Requirement analysis and evaluation of interactive systems: approaches involving people with disabilities

Christophe Kolski
LAMIH-UMR CNRS 8201, Univ. Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, Valenciennes, France

Abstract:
In user-centered design and participatory approaches, the requirements analysis and the evaluation of proposals and solutions are essential. Many methods can be used at different times in projects. It is possible to use them in the early stages, when the vision of the system is not yet clear; it may then be necessary to encourage and support ideation. Different types of methods can also be used on the basis of diagrams, mockups or prototypes. This can be the case for example in iterative approaches and agile projects. In addition, at the beginning of a project, it is possible to study one or more existing systems: this study will serve as a support for the analysis of the needs to move towards a new system or a new version. At the end of the project, the product can be evaluated in a usability (or UX) lab and/or in real contexts, before being used internally or marketed. There are therefore many situations requiring the use of various methods. The presentation will give an overview of the main categories of methods. More and more projects require the involvement of people with disabilities. A categorization of disabilities will be presented. The characteristics and needs of the people involved may require an adaptation of the methods used for requirements analysis and evaluation of interactive systems. The presentation will provide illustrations from different projects with various disabilities.

Christophe Kolski has obtained his Ph.D in 1989. He is a full professor in Computer Science at the Univ. Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, Valenciennes, France. He teaches software engineering and human-computer interaction to bachelor and master students in computer science, as well as to INSA engineering students. From 1998 to 2014, he was Head of « Automated Reasoning and Human-Computer Interaction » research theme in the LAMIH (Laboratory of Industrial and Human Automation control, Mechanical engineering and Computer Science). From 2015 to 2019, he was Deputy Director of the Computer Science Department of LAMIH. 

Christophe Kolski is involved in several research networks, projects and associations and is a referee for many scientific journals and conferences. He is specialized in human-computer interaction, software engineering for interactive systems, intelligent interface design, tangible interaction & distributed user interfaces; several application domains are more particularly considered: transport & mobility, healthcare & disability, supervision. He was the president of the organization committee of the CADUI’2002 conference, co-president of the scientific committee of the IHM’2003, ERGO-IA’2006 & IHM’2017 conferences, co-organizer of several workshops. Recently, he was the Program Committee Chair of RoCHI’2022. He has supervised or co-supervised 37 doctoral dissertations. He is author, editor or co-editor of several books, author or co-author of more than 90 articles in international and national journals, and also of many communications in conferences. For more details: https://www.uphf.fr/lamih/membres/kolski_christophe

 

Evil design in the Dark Patterns tunnel: where we came from and where we are (heading) now

Christof van Nimwegen, Ph.D.
Department of Information & Computing Sciences, Utrecht University

Abstract:
In this keynote we delve into the controversial area of “Dark Patterns” within the realm of human-computer interaction (HCI). With the rise of digital interfaces and platforms, we have witnessed the emergence of manipulative design strategies that shamelessly exploit user vulnerabilities, often leading to unintended consequences. Through concrete examples, we will showcase the pioneering and current efforts in identifying and quantifying the impact of dark patterns, since dark patterns not only compromise user autonomy and privacy, but also pose significant threats to societal wellbeing.

In the first part a brief historical perspective on evil design will be presented. The (doubtable) State of the Art in applying Dark Patterns, some striking examples, both offline and online, and the way in which these patterns wittingly toy with the way humans work are explained. Some key research findings along with examples from others and the taxonomies they produced will be discussed. We also briefly go over some examples where protective initiatives against Dark Patterns have led to positive changes in legislation.

In the second part we present some of the recent and current Dark Patterns research projects carried by Christof van Nimwegen and colleagues at the Human-Centered Computing group at Utrecht University. We will dedicate attention to the “System darkness scale” (SDS), which serves as a measurement scale on the “darkness” of services, and the “Dark Pattern Darkness Score” (DPDS). The latter is a scale that yields insight in how web users experience the severity-impact of various Dark Patterns.

Lastly, we will discuss aspects of running novel studies on Dark Patterns that we currently investigate. Examples are studies into the eye-gaze behavior that these patterns provoke in users, the actual time cost the users incur from these patterns, and a novel addition to the taxonomy: muscle memory as a dark pattern.