Inclusive Design for Mobile Devices with WCAG and Attentional Resources in Mind
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Linköping University | Department of Computer and Information Science Master’s thesis, 30 credits | Cognitive science Spring term 2020 | ISRN: LIU-IDA/KOGVET-A--20/010--SE Inclusive Design for Mobile Devices with WCAG and Attentional Resources in Mind An investigation of the sufficiency of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines when designing inclusively and the effects of limited attentional resources. Josefin Carlbring Tutor: Erik Marsja (IBL) Examinator: Arne Jönsson (IDA) Copyright The publishers will keep this document online on the Internet – or its possible replacement – for a period of 25 years starting from the date of publication barring exceptional circumstances. The online availability of the document implies permanent permission for anyone to read, to download, or to print out single copies for his/hers own use and to use it unchanged for non-commercial research and educational purpose. Subsequent transfers of copyright cannot revoke this permission. All other uses of the document are conditional upon the consent of the copyright owner. The publisher has taken technical and administrative measures to assure authenticity, security and accessibility. According to intellectual property law the author has the right to be mentioned when his/her work is accessed as described above and to be protected against infringement. For additional information about the Linköping University Electronic Press and its procedures for publication and for assurance of document integrity, please refer to its www home page: http://www.ep.liu.se/. © Josefin Carlbring ii iii Abstract When designing for the general population it is important to design inclusively in order to invite to participation in today’s digital society. With this study the widely used Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) gets investigated for its sufficiency in guidance towards inclusive design within mobile devices. Through a comparative analysis between the principles of WCAG and literature considering the effects of the limited attentional resources, deficits with WCAG are detected and discussed. Additionally, a parallel effort making a real-case with a WCAG adapted prototype based on a UX-design process is conducted in order to gain further insight and discussion. This process includes iterative sketching, persona-workshop, Service Blueprint-creation and usability testing. Findings show that WCAG does not fully consider the effects of the limited attentional resources. Recommendations are given for further scientific work in developing complementary guidance considering cognitive limitations to WCAG towards an inclusive design. Keywords: Accessibility, WCAG, inclusive design, attentional resources. iv v Acknowledgement Thanks to my external supervisor Anders Lothigius and the team at XLENT AB. Thanks to the customer of XLENT that requested a design for an application and took their and their users’ time for the design process. Thanks to Erik Marsja, my supervisor who supported me. With their support, I hereby present a master’s thesis in cognitive science. Linköping in June 2020 Josefin Carlbring vi vii Table of Contents 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Purpose & aim .............................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Research questions....................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Delimitations ................................................................................................................................ 3 2 Theoretical framework .............................................................................................................. 5 2.1 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ............................................................................. 5 2.1.1 WCAG principles .................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.2 WCAG on mobile .................................................................................................................... 7 2.1.3 Former findings on WCAG ...................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Attention ...................................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Inclusive design ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.4 UX design principles ................................................................................................................... 12 3 Method ................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1 Comparative analysis .................................................................................................................. 13 3.2 Design process ............................................................................................................................ 13 3.2.1 Workshop preparation ......................................................................................................... 14 3.2.2 Material ............................................................................................................................... 14 3.2.3 Workshop ............................................................................................................................ 15 3.2.4 Usability test ........................................................................................................................ 17 4 Results .................................................................................................................................... 18 4.1 Comparative analysis .................................................................................................................. 18 4.2 Design process ............................................................................................................................ 20 4.2.1 Workshop ............................................................................................................................ 20 4.2.2 Design Concepts .................................................................................................................. 20 4.2.3 Usability test ........................................................................................................................ 21 4.2.4 WCAG additions to UX-prototype ........................................................................................ 23 4.3 WCAG adapted prototype .......................................................................................................... 27 5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 34 5.1 Result discussion ........................................................................................................................ 34 5.2 Method discussion ..................................................................................................................... 35 5.3 Future research .......................................................................................................................... 36 6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 37 References ................................................................................................................................. 38 Appendix A – Concept phase 1 .................................................................................................... 42 Appendix B - Concepts phase 2 ................................................................................................... 48 Appendix C - Prototype (UX design result) ................................................................................... 50 Appendix D - SUS Questionnaire ................................................................................................. 55 Appendix E - Consent form ......................................................................................................... 56 1 1 Introduction The capacity of the human mind is limited. We are limited in the extent that we perceive, store and interpret information even though the brain is extremely complex. One known reason for this is our limited attentional resources. In the modern society, technology makes us available to communicate online, search for information and gather knowledge. The Web has modified the nature of social relationships and the way we communicate (W3C, n.d.-b). W3C (n.d.-b) argues that it is important to support interactions between users on the web. The mobile device has developed from a telephone into a mini-computer and is today as common as a stationary or personal computer. Meanwhile as technology and mobile devices grows into a bigger role in our society, there is a large population that often becomes excluded due to mental or physical disabilities. World health organization has a report that reveals that 15% of the world’s population are suffering from some sort of a disability (WHO, n.d.). When designing for a general population, as many users as possible should