Familiarity-based design (FBD) is a powerful approach to create artefacts that are perceived as belonging to our own world and fitting into our daily practices thanks to an intensive process of mediation between users and technologists. FBD knocks down two major barriers to the accessibility to, and acceptance of, digital technologies: the lack of perceived advantages of technology, and the perception of a negative trade-off between the investment of personal resources for learning and operating them and the expected benefits. During the last 3 years of Netcarity, more than 50 older people were continuously involved in the design process of a device supporting social inclusion. Contextual inquiries and scenarios, personas and cultural probes were used to explore older people’s social network. Mock-ups and low-fi prototypes were iteratively designed and tested to explore design alternatives. The outcome was the MOBITABLE, a gesture-based touch-screen interface embedded in a movable device in which all standard interaction functionalities have been re-designed to fit the motor, cognitive and cultural characteristics of our target users. Two communication modes were provided: a synchronous video-communication tools intended for the private sphere and an asynchronous communication tool for sharing user-generated contents within larger peer groups. MOBITABLE moves away from traditional WIMP interfaces: fingers are the main pointing device and manipulative gestures the primary interaction mode. Real word metaphors based on familiarity are used to efficiently communicate the meaning of functionalities and animations used to support awareness of asynchronous events. An extensive, 3-month longitudinal study was conducted with the MOBITABLE installed in the homes of 13 older adults volunteers; two additional devices were made available at local aggregation centres. The study has yielded a rich harvest of both qualitative and quantitative data that confirm the power of FBD.
MOBITABLE: Design and evaluation of a familiar interface for e-inclusion
Leonardi, Chiara;Pianesi, Fabio;Zancanaro, Massimo
2010-01-01
Abstract
Familiarity-based design (FBD) is a powerful approach to create artefacts that are perceived as belonging to our own world and fitting into our daily practices thanks to an intensive process of mediation between users and technologists. FBD knocks down two major barriers to the accessibility to, and acceptance of, digital technologies: the lack of perceived advantages of technology, and the perception of a negative trade-off between the investment of personal resources for learning and operating them and the expected benefits. During the last 3 years of Netcarity, more than 50 older people were continuously involved in the design process of a device supporting social inclusion. Contextual inquiries and scenarios, personas and cultural probes were used to explore older people’s social network. Mock-ups and low-fi prototypes were iteratively designed and tested to explore design alternatives. The outcome was the MOBITABLE, a gesture-based touch-screen interface embedded in a movable device in which all standard interaction functionalities have been re-designed to fit the motor, cognitive and cultural characteristics of our target users. Two communication modes were provided: a synchronous video-communication tools intended for the private sphere and an asynchronous communication tool for sharing user-generated contents within larger peer groups. MOBITABLE moves away from traditional WIMP interfaces: fingers are the main pointing device and manipulative gestures the primary interaction mode. Real word metaphors based on familiarity are used to efficiently communicate the meaning of functionalities and animations used to support awareness of asynchronous events. An extensive, 3-month longitudinal study was conducted with the MOBITABLE installed in the homes of 13 older adults volunteers; two additional devices were made available at local aggregation centres. The study has yielded a rich harvest of both qualitative and quantitative data that confirm the power of FBD.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
