UK5231
**FIT5152 User Interface**
**Design and Usability**
**Applied Class 5**
**Learning Objectives**
User interactions with systems rely on various senses, capabilities, and circumstances. It's crucial to consider diversity when designing user interfaces.
● Examine and identify accessibility barriers and exclusion in interfaces.
● Categorize types of exclusion and opportunities to enhance the user experience.
● Develop empathy with users.
● Share ideas about the importance of user diversity in your designs.
Each group should contribute at least one idea during the concluding discussion.
**Web Content Accessibility Guidelines**
1. **Perceivable**: Can users detect the content using their available senses?
2. **Operable**: Can users easily perform the necessary actions?
3. **Understandable**: Can users interpret and mentally process the content?
4. **Robust**: Can the site be processed correctly by various platforms, browsers, and assistive technologies?
The principles of Perceivable, Operable, and Understandable are also applicable to non-website environments.
**Reference Links**:
● **WCAG at a Glance**: https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/glance/
● **How to Meet WCAG Requirements**: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/
---
**Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in App Design (25 minutes)**
**Individual Task**
Select an app on your mobile device. Assess its accessibility by applying the first three WCAG principles (Perceivable, Operable, and Understandable) along with the inclusive design principle of Recognize Exclusion.
● Identify and describe beneficial features in the app that support a wide range of users in accessing content or interacting with the app.
● Identify and describe problematic features of the app that may be difficult or impossible for users with disabilities or impairments to use.
Identify at least 3 distinct features for each of the 3 WCAG principles.
**WCAG App Evaluation** [duplicate for each group member]
Name of app:
**Perceivable** | **Operable** | **Understandable**
---
**Empathy Maps (30 minutes)**
**Group Task**
Consider accessibility and inclusive design for the gardening app example from applied class 4.
● Choose one of the provided sample personas and their user stories.
● Identify a sensory or motor skill your persona might struggle with.
○ Vision, hearing, speaking, or touch?
● Consider whether the persona's accessibility need is due to...
○ A permanent disability, temporary impairment, or situational limitation?
Create an empathy map for this user using the template on the following slide.
**Empathy Map**
**Persona name**:
**User story**:
**Says**
What the persona expresses.
**Thinks**
What the persona considers.
**Feels**
What the persona experiences emotionally.
**Does**
What the persona physically does.
---
**Accessibility in Storyboards (5 minutes)**
For Assignment Submission 2, you must create storyboards, with at least one that addresses accessibility. The scenario should involve either a permanent disability, temporary impairment, or situational limitation.
● How could the persona's disability or impairment impact their ability to interact with the app?
● Can the persona still reach their objective?
● Show elements of empathy (says/thinks/feels/does) in the visuals and descriptions of your storyboard.
---
**Discussion (10 minutes)**
**Group Task**
Consider accessibility and inclusive design for the gardening app example from applied class 4.
Discuss how you would accommodate a variety of user abilities in your gardening app.
For each proposed feature:
● Briefly explain the feature.
● Identify who benefits from the feature.
● Link the feature to a relevant WCAG principle or guideline that supports its implementation.
**WCAG Guidelines**: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
**Gardening App Accessibility**
**Feature** | **Beneficiaries** | **Relevant WCAG Principle**
---
That's it for today!
In the next applied class, we will practice defining acceptance criteria and creating low-fidelity prototypes, using a Kanban board to monitor group progress.
**Important reminders for this week**:
● The brief for Submission 2 is available on Moodle.
○ Individual assessment.
○ Due at the end of Week 8 (Friday 11:55 pm).
See you in the next session!