994 .

[16]  M. Patton,et al.  Qualitative evaluation and research methods , 1992 .

[17]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  A public health perspective to environmental barriers and accessibility problems for senior citizens living in ordinary housing , 2016, BMC Public Health.

[18]  Bo Eriksson,et al.  Studying ageing: experiences, description, variation, prediction and explanation , 2010 .

[19]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  Current Developments of the Housing Enabler Methodology , 2012 .

[20]  Harry Hochheiser,et al.  Research Methods for Human-Computer Interaction , 2008 .

[21]  Oskar Jonsson,et al.  STS-inspired design to meet the challenges of modern ageing. Welfare technology as a tool to promote user driven innovations or another way to keep older users hostage? , 2015 .

[22]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  Defining Profiles of Functional Limitations in Groups of Older Persons: How and Why? , 2011, Journal of aging and health.

[23]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  The usability engineering life cycle , 1992, Computer.

[24]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  Home as a signification of independence and autonomy: Experiences among very old Swedish people , 2007, Scandinavian journal of occupational therapy.

[25]  Robert A. Virzi,et al.  Refining the Test Phase of Usability Evaluation: How Many Subjects Is Enough? , 1992 .

[26]  Hsiu Ching Laura Hsieh.  Exploring the Impact of Cultures on Web Usability Test , 2011, HCI.

[27]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  The Housing Enabler Screening Tool , 2012 .

[28]  Morten Hertzum,et al.  Usability testing: too early? too much talking? too many problems? , 2016 .

[29]  C. McKevitt,et al.  Involving older people in health research. , 2007, Age and ageing.

[30]  Susanne Iwarsson,et al.  The meaning of everyday performance at home among old people in Latvia , 2007 .

[31]  Philip T. Kortum,et al.  Determining what individual SUS scores mean: adding an adjective rating scale , 2009 .

[32]  C. Melody Carswell,et al.  Evidence for an Elders' Advantage in the Naive Product Usability Judgments of Older and Younger Adults , 2006, Hum. Factors.

[33]  Frode Eika Sandnes,et al.  Twenty five years of training and education in ICT Design for All and Assistive Technology , 2011 .

[34]  Marianne Abramsson.  Mellanboendeformer för äldre : av intresse såväl för de äldre som för bostadsföretagen , 2009 .

[35]  J. B. Brooke,et al.  SUS: A 'Quick and Dirty' Usability Scale , 1996 .