The State of Maryland is developing a web-voting interface. For selecting the ca

Question

The State of Maryland is developing a web-voting interface. For selecting the candidates, one design (RB) is a set of radio buttons and another is (CB) a combo-box (drops down when selecting the scroll arrow icon), both using standard fonts at 10-point size.

Compare these two designs when there are 4 candidates and predict the relative speed of performance and error rates. Support your choice by a thoughtful argument.

An expert reviewer complains that both designs may work with young users who are familiar and expert in using a mouse, but that there will be problems for elderly and motor-impaired users who have difficulty controlling a mouse. The reviewer recommends a new design that includes a larger font (20-point size) and a numbered list to allow selection by keyboard easily.

Describe a Participatory Design or Social Impact Statement process that might clarify this issue with elderly users.

Design an experiment to help resolve the issue brought up in Question 3. Assume you have substantial resources and access to subjects.

Explanation / Answer

Answer is as follows :

Question 2: Compare these two designs when there are 4 candidates and predict the relative speed of performance and error rates. Support your choice by a thoughtful argument.

Answer :

In a race with only four candidates, the radio button group greatly out-performs the combo-box because it is easier to see the choices and it is more clear which selection you have made. A combo-box is a better fit for many selections to where you would need to scroll to find the candidate you were looking for. If you used a combo-box in this example, it might make the users think that there were supposed to be many candidates to choose from, but only four are listed.

Question 3 : An expert reviewer complains that both designs may work with young users who are familiar and expert in using a mouse, but that there will be problems for elderly and motor-impaired users who have difficulty controlling a mouse. The reviewer recommends a new design that includes a larger font (20-point size) and a numbered list to allow selection by keyboard easily. Describe a Participatory Design or Social Impact Statement process that might clarify this issue with elderly users.

Answer : A social impact statement process might look like the company announcing through social media that they have decided to re-design their voting interface with the elderly in mind.

Question 4 : Design an experiment to help resolve the issue brought up in Question 3. Assume you have substantial resources and access to subjects.

Answer : To test the expert reviewer's hypothesis that elderly and motor-impaired users would prefer larger font and a numbered keyboard selection, a simulation could be held with an elderly individual with those changes implemented to see if they have an easier time navigating the interface.

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