Testing Each Pattern

In many cases the “use” and “avoid” examples for each pattern can be used as a testable case. The pattern is probably applied if:

• For each pattern, a “use” example is implemented (unless it is not relevant for the content).
• For each pattern, the items identified as “avoid” examples are avoided (unless they are necessary or essential).

There are additional ongoing efforts to make testable statements for each design pattern with corresponding test processes and failure examples, that are always applicable. These are available at Testable Statements for COGA Design Patterns.

In some cases, the testable statements only cover the part of the design pattern that can be tested automatically. The Cognitive Accessibility Task Force intends to continue working on these statements as a supplement to the design guide.

One can test also that the additional advice in this document is integrated into development and design processes. For example:

• Confirm that diverse users with cognitive and learning disabilities are included in the projects’ focus groups, research and user testing as per the advice in Section 5.
• Confirm user needs and user stories for people with cognitive and learning disabilities are integrated into the project user needs, user stories, and requirements, as per Section 3.
• Confirm that personas from Section 6 are integrated into the research phase of the project.
• Confirm that the project user tests include testing for the objectives in this document as per Section 5.

Differences from Usability Testing with the General Population

There are some differences when usability testing with people who have cognitive and learning disabilities:

• Ask ahead of time if they need any support for their needs. This could include a quiet room or frequent breaks.
• Ask what test methods work best for them, such as individual interviews or groups. Some people will prefer to have an interview in their home.
• Ensure participation forms are easy to understand. Confirm that they understand any key points.
• Inform the participant that they can request the information in a different format. If they make a request, ensure they receive it with enough time for them to review and ask questions.
• Have a copy of the participation forms at the session, in case questions come up before the session begins.
• Send participation forms to the participant in advance. Allow plenty of time for the participant to ask questions and fill in forms.
• Allow the participant to bring a caregiver, family member, or friend to attend with them.
• If your tester has a guardian, you should get consent from both the participant and their guardian.
• If they bring a guardian or caregiver, make sure they are not doing the tasks for them. If they give help, monitor closely what help they give, as this may be due to a design fault.
• Explain the testing method before the test.
• The questions should be short and easy to understand language.
• Provide easy methods of assessing mood, rather than just asking for the participant. Try asking them to select a smiley face, such as: Figure 1 A simple mood selector.
  
  

  

• Some individuals also have challenges identifying moods from faces. Other options to consider are simple mood selectors and text-based rating scales where an individual can point to their selection. For example, I really like this, it is fine, I really don’t like this.
• Check they understand the methods used to collect the data.
• Ensure the person does not feel like they are at fault for making mistakes. While this is always important during usability testing, this scenario is even more likely for people with cognitive and learning disabilities.
• Ask them for their ideas, such as, what features they would like to see, what design they prefer and what support they find most helpful. Thank them for their contribution.
• Make clear that the tester can end the user testing session at any time.

Here are some suggestions of what to look for when conducting usability testing with people with cognitive and learning disabilities:

1. Before you start, make sure the research team understands that the testers cannot do anything wrong. Research should never harm the user or make them feel bad.
2. Make sure the participants and researchers know they can leave at any time. No one should feel bad if they leave!
3. Check that the testers understand the task or question. Encourage your testers to “think out loud”.
4. Time the task takes to complete, and note any parts where users slow down or seem to struggle. Can your testers manage each task reasonably easily and quickly? Also, note any errors that they make, including clicking on the wrong item.
5. Find out if completing the task is frustrating or upsetting?
   1. You can ask users how they are feeling before and after the tasks or rate their mood such as selecting the smiley face which represents how they feel.
   2. Ask them if anything was annoying.
6. Ask how you can make it better for your users (people with cognitive and learning disabilities)?
7. Ask your users if they have suggestions about what would make the interface easier for them to use. This is often best at the end of the usability test.
8. If the user is struggling, remind them that you are reviewing the system not them and that their insights are really helpful. Thank them for helping. Remind them that it is helpful when they find issues because it helps the team make the product better. Stop the process if users are getting distressed.
9. Analyze the data collected and review the findings with the team. Remember to keep the names of individuals confidential (unless they have given permission for their identity and disability to be shared).

Does the User Understand What Things Are and How to Use Them?

• Does the user know what the page is about?
• Does the user know what actions they can take on a page?
• Does the user know where they are in a web site, an application or a multi-step process?
• Can the user easily find the different sections of content?
• Identify the different activities that the user may want to complete on the page:
  • Can the user achieve the activities without asking for help?
  • Does the user make errors trying to achieve the activities?
  • Does the user find them easy to achieve?

Related Design Objective: Objective 1: Help Users Understand What Things are and How to Use Them .

Can Users Find What They Need?

• Can the user easily identify all the important information and important interactive features on the site and each page?
• Can the user use both browse and search to find things? (Check for important and commonly used information or features.)
• Can the user revert or correct any action they take when interacting? Does it use a familiar and consistent action?

Related Design Objective: Objective 2: Help Users Find What They Need.

Is the Content Clear and Understandable?

• Can the user find a segment or a piece of key information quickly?
• Does the user understand the text?
• Does the user understand text immediately?
• Does the user know ambiguous language?
• Is the content usable without understanding math concepts?
• Is there any representation of math by words instead of numbers?
• Is the support for slow readers helpful?
• Does the user understand the use of (familiar) symbols?
• Does the user understand the use of images and multimedia?

Related Design Objective: Objective 3: Use Clear and Understandable Content.

Can Users Avoid Mistakes and Easily Correct Them

• Can the user easily fill in the form without making mistakes?
• When the user goes to the wrong place can they easily get back in one click? (You can press something on the screen and ask them to go back.)
• Was it pleasant to fill out the form? Has the user’s mood changed?
• Did the user have to redo anything? Was correcting any mistakes easy?
• Ask the user if they would find this easy to do if under stress or tired.
• Ask the user if anything was hard.
• After they complete the form, ask the user to change a detail at the beginning. Did they manage without losing data? Was it hard or stressful?
• Ask the user how the form could be easier to fill out. Suggest some of the relevant design techniques from the design patterns section and ask if it would help them with this form.

Related Design Objective: Objective 4: Help Users Avoid Mistakes and Know How to Correct Them.

Can Users Maintain Focus?

• Can they achieve the activities easily without losing focus?
• Distract the user for a minute so that they lose focus. Can they get easily back to the task?
• Ask users if they would find this easy to do if under stress or tired?
• Ask the user what would help them remember what they are doing such as headers or breadcrumbs.
• Ask the user if anything was distracting.

Related Design Objective: Objective 5: Help Users Focus.

Can Users Complete Processes without Relying on Memory?

Identify the different activities that the user may want to complete on the page:

• Can they achieve the activities without asking for help?
• Does the user make errors trying to achieve the activities?
• Does the user find the activities easy to achieve?
• Can the user do the same thing later (the password may have been forgotten)?
• Ask users if they would find this easy to do if under stress or tired.
• Ask users where they might have trouble if they are under stress.

Related Design Objective: Objective 6: Ensure Processes Do Not Rely on Memory.

Is there Enough Help and Support?

• Can the user identify the different ways a user may “Report Issues and Problems”?
• Can the user find a way to submit their feedback without asking for help?
• Can the user submit feedback at each stage of the process? This should include the home page and any place they may get stuck.
• At each stage in the task, confirm that the feedback process is one click away (or less).
• Does the user make errors trying to submit their feedback?
• Does the user’s mood deteriorate when submitting feedback? (A sign of frustration.)
• Does the user find it easy to submit their feedback?
• Ask users if they would find this easy to do, when they are stressed or tired.
• Ask the user where they might have trouble giving feedback if they were under stress.
• Is the user able to complete the task after they give feedback?
• Does the user understand the feedback process? Use concrete ways to check that the user understands. For example: Is the user able to identify if/when they will receive a response back? Can they identify how a response may come back (e.g., email, phone)? Where the feedback goes/what happens to the feedback?
• Confirm that the feedback process does not require a lot of information that will prevent people from giving feedback.
• Confirm that when feedback is given, a process is in place for acting on it!

Related Design Objective: Objective 7: Provide Help and Support.

Is Adaptation and Personalization Supported

• Are personalized versions of the content supplied?
• Do content modifications match the user preferences such as: less content, adding and changing icons and symbols, or simplified text?
• Check that content variations such as text simplification have kept:
  • the same meaning as the original,
  • content that the user wants, and
  • critical paths that still work;
• Check that autofill works correctly with all content versions.
• Do the user’s preferred extensions and tools work on the site?
• Are the personalization options easy to find and set?
• Do they find it easier with personalization options supplied?

Related Design Objective: Objective 8: Support Adaptation and Personalization.

Alison Scenario 1: Learning How to Use New Technologies and Interfaces

Alison took an evening course to learn how to use Windows and MS Word ten years ago and used to feel very comfortable with the interface. She has a new computer now and finds that most applications look very different. She realizes that links and buttons have changed appearance and does not know what to press. Sometimes she presses a picture or stylized heading that is not a control and is not sure if the internet is down, the site is broken or she has made a mistake. Sometimes she touches something accidentally and the focus moves to a different page or application. For example, she recently tried to enlarge some small text and activated a link instead of enlarging it! She misses the days when all links were in blue and underlined.

Alison loses self-confidence when things go wrong. For example, selecting an incorrect button or getting an error that she does not understand. She knows to try and press the back button to go back a step, but it does not always work as she thinks it will. She tends to think she cannot cope, so gives up, but with support to adapt the interface to suit her needs she can learn to use the new style.

Her children worked with her to reduce the number of menu items on the application toolbar so she can concentrate on the ones she regularly uses. They helped her change her settings so when searching for items on the Web, only a limited number appear at one time. They also found her a de-cluttering browser extension that takes away many of the advertisements and other items that clutter her social media pages when communicating with her grandchildren.

Alison Scenario 2: Correcting Typos and Writing Fluently

When writing letters and messages on her computer, phone, and tablet Alison pauses every so often and checks that what she is writing makes sense. She finds it very annoying having to work so slowly. However, by using text-to-speech to read out content she has found she can hear her mistakes more easily than noticing them on the screen. She has also discovered that this process can make reading web pages easier and less tiring. Nevertheless, she often has to go over instructions several times before completing tasks online. She depends on the fact that forms do not timeout or have an option to allow her to extend the time to fill in the edit boxes.

Alison Scenario 3: Coping with Online Banking and Shopping

Alison knows her math skills are not as sharp as they used to be. She is worried about making mistakes that will put her financially at risk. She is not sure she should be using her credit card online. Alison wants to feel safe and supported.

She finds that autocomplete helps when filling out forms. However, she tends to worry that what is entered may not be accurate. She has a paper card listing some commonly needed information such as her phone number, address, and postcode. She stores secure information in a special folder. She has also set up an agreement with the bank to limit spending on her credit card and mobile banking.

Alison Scenario 4: Giving Feedback

Alison would like to give feedback and tell her bank what changes they can make to their web site to make it more usable for her and other mature customers. She struggles to find the feedback form and she has to type in a lot of information to send her suggestions. When she types in her phone number without the area code she receives an error. She tries to fix the error and send the suggestion but the send button becomes disabled, so she probably needs to correct something else as well. At this point Alison feels they do not want her feedback and gives up. She now uses the site much less often. She also finds it hard to reach a support person on the phone because of the confusing phone menu system, so drives into the bank instead. She is thinking of changing to her daughter’s bank, so her daughter can help her.

Amy Scenario 1: Coping with Poor Layouts and Illogical Navigation

Being able to code your own web sites can make you very critical of others! Amy copes best when important elements are consistently positioned where she can see them. She can then focus on the actual content and not on finding things. She often feels quite confused by some social media sites that have dynamically changing content with random messages and advertisements. She either avoids these sites or tends to try to personalize them by clearing away the clutter and choosing to hide sections. Navigation that does not follow a simple route across an entire site really annoys her, as she feels this does not help anyone. She also finds that she is missing important information on sites that have too much information on pages or have no clear and logical structure.

Amy Scenario 2: Changing Color Schemes, Flashing, Blinking, and Automatic Playing Videos or Music

A page that loads automatically or animations and videos that play automatically cause problems for Amy. Sometimes, the movement can be very distracting and the sounds alarming. Amy has always found that sudden noises or something happening unintentionally has been a problem. When designing her own applications and web sites, she makes sure the controls for animated objects and videos are clearly visible and do not start until the user decides to play them.

Amy Scenario 3: Designs that Make Use of Abstract Imagery and Metaphors

Amy is always concerned about communicating clearly. She finds it hard when people ask her to create a design that includes abstract imagery. Images that do not directly represent something make Amy feel uneasy. She tends to ask if there can be some explanatory text in case other users are confused. On the other hand, a figure of speech where someone has written something that is not literal makes her wish that the writer would use easy to understand language as it is hard to understand concepts such as, “the wheels of justice turn slowly.”

George Scenario 1: Using Symbols for Communication

George used Makaton symbols and gestures when at school. He is able to communicate relatively easily now, although reading and writing remains a challenge. Surfing the Web is hard when most interactions require text input. Even with these challenges, George likes to watch videos, find images, and listen to music as well as playing games online. Friends have set up links with recognizable icons on his tablet and this has made it easy to visit his favorite sites. If recognizable symbols or icons can be used in more situations, George feels he is able to reach more sites independently. There are search engines designed for children and these often use more images. However, these tend to be too childish for George’s taste.

George Scenario 2: Understanding Netiquette and its Impact on Social Media Sites

George was told about surfing safely and not giving out personal information. He is very lucky that his family has set up his social media and chat account with various privacy settings. However, George finds the way emojis change or new icons keep appearing on his message systems rather confusing and does not always realize what some of them mean. He has sometimes selected an inappropriate symbol and then receives a rather short message from a friend in return that is upsetting. He finds it hard to explain what might have happened. He knows there are times when he really cannot choose the right symbol because it is too small and he finds it hard to accurately hit the spot. George is then very worried as he does not know how to ‘unlike’ or change his symbol choice. Interacting with emojis, icons and symbols is much easier for him with easy ways to enlarge these features on touch interfaces and to undo errors.

George Scenario 3: Controls on Videos and Popup Windows

Using a mouse is not easy for everyone and double clicking can take time to learn. George has worked hard to improve his mouse skills by playing many onscreen games. However, he still finds it hard to move accurately enough to skip ads on videos or to track down the close/exit method offered by some pop-up windows. Once again friends have come to the rescue and enabled an ad blocker extension for his browser. However, this does not always capture all the ads or prevent George from selecting the submit button rather than a cross or exit button on a pop-up. There have been times when George has downloaded malware without any second warning appearing. Sometimes he is unable to reach a site because he cannot find the small cross on a transparent popup window that overlays the main page.

George Scenario 4: Finding ways to Read Instructions

George finds it very hard to read instructions unless they use very short and easy to understand language. He needs text that has been simplified. The best option for George is when there is a summary of a paragraph with a well-known symbol, short bullet points and a clear diagram or image of what is required. He finds videos with instructions usually go too quickly. He has to stop them, going back time and time again. Helpful instructions with well broken up sets of phrases using easy to understand words can work well. He can then go back to them when he has to remember how to do a particular task.

Gopal Scenario 1: Managing Dates and Booking Holidays

Gopal notices that he has trouble with online calendars, booking flights, and hotels when he plans his summer holiday. He can work out the way the dates have to be entered into the form, but makes mistakes with the month and day. If only there was a good example or tooltip. He also finds that when he is booking a flight, the table with the various lists of airports automatically enters the initials. He finds this is very confusing when he is checking that everything is correct. Finally, Gopal can make sure he has booked the right number of nights for his hotel stay. He knows his arrival time at the airport is a day later than when he left, but it would help to have a calendar with color and clear markings for the days in the week, not just numbers.

Gopal Scenario 2: Coping with Icons that are not Recognizable

Many web pages now have their own graphic icons and ways of indicating actions that need to be completed. Gopal is having problems searching for information about a care home that might help him in the future. He cannot work out what the various options are when he tries to fill out a form for his requirements. There appear to be a series of small images beside the edit boxes. However, the minute he begins to write in the form the text explanation disappears. He wants the instructions to remain in place above the area where he is writing and for the box to be highlighted when he misses some important sections.

Gopal Scenario 3: Support when Using Search Engines

Gopal likes to surf the Web for anything to do with fishing, his favorite hobby. However, he finds the sheer number of items that appear very confusing. Ideally he would like the number of search results to be reduced and perhaps have some way of seeing the items categorized in groups, so that he can work out which services he needs. In this case it might also be helpful to have icons appearing when the groups are listed, so that he can see articles about fly fishing in one section and sea fishing in another. Blocks of text with more white space around them are also helpful, so that he does not have to cope with such a mass of text.

Gopal Scenario 4: Making a Medical Appointment

Gopal can be independent, but often finds unsuitable designs make him require help. For example, when he tries to make a doctor’s appointment. He goes to the doctor’s web site and clicks on “make an appointment”. Then a popup opens asking him for the date. He is distracted by a phone call. When he returns to the screen he is not sure what he was doing. So he does not make the appointment. If a popup has a clear heading he can be reminded of what he was doing, but without this landmark he is just confused.

Later, Gopal tries calling to make an appointment. Unfortunately, the voice system is automated and asks him to “press 2 to make an appointment”. Gopal typically cannot remember the digit, especially while he is processing the options. He usually gets lost in these systems or types the wrong digit. Gopal is reluctant to ask for help and as a result he is not getting the health care he needs.

Gopal Scenario 5: Using the Heating

Eventually, Gopal moves to a smaller apartment that is easier to take care of. However, this means he is not used to the ICT interfaces for the heating and television system. He tries to turn on the heat. However, the menu item for selecting heat or air conditioning is labeled “mode” which does not mean anything to him. He cannot remember or learn new terms. Gopal cannot use the whole unit because of this one term. This has caused emergencies, such as hypothermia. Gopal now keeps the heating on at the same setting and temperature and will only change it when his helper comes.

The TV also has an ICT interface with a lot of icons that Gopal does not know. His helper puts an “on/off” sticker next to the button that he can use. However, he still cannot change the channel or change the volume.

When his microwave broke he bought a new one with controls that were similar to his old one. Because the controls are familiar, Gopal can use the microwave unaided, although he still needs help with the TV and heating.

Jonathan Scenario 1: Coping with Quantities when Shopping Online

Jonathan struggles to understand how much the products in his cart will cost, especially when he is buying items like meat that are priced by weight. It’s also hard for him to know the right quantities to purchase. He often orders far too much or too little when using online shopping carts. It helps him when shopping web sites provide a way to know the size without numbers, such as showing pictures of the actual products or using terms like small, medium, and large. It also helps him to get a warning when he orders a very large quantity of a particular item so he can correct mistakes like ordering six bunches of bananas when he meant to buy one bunch of six bananas. He saves shopping lists that have been successful in terms of ordering the right quantity for each item so that he can re-use the lists on other occasions. He often ends up spending a lot more than he intended to because he is unaware of relative prices. His bank has helped by adding restrictions on the amount he can spend online or using his mobile phone. This can be annoying, but has stopped him from overdrawing his account.

Jonathan Scenario 2: Remembering Pin Numbers and Passwords

The use of pin numbers and passwords that insist on including a number has always been an issue and most of the time Jonathan uses a secure password application when online. When it comes to the number on the back of his credit card (Card Verification Code) that is always required at the end of a payment exercise, he has to look it up each time, though autofill has helped with completing the rest of the form. Jonathan made sure that what he originally entered and saved in his browser was correct. Too many times he has had to retrace his steps due to typos and not seeing that the entry was incorrect. When he has to return to the form to make corrections, he finds it essential that the corrections needed are clearly highlighted and the instructions provided are helpful. He also feels that it is important that the data he entered previously is not lost, as the more often he types in numbers etc. the more likely he is to make mistakes.

Jonathan Scenario 3: Using Spreadsheets Shared with Colleagues

At work, there are times when Jonathan has to share a spreadsheet with a colleague to ensure that the group’s accounts are in order, suppliers have been correctly invoiced and fees collected. Looking at the massive grid of numbers makes Jonathan anxious and affects his ability to concentrate on specific parts of the spreadsheet. He has found that it helps to use color coding, increased spacing, and larger font sizes to pick out the various elements. He uses a tool for recording his hours where he can press start and stop to see how long he has worked without using math but he is not confident to add hours worked to the spreadsheet himself. He wishes it was integrated into the work spreadsheet. Jonathan will often use the comment feature to add something that he feels his colleague needs to check, rather than making the correction to the spreadsheet himself.

When Jonathan needs to give a presentation that involves numbers, he plans ahead by saving the document as a PDF or in another format he can use with his text-to-speech application. This tool helps him find out the correct way to pronounce a multi-digit number, like 1540. Sometimes the context is missing making the pronunciation of the text-to-speech unreliable, so he also checks with his partner. He annotates the document with the correct pronunciation.

Jonathan Scenario 4: Reading Chart and Graphs

Jonathan is interested in reading about climate change, but has trouble understanding charts showing the expected rise in temperature over time. This happens when all the temperatures are shown as numbers. Jonathan finds it much easier when words such as cold, warm, or hot are used with color changes on a drawing to show the problem.

Jonathan also finds a graph, diagram, or table can be confusing if there is no summary beforehand. He spends far too long trying to work out what the content means. Jonathan also likes clear labels or short summaries to help explain the individual parts of the diagram, graph, or table. Although good use of color and shapes can help when numbers are represented visually, Jonathan finds clear written descriptions easier to understand.

Kwame Scenario 1: Using Speech Recognition to Navigate the Web

Kwame has dexterity difficulties, so he sometimes uses speech recognition to work through web pages and enter text. He finds this method the least tiring of all the possible input options. Although his speech is slow, he is able to control his computer using speech commands and dictation. It is quite easy to use simple commands to control web sites, although there are times when he forgets some of the commands and has to use his cheat sheet. Kwame likes the scroll commands that allow him to read slowly down a page without using any other input device and he often retraces his steps to reread items. However, there can be problems if the forms on the web site are not labeled correctly or if buttons do not have clear names. Kwame has help personalizing some aspects of form completion. However, if an element is inaccessible via the keyboard, he uses the mouse grid to interact with that part of the site. This is a slow process and can be frustrating as Kwame finds he loses concentration.

Kwame Scenario 2: Finding the Right Words to Use for Searching

Kwame finds there are times when he spells words incorrectly. He appreciates error corrections, word completion, and systems that accept mistakes. He also has problems finding words when he is tired. He welcomes search suggestions, as these are ideas that might be related to his search. However, too many results can cause concern and Kwame admits he really cannot work his way through very long lists that are not broken up with headings and categories.

Kwame Scenario 3: Being Confident that He Understands the Content

Kwame has difficulty understanding content when it is not explicitly clear, and without any ambiguity whatsoever. He takes a notably longer amount of time to read and process information to be certain that he is interpreting it correctly. His interpretation of information is almost always correct. However, even the slightest bit of ambiguity, or open interpretation creates sticking points that he must read over and over again. He questions every which way until he can assure himself that he understands it correctly. Examples and clear step-by-step instructions can help him have the confidence to complete his task. Simple, clear memorable graphics or large indicators of steps in a process increase Kwame’s understanding, confidence, and orientation in a process. Kwame also prefers larger fonts. Reading smaller text takes up mental energy that isn’t available for trying to understand what is being said.

Kwame Scenario 4: Understanding where Information is in a Hierarchical Structure

Kwame tries to understand the outline of the page and site, so that he does not get lost in the content. Sometimes he dives into the web site, but then he does not know where he is in the content or task. For Kwame to understand the level of importance of content he needs clear and consistent headings in a hierarchical structure. A clear site structure lets him orient himself in the site.

He values simple, clear graphics that relate to the content and break it up. These help him orient as well as understand and remember the content. He needs icons that emphasize the structure and role of the content. Images that accompany the main text and make it memorable also help.

Kwame Scenario 5: Cognitive Overload

Complex presentations of information (images, diagrams, content heavy web pages, etc.) overload Kwame’s cognitive functioning. This shuts his brain down and prevents him from progressing through processes, navigating, systems, and environments. He stops understanding the information presented, at both the micro and macro level.

Liberal use of white space helps Kwame when there is a considerable amount of content on one page.

He struggles to keep track of what he is doing in complex tasks. It is important for Kwame to have the steps of tasks clearly presented, and a mechanism like breadcrumbs that helps Kwame keep track of where he is in a task with multiple steps. Kwame appreciates it when tasks are as simple as possible. “It can’t ever be too simple,” he says.

Kwame Scenario 6: Struggling with Directions

Kwame struggles to respond quickly to spoken directions when using a mapping program to find his way to a location. Kwame benefits from previewing the directions before he leaves. He finds route changes very difficult to adjust to. He changes the settings so that directions are given using the terms ‘driver’s side’ and ‘passenger’s side’ instead of left and right, and makes sure the route does not change automatically.

Maria Scenario 1: Finding Key Information on web sites

Maria needs to gather specific types of online information for her job. She often has to run through reports about the company on the company’s web site. She is only able to easily read the headlines of web pages. The company’s web site looks fancy, has a modern user interface and a lot of elements that change when you hover the mouse over them. For Maria this site is a total nightmare! She finally finds the link to the data she needs as it appears when she happens to hover over a certain menu item with her mouse. The link is positioned so that she does not notice it at first. She has found that it really helps if important interactive items are placed in the usual menu areas on a screen and the icons are clearly defined and easily recognizable.

Maria Scenario 2: Remembering Information Entered During a Previous Step

While ordering business cards (a multi-step process), Maria has difficulty remembering information that she enters into previous screens. On the first step she sees content choices that the process expects her to remember in later screens. Additionally, the prolonged mental stress that she experiences while navigating means it is hard for her to make new memories. Processes that require Maria to remember information from one step to another need to give her the information required, at the exact point of use, otherwise she will not be able to complete the process.

Maria Scenario 3: Pressing the Correct Button

Maria has eye hand coordination difficulties, so precise movements are hard. She often touches the wrong button on her small phone screen. This means she presses the wrong letter or number when typing. With her letter recognition difficulties this also makes typing in codes or text very unreliable. She confuses left and right so she is pressing the off button in place of the volume. In most interactions on her phone she makes some form of mistake, such as loading a new video when she intends to expand the screen of the window she is watching. To use any application successfully it needs to have a consistent back or undo function.

Sam Scenario 1: Having Well-spaced Text with Words that are Easy to Pick Out

Despite all the difficulties that Sam has with his beloved reading, he is determined to improve and finds that if a web site has no clutter or background imagery he can read the headings. He also finds that if there is adequate spacing and the text is not too complex, he can pick words out and with the help of text-to-speech understand the meaning. He does not like the sound of the synthesized speech, because he finds it distracting having always read silently. However, over time, he is learning to enlarge the fonts and if the page has left justified text with uneven right edges, he can find his way about by the different shapes of each paragraph. As he becomes more confident, he is beginning to use some browser tools and is able to increase the line spacing and change the font style on some of his old favorite online historical documents.

Sam Scenario 2: Using Edit Boxes where the Instructions Disappear

Sam has to fill in so many online forms to receive benefits due to his disability. They cause immense frustration and feelings of self-doubt due to their lack of clarity. Every time he has to fill in an edit box, the instructions disappear the minute he begins to type and he cannot remember what is required. He often has to refresh the page and start again to see the label in the box. Sam spends so long on the task that the page times out. He has to print it out and get help. This is really upsetting as he wants to be independent and it often reduces him to tears. This is very unlike him, but as the doctor explains, this is linked to his stroke. He also finds it very frustrating when a form requires a particular way of formatting information with no example as to how to complete the action. Worse still is when the error is not clearly explained, making correction even harder. Dates, postal codes, and phone numbers are a particular nightmare.

Sam Scenario 3: Trying to Activate Elements that are Mis-recognized

The effects of aphasia with acquired dyslexia can be exhausting and confusing but most worrying for Sam is the sense of getting lost on a web page that he thinks he knows. He admits to being nervous when he cannot pick out elements in a page that requires an interaction. Sometimes he dares not click on a button in case he does something wrong or is sent to somewhere without warning. Sam finds this aspect of his web surfing very alarming, as in the past he has been able to navigate with ease. He discovers that the edges of shapes do not appear as clear as they should when people use pale greys. He misses links unless expressly highlighted. If a pop-up window suddenly appears, there are times when he cannot close it to return to the page. Small crosses or “x”s to close popup windows become a nightmare. Sam stresses that the more things happen on a page, the more confused he becomes. He mentions the fact that some sites are easier on his tablet, as then it all seems to flow one way. He can just scroll up and down until he feels happy with a decision.

Sam Scenario 4: Coping with Complex Language

When text was written in the passive voice or in an academic manner with long complex words Sam struggled to sometimes understand their meaning even if they were in context. He also finds, if he is required to use the same type of language in a form, that he can copy the words as he cannot always spell them and at times he uses the wrong word. When he is able to use an application that enables the text to be read aloud, he can cope if the language is clear and the sentences are kept short. He likes articles that are written in the active tense so he can understand the main ideas straight away.

Tal Scenario 1: Logging In

Tal’s use of the library catalogue when using the college computers often fails at the first attempt. This happens when Tal cannot remember the login password. Tal keeps putting in ‘talb61’ rather than ‘tald16’ and cannot see the mistakes. The error message on the web page does not help because it announces that the username or password are incorrect. Tal is not sure which one is wrong. Luckily, when Tal is on a family owned laptop, the browser settings allow Tal to save the password and automatically log in.

Tal Scenario 2: Finding Accessible Content

Having navigated the online library system, Tal finds a paper about Post-war fashion. Tal downloads it in PDF format. Tal likes to use a text-to-speech application to read the content aloud, but when Tal tries to highlight the text nothing happens. Tal discovers the document is actually an image and yet there is no warning this is the case. Tal cannot find an alternative accessible version of the paper. This means Tal has to use optical character recognition to virtually scan the paper. It is not totally successful leaving Tal with gaps in the information. Tal finds the process makes it even harder to complete the assignment on time.

Tal Scenario 3: Filling in a Form to Ask for an Online Journal Article

Finally, Tal finds an online journal that has another article, but there is a form that has to be completed in order to cite the paper. Tal starts the process, but realizes they do not know the author’s name. Tal returns to the web page with the article to copy and paste the name. Sadly, when Tal comes back to the form, all that they filled in is lost. Tal has to retype the whole thing again.

Tal Scenario 4: Overlooking Important Information

Tal is a very slow reader and often sounds out words. Tal has impaired auditory processing skills so cannot speed up the text-to-speech application. To manage a busy life, Tal tries to scan and skip through the massive amounts of content, emails, and newsletters to read the key parts. Sometimes however, Tal cannot find important content because it is buried inside lots of other content. The headers and visual layout of the content does not always guide Tal to the information needed.

This all means that Tal worries about missing something important and sometimes that happens. For example, Tal’s daughter’s elementary school published a weekly newsletter with interesting stories about activities and important announcements. It contained information that school was ending early one day, but it was buried under less important information about the school activities. Because it takes Tal so long to read each word, they did not manage to read the whole newsletter and did not know that their daughter was coming home earlier than usual. As a result, Tal was not home in time and their daughter was left waiting outside for over an hour.

Tal Scenario 5: Pressing the Correct Button

Tal struggles with impaired eye hand coordination, so precise movements are hard. Tal often touches the wrong button or number when typing on a small phone screen. With Tal’s letter recognition difficulties this makes typing in codes or text very unreliable. Tal also confuses left and right so often presses the off button in place of the volume. In most phone interactions, Tal makes some form of mistake, such as loading a new video when trying to expand the screen of the window. To use an application successfully, Tal feels it needs to have a consistent back or undo function.

Yuki Scenario 1: Gathering Key Points from a Heavy Text Based Document or Web Page

Yuki could not really explain her apparent forgetfulness and not being able to focus or complete tasks. She knew that if she came across a long document or web page with dense text she had to find the key points. If the web page failed to have a clear structure, well-spaced and highlighted headings she would be lost and lose concentration. Yuki also said that if she was reading her mobile screen, advertisements appearing between chunks of text upset her focus and she had to stop reading. However, when there was good use of white space, recognizable icons linking to simple bold text clarifying the important points, Yuki could target these areas and find out what she needed. A clear summary helped Yuki understand and she could remember much of what she had read.

Yuki Scenario 2: Stopping Carousels and Banners from Scrolling

When setting up a new web site for her yoga business, Yuki found an attractive template with several different ways of being able to show images of her exercises. However, she could not make the carousel of photographs pause, or a banner with her latest news stop scrolling. This really annoyed her, as she found both items stopped her concentrating on the important content on the rest of the site. She thought that if it was upsetting her; what about her intended audience? She had to find a friend to add some code that not only added controls, but also stopped the automatic movement, giving her web site a calmness that she hoped her yoga teaching achieved.

Yuki Scenario 3: Losing Focus when Completing Tasks

Yuki enjoyed her Yoga teaching. However, she found that if she was developing some instructional materials for her web site, online tools often failed to provide sufficient guidance. Unless there was a clear pathway and a way to return to the place where she was working, she often deleted items by accident or could not make corrections. Saving endless previews with yet more tabs being open in her browser caused anxiety levels to rise. It was not until she found a web application that made each task clear with a submit button, that saved her work in stages, that she was able to cope. Yuki was able to see sections of her work in the correct order and could then manage the bite size chunks of instruction, rather than have to deal with it all at once. This made it so much easier for her to complete the exercise sheets. She became confident in her use of the application to the extent she was willing to purchase the pro version.

Yuki Scenario 4: Learning Information from a Video

Yuki likes watching instructional videos, but starts to lose focus after a few minutes. It’s especially hard for her to concentrate if there is more than a minute of content that she already knows. Sometimes she watches videos at high speed so that they are less boring, but she still quickly loses focus and has trouble locating information she missed. When a video is broken down into segments with clear headings, she can jump to the information she needs to learn. She can also jump forward over segments that she already knows. When she misses information that she needs, she can easily jump to the correct location and focus. If a video transcript is available, she likes to search it for key terms. Watching the video and reading parts of the transcript helps her learn new information.