Accessibility or Usability of the User Interfaces for Visually Impaired Users? A Comparative Study

Kamran Khowaja*, Dena Al-Thani, Aboubakr Aqle, Bilikis Banire

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The use of the Internet to search and browse information has increased in the recent past from the younger children to adults and older adults with or without any disability. The access to the information is becoming more common through the use of mobile apps as it is ubiquitous. This requires an evaluation to ensure that it can be used by everyone including people with disability. However, there is no generic set of guidelines or heuristics that can be used by anyone to evaluate an interface in terms of usability and accessibility. This paper provides expert evaluation of two apps i.e. Accessible Qatar and LinkedIn using a set of heuristics by Gómez and colleagues, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 in terms of both usability and accessibility evaluation. The data analysis was carried out based on the usability problems and the opinion of experts using the system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire. The usability problems were analysed based on the number of usability problems found and the average severity ratings of the usability problems. The results show that the most frequently violated heuristics from the usability heuristics are visibility and recognition. The average severity rating of all the problems found using usability heuristics set is a mix of both minor and major. The results also show that the most frequently violated WCAG 2.0 guideline alternatives; the average severity rating of all the problems found using WCAG 2.0 guidelines is major.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationUniversal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Theory, Methods and Tools - 13th International Conference, UAHCI 2019, Held as Part of the 21st HCI International Conference, HCII 2019, Proceedings
EditorsMargherita Antona, Constantine Stephanidis
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages268-283
Number of pages16
ISBN (Print)9783030235598
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event13th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2019, held as part of the 21st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2019 - Orlando, United States
Duration: 26 Jul 201931 Jul 2019

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume11572 LNCS
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference13th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2019, held as part of the 21st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando
Period26/07/1931/07/19

Keywords

  • Accessibility guidelines
  • Heuristic evaluation
  • Interface evaluation
  • Mobile heuristic
  • Visually impaired user
  • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

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