exploratory study of web navigation strategies for users with physical disabilities

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country

Laboratory of HCI for Special Needs

J. Eduardo Pérez1, Myriam Arrue1 & Xabier Valencia1

> University of the Basque Country

1: juaneduardo.perez myriam.arrue xabier.valencia } @ehu.es

Lourdes Moreno2

> University Carlos III of Madrid 2: lmoreno@uc3m.es

Exploratory Study of Web Navigation Strategies for

Users with Physical Disabilities

• Similar accessibility solutions proposed for different physically impaired needs

• Vast diversity within this group of users

• Decline in productivity & satisfaction when navigating on the Web

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country Motivation

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April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country

3/11

• Two tasks on an accessible website

• 11 users [similar upper-body physical impairments /

different level of expertise and assistive technology used]

• Analyse recorded videos to study participants

main interactions [pointing to links, clicking on links,

page scrolling & back/forward navigation]

Study

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country Stimuli & procedure

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• [www.discapnet.com] informational website for

people with disabilities

• WCAG 1.0 > level AA conformance

• Two tasks: free (task1) & search (task2) navigation

• Video recorded sessions with a camera located behind

the user

• Personal interview, demographic and expertise

questionnaires

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country

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Participants

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country

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Interaction data

} } Task 1: free

navigation

Task 2: search navigation

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country

7/11

• Numeric keypad and head pointer users

limited by distances:

– Provide an index of the information in the page

– Provide navigation bars

– Provide quick access to topics within a website } T1

T2

Results discussion

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country

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Results discussion

• Joystick, trackball, mouse and touchpad

users lack of accuracy close to target:

– Add hot area around hyperlinks

– Define graphical buttons at least of 180x22 pixels size } T1

T2

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country

9/11

Results discussion

• Using scroll bar buttons (instead

specific keys) additional problems:

– Strechtext

– Break pages into chunks of no more than one/two screens

• Using keyboard shortcuts decreases

time & effort for pointing on targets

– Provide shortcuts in a visible way } } T1

T2

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014)

University of the Basque Country Conclusions

10/11

• Vast heterogeneity of interaction strategies

within upper body impaired users

• To consider in future work:

– Integrate and test adaptations techniques identified within an automatic adaptation system developed previously

– Speech recognition, eye-tracking and other assistive technologies

– Interaction with other type of websites

University of the Basque Country

Thank you for your attention

Laboratory of HCI for Special Needs

Exploratory Study of Web Navigation Strategies for

Users with Physical Disabilities

April 7, Seoul (Korea) Session 3: Web Browsing and Personalization

11th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2014) 11/11