Innovations in user sensitive design, research and development

Computing is making an increasingly significant impact on modern society, underpinned by the tremendous expansion of the capacity of information and communication systems (ICT) as predicted by Moore’s Law. This has led to a profusion of functions, new tasks and new and multiple ways to perform tasks. However, this has not always resulted in improvements in the user experience. There are currently a large number of ICT systems which should not, but do, require a great deal of technological skill, knowledge and high levels of sensory, motor and cognitive abilities. They have become more and more exclusive. Too often function has won at the expense of design. An understandable enthusiasm for what software is capable of, plus current hardware innovations, has blinded designers to crucial user interface issues. Although mainstream players are paying increasing attention to the relevance and acceptability of their offerings to their intended users, many have a very narrow description of their potential user base, ignoring the characteristics, needs and wants of a significant proportion of the population—that is those people who either because of age, disability, social, educational and/or geographical considerations find the use of ICT difficult or have poor computer literacy. It is not always fully realized that these groups offer a growing, but not yet saturated, market for ICT systems. Modern developers now meet the triple challenges of (a) the burgeoning capacity of IST, (b) increasingly demanding expectations of purchasers and users and (c) the requirements for an increasingly inclusive Information Society. Responding to these challenges requires new methods for design, research and development. Although user-centred design is becoming more accepted as best practice, it often concentrates on the typical user, overlooking the atypical user referred to above. Taking into account a larger user base may be significant in market share and even mandatory under emerging legislation. If society is to benefit fully from technological advances, it is important that a greater weight is placed on atypical users. This special issue suggests a number of ways towards addressing this issue. The keystone paper by Newell, Gregor, Morgan, Pullin and Macaulay argues for greater empathy with users by developers—an empathy that should be reflected in current methods for design, research and development. They demonstrate how user-centred design can be developed into user sensitive inclusive design to include a much wider range of users. Older adults are one such ‘‘atypical’’ group of users who are becoming both more prevalent and significant. Holzinger, Searle and Wernbacher describe some new usability metrics developed on the basis of experiments made on applications for elderly people. They evaluate factors that influence the older adults’ acceptance of software products, considering the extent of their previous exposure to technology and providing short guidelines for software developers for the design and development of software for elderly people. They conclude that acceptance is related to ‘‘Previous Exposure to Technology’’ (PET). The paper provided by Dickinson, Eisma and Gregor also explores this user group, showing how non-experimental methods can contribute valuable research findings. They R. Adams (&) CIRCUA, Middlesex University, School of Engineering and Information Sciences, The Burroughs, Hendon, London NW4 4BT, UK e-mail: adams@churchillians.net