Ease-Mail

Connectingthegreatestgeneration

Design Team: Members and Roles

BenjaminChan MathewParker NickMartindell OurteamdrawsinspirationfromIDEOanddoesnotassignfixedrolesorstatustoeach member.Instead,weoptforadynamicworkflowcateredtothetasksathand.

Problem and Solution Overview

Overthelastfewdecades,computersandtheinternethaverevolutionizedthewaywedo business,playgamesandcommunicatewithourlovedonesbutitssuddenrisehasleftsome peoplebehind.Oneofthegreatestjoysinretirementisincreasedtimetokeepintouchwith lovedonesandmakenewconnections,butsincetheinternethasbecomeinvolvedinboth tasks,theneedtouseacomputertokeepintouchhasbecomeasourceofconsternation.Our teamislookingtodevelopassistivetechnologiestohelptheelderlyaccomplishtaskswhenit comestousing,andmanagingemail.

Users and Contextual Inquiry Participants

Stakeholders
Oursolutionwillbedevelopedwiththeelderlypopulationinmind.Thisgenerallymeansthatour userswillbeover60andmayhaveoneormorephysical/sensoryimpairmentssuchasreduced vision,difficultyhearing,difficultywithfinemotormovement,etc.Themajorityofouruserswillbe residentinassistedlivinghomeswheretheyalreadyrelyonstaffforassistancealthoughthisis notarequirement.Outsideoftheelderlypopulation,thisproductmightalsoappealtoanyone whohasdifficultywithtechnology,althoughthisisconsideredasecondarygoalbyourteam. Inadditiontoourprimaryusers,thisemailapplicationshouldindirectlyreducetheITsupport burdenonstaffatassistedlivinghomes,familiesoftheusersandmore.

Contextual Inquiry Participants

Originallytryingtosolvehowelderlyusetechnologyingeneral,weinterviewedthefollowing peopleattheRiversideEastRetirementHome.Ineachcase,weexplainedtothemthatas apprenticesweweretryingtolearnfromthemwhattheelderlycommunityneeded.Toasses howtheycurrentlyusetechnology,wediscusseditsroleintheirlives,theirfrustrationswithit andwhattheywishtheycoulddo.Toassesshowtheyinteractwithdifficultsituationsonthe computer,wewatchedthemperformvariousactionsonhardwaretheywere,andwerenotuse to.

User1isamaleBoeingengineerwhoworkedwithearlycomputerstoassesslighting conditionsinplannedspaces.Hecurrentlyusesadesktopcomputeralmostentirelytowrite lettersinMSWordanduseemail.Hehasdifficultyseeing,hearingandremainingfocusedwhen presentedwithdistractions.Heseemedoverconfidentinhisabilities,anddidntwanttoadmit whenhewaslost,andinneedofhelp. User2isafemalekindergartenteacherwithaloveoflifelonglearningandcommunication.An iPadisherprimarydeviceandsheusesitmainlyforemailandgames.Shehadnoobvious physicalimpairments,andshowedstrongproblemsolvingskills,andconfidencewhenfaced withunfamiliarsituations.Sheaskedforhelpeasily,andevenshowedusacomicstripmaking funoutofstereotypesregardingtheelderly,andtechnology. User3isamalematerialsengineerwhohasnotusedcomputersuntilrecently.Hecurrently usesalaptoptocheckemail,writelettersinMSWord,andaccesstheinternet.Hehadnovision inoneeye,difficultyhearing,anddifficultywithfinemotormovements.Hereadilyrecognized whenhewaslostandwaswillingtoaskforhelp.

Contextual Inquiry Results

High level tasks and common themes
Whileperformingthecontextualinquirythemesthatuserssharedincluded:thattheyfoundthe defaultfontsizewastoosmalltoread,elderswhocommunicatedonacomputerappearedto useemail,externalhardwarewastohardtoaccess/use,amousewasmoreeasiertousethen antrackpad,andtypingwasadifficulttask. IndividuallyUser1hadtroublewiththeWindows8interface.Althoughtheuserlikedinstant accesstoanapplicationduetohispooreyesighthehadtroubledistinguishingiconsfromone another,andthuswouldendupclickingalmosteverythinguntilheobtainedhisobjective.Another problemwaswiththeuserspoormemory,hewouldaskforhelpperformingatask.Wewould demonstrateitonlytohavehimforgethowthetaskwasperformed.User2ontheotherhand wasthemostexperiencedoutofthethreeinusingtechnology,asshewasabletonavigate throughheriPad,andwasabletorecognizehowtooperateanpc.Inonecase,wewereableto giveheraemailaddress,andshewasabletosendansimplemessage.Shetalkedabouthow hergrandchildrentaughtherhowtonavigatethroughdifferentprograms,andapps.Despite experience,whenarrivingatFacebook,anapplicationshehadntusedbefore,sherefusedtotry it,asnoonehadtaughtherhowitworks,andwasuncomfortablelearningitwithoutaguide. User3wasabletonavigatethroughacomputer,andaniPadalthoughheneededsomehelp figuringouteachstep,duetohispooreyesight.Inonecasehehadtroublecomposinganemail, ashecouldnttellthesubjectboxfromtheaddressbox.Also,whenoperatinganwebbrowser,it wasshownthatuser3hadtroublerecognizinganinputboxwhileaccessinggoogle,andtyping inanurlfromankeyboard.

Table 1: Design Implications based on Participants

Problem Eyesight UnsteadyHands Observation Implication

Mostusershadimpairedeyesight Fontsshouldbelargeandthe andtooktimetoscanthescreen interfaceshouldbegraphicallysimple Someusershadshakyhands whichmadecursormovement inaccurate Mostusershadtroublehearing Actionableitemsshouldhavelarge clicktargetstoreducetherequired accuracy Thesolutionshouldnotrelyonsound forcorefunctionality

DifficultyHearing Distractibility LackingSupport

Elderstendedtogetdistractedby Onlydisplaycontentthatmattersto variousoptions theuser Elderstendedtogetinputboxes, Hintsatthebottomofthescreen, andbuttonsmixedup,and helpdisplaywhattheuserhasdone, confused andwhattheycandonext

Design Choice
Wedecidedtomergesomeofourdesignsinordertogetthebestofbothworlds.Ourmodified designwaschosen,duetothewayitkeepsonlyafewimportantitemsonscreenallowingan eldernottobedistractedbyseveralchoiceswhichUser1,and3demonstratedduringthe contextualinquiry.Anotherreasonwasduetoouruserspooreyesight,byhavingonlyaselect numberofitemswecanmaketextfonts/iconslargerforreadability.Also,wefeelthatcompared tothepreviousdesignsournewversionismoreminimalistic,andeasiertotraversewiththe arrowbuttons.

Existing and New Tasks

Thesearethetaskswedecidedtofocusonbasedonourcontextualinquiryforgeneral technology.

Easy Task - Opening a New Message

Alice,andBobwerehavingaconversationabouthowtheSeahawkswontheSuperbowl.Bob mentionsthathefoundaninterestingarticleonthehowtheSeahawkswonthegame,and decidestosendittoAliceoveremail.AlicegoestoEaseMailonhercomputertofind,and accessthemessagesentfromBob.EaseMailshouldallowAlicetofindBobsnewmessage withouthavingtosearchcluelessly,fortheemailslocationinherinbox.

Moderate Task - Sending an Group Email

AliceisanelderwhowantstoplanBobhergrandsonsbirthdayhowever,sheneedstoknow whentherestofherfamilyisavailabletocelebrate.Insteadofcallingeachoneindependently, shewantstonotifytheentirefamilyatonce.UsingEaseMailshesplanningtoemaileveryone despitebeinginexperiencedusingemail.EaseMailshouldallowAlicetoclearlyunderstandwhat stepssheneedstotakeinordertosendanemailouttoherwholefamilyregardingBobs birthday.

Hard Task - Adding New Contact from Email

BobmetCharlieinacafewhilegoingoutforlunch.Thetwohititoff,anddecidedtobecome friends.CharlieaskedBobforhisemailaddress,sotheycouldcommunicatewitheachother. BobgaveCharliehisaddressCharliethenproceededtosendBobanemail.Fromthemessage BobgotCharlieaddress,soshecouldaddhimasancontact.EaseMailshouldallowBobto addCharlieasacontactfrominsidethemessageinasimplifiedinstructedway,thatallowsBob toknowwhathesdoing,withoutbeingovercumbersome.

Storyboards
Belowarethestoryboardseachstoryboardisdesignedoffoneoftheoriginalsketchesfollowing oneofourtasks.

Storyboard for Concept 1(Hard Task - Adding New Contact from Email):

Storyboard for Concept 2(Moderate Task - Sending an Group Email):

Storyboard for Concept 3 (Hard Task - Send Email to a new contact):

Low Fidelity Prototype

Menu Page
Wecreatedourpaperprototypeusingthe vectorgraphicdrawingsoftwareinGoogle drive.Wethenprintedouteachscreenon separatepieceofpaper.Ontheside,wehada memostickerwiththedescriptionofthetask.

Interactive Content

Infobarslocatedatthebottomofallthescreensshowedthedescriptionofdifferentbuttonsin theinterfacewhenusershoveroverthem.Italsoshowstheconfirmationmessagesandstatus oftheinterface.Weusedmemopaper,andpaperpiecestodisplaycontentsthatareresponsive touserinteraction.

Menu Navigation

Wenumberedallthepages,andmarkedeachbuttonwiththepagenumberitpointsto,sowe cankeeptrackofthepagesmoreeasily.

Evaluation method
Tasks
Forourusertests,wegavetheparticipants3tasksrelevanttothegoalsoftheEaseMail application.Theywerevariantsonthebasictaskswediscoveredweredesiredthroughour contextualinquiry,butwithextrarequirementstotestsomeadvancedfunctionalityandits discoverability.Thefirsttaskwastosendanemailto2predeterminedrecipients.Oursecond taskwasmorecomplicatedandinvolvedbasicinboxmanagement.Theuserwasaskedto checktwoincomingmessages,replytooneofthemanddeletetheother.Finally,thethirdtask involvedbasiccontactmanagement.Theuserwasaskedtoremoveapredeterminedperson fromtheircontacts.Thistaskstartedwhereverthelasttaskleftofusuallyontheinboxscreen.

Environment
Duetothenatureofourtwoparticipantgroups,theevaluationwascarriedoutin2locations.The firstwastheCSEatrium.Thislocationwasemptyandquietatthetimeofthetesting.We gatheredtablestogethertoprovidestagingareaforthecomputerandhispaperUI.Thesecond locationwastheOdegaardLibrarywhichwasalsoaquiet,lowdistractionenvironment.We usedonelargetabletoprovidethesameamenitiesasbeforeinassimilaranarrangementas possible.Inbothcaseswegavetheparticipantapentouseasastylusontheprototype.

Participants
Ourparticipantscamefromtwodemographicgroups:2werepeerstudentsattheUniversityof WashingtonandtheotherwasastafferattheOdegaardLibrary.Thepeerswerefriendsofa groupmemberbuthadnotheardanythingaboutthisprojectpreviously.Theodegaardstaffer wasapproachedtovolunteerinourstudyonthedayoftheevaluationduetodifficultyarranginga meetingatanyofthenearbyRetirementHomeswithatruememberofourelderlyusergroup. Likewiththepeers,thestafferhadnoformerknowledgeofourproject.

Procedure
Foreachevaluationtheteamsetup3stacksofpaperprototypecomponents,onerelatedto eachofthe3maintasksaswellasanextrastackofmiscUIcomponentsincasetheuser exploredanyotherpartsoftheUI.TheuserstablewasclearedexceptfortheinitialUIscreen,a stylusandastickynotewiththefirsttaskwrittendown.Webroughttheuserover,reconfirmed thebasicsoftheconsentformtheysignedearlier(theirabilitytoleaveatwill,andthefactwe weretestingtheUInotthem,etc).Foreachtask,Nickverballytoldthemthegoalaswellas provideditinwritingonastickynote.Onlythegoalwasgiven,notanystepstoachieveit.Matt tooknotesthroughoutthetestwhileBenwasthecomputerandprovidedtheUItransitionsin responsetouserinput.

Measures
Duringthetest,wepaidattentiontoanumberofmeasures,mostlyqualitative.Themost importantmeasureweinvestigatedwereanysignsoffrustrationorconfusionfromtheuser. ThisshoweditselfintheformsofhesitancypickingaUIoptionorverbalexpressionsof confusion.Thesecondmostimportantmeasurewaswhethertheuserwassatisfiedthateach

taskwascompletedsuccessfully.Satisfactionwasapparentiftheuserknewthattheywere donewithataskratherthancontinuingtotryaccomplishingit.Thisallowedustoevaluateour feedbackmechanisms.Lastly,weobservedthetimeittooktocompleteeachtask.Thiswas influencedabitbydifficultieswiththepaperprototypetechnique(especiallywiththefirstsubject) butgavesomequantitativeindicationofthetimerequiredtolearnandaccomplisheachtask. Giventherepetitivenatureofmanagingemail,toomuchtimerequiredforanyonetaskcould makeourUIunfriendlytouse.

Evaluation Results
Fromourdefinedmeasures,andobservationswewereabletoobtainqualitativeresultsthat showedweaknessesinourdesignwhichuponreflectingallowedustodevisenewsolutions.

Frustrations/Confusion
Ourfirstobservation,wasobservedduringthecompositionofanmessage,whilewatchingfor frustration,andconfusion.Userstendedtobeconfusedaboutadding,andremovingcontacts afterhavinggonefromselectingcontactstothemainbodyofthemessage.Tosolvethe confusion,wedecidedtoaddadeletebuttonshownasanaXnexttoeachcontactinorderto allowanusertoeasilyremoveancontactupondecidingtheynolongerwishtomessagethem. Also,toallowuserstoeasilyaddcontactsaftergoingtothemessagesbody,weaddedanadd recipientbutton.Thebuttonislocatedbelowallcontactswithandefaultprofilepicture,andthe additionsymbolontoptosymbolizethefunctionalityofadding.

Satisfaction
Thesecondobservation,cameafterthecompletionofantaskduringwhichtheuserstendedto beconfusedwhethertheyhadactuallyfinishedthetask,andachievedtheirexpectedresults. Surprisedthatouruserslackedthefeelingofsatisfaction,andduetothefactthatwewere measuringforitweknowwehadtogivethemsomekindofconfirmationthattheycompleted theirdesiredtask.Inordertogiveuserssatisfaction,wedecidedtoaddanconfirmationscreen foreverypieceofdatacreated,oredited.Theconfirmationscreenisshownatthebottomofthe screen,asanlineoftext,wherehelpisgiventostatethechangesmade. Thefinalobservation,camewhenanuserswishedtotakebackanaction,aftergoingpasta pointofnoreturnsuchassending,ordeletingamessage.Wedecidedtoaddamodalpopup thatconfirmstheuserwishestomaketheactionbeforeitsperformed.Thepopupisshownat thecenterofthescreen,withanconfirmationmessagetotheactionbeingperformed,andtwo buttonsonetoperformtheaction,andonetocancelit.

Time
Itshouldbenoted,thatallthoughweobservedthetimeittooktocompletesaidtasks.Our participantsmovedatabriskpacewhichshowedthatthetimeitwastakingthemtocomplete taskswasntsomuchofanconcern.Thatbeingsaid,sincewedidntreallygettorunourlow fidelitypaperprototypebyanelderly,thedesigncouldstillbechangedtomatchtheirneeds basedonlattertests.

Interface Revision
Herearethechangeswementionedintheabovesection.Thesechangesarefocusedon addingfeedbacktotheusersactions.

RemoveandaddrecipientbuttonsontheComposeMailScreen

Confirmmessage&TaskCompletionMessage

Confirmscreenatthebottomofthepagethatstatesthechangesmadeinthepreviousscreen.

Interactive Prototype
Overview
Linktoourinteractiveprototype:http://easemail.daemonfstudios.com/ Theinteractiveprototypewasimplementedinawebsiteusingphptoshowthedynamiccontent andcsstodefinethestyleofthelayout.Theoveralldesignisalmostidenticaltothelowfidelity prototype.Allthescreensinthepaperprototypewereconvertedtowebpageswhicharelinked withhyperlinks.

Key elements of the implementation

Backbuttonsandhomebuttonshaveaconsistentlocationoneveryscreen

Thebackbuttonsoneverypagefunctionsasthebackbuttononbrowser. Buttonsrepresentingcontactsarealwaysincircularshapewhileotherfunctionalbuttons areinsquaretomakesuretheylookdistinct

Interactiveinfobaratthebottomshowsthesystemstatusandguidetheusertodo specifictasks

Transition from low fidelity prototype to the interactive prototype

Thetransitionfromlowfidelityprototypetotheinteractiveprototypeisprettysmoothbecauseof thesimplicityofourdesign.Themostdistinctfeatureintheinteractiveprototypeisthefeedback fromsystemtotheuser.Weusedcolor,fortheinfobar,andmessageboxestoachievethis. 1. Addedthecolorblueonselectedelementstomakemakesomeofthebuttonsmore distinctfromothers

2. Theinteractiveprototypeshowsmoreinfoontheinfobarthanthepaperprototype,which wasimpossibletobeshown 3. Apopuperrormessageisshownifusertriestoleavetheemailtheirediting

Platform specific constraints

Themainconstraintofthissystemisthewebbasedplatform.Itishardertocontrolthesizeof theinterfaceonawebsitethanaapplicationsincedifferentbrowsershaveadifferent interpretationtoagraphic.Also,ittakestimetoimplementasystemtoshowinfoaboutallthe elementsintheinterface.Sotheinfobarinthisinteractiveprototypeonlyshowsthedescription ofsomeimportantfeatures. 1. Websitelayoutareshowndifferentlyondifferentwebbrowsersandcomputers a. layoutchangesonlargerscreen

b. Thelookandfeelofpopupmessageboxisnotconsistentwiththerestofthe design. 2. Detailssuchaserrorpreventionwasnotaddedforsimplicity a. Userscansendemptymessages b. Thestatusoftheapplicationcannotbesaved.Editedmessagesarenotsaved,if youclickthebackbuttoninthemailcompositionpage

Storyboards for Tasks

Task 1 - Open an New Message:

Task 2 - Send an Group Email:

Task 3 - Add New Contact from Message:

Feedback
Whenitcametimetogatherfeedbackonourinteractiveprototype,wedecidedtohaveour stakeholdersperformawalkthrough.Duringwhichweusedthreedifferentresearchinstruments inordertogathercriticalfeedbackonwhatourusersthought,andhowtheyinteractedwithour prototype.Thefirstwasobservingforbottomlinenumericdatasuchasthenumberoftimes usersshowedconfusion,orthenumberofunnecessarybuttonclicks.Atthesametimewealso gatheredprocessdatainregardstodata/observationsthatstuckouttousinthewalkthroughas beingodd,orsignificant.Afterthewalkthrough,wefinishedbygivinganquestionnairewherewe gatheredsubjectivefeedbackinregardstowhattheuserthoughtoftheprototype,andwhat changestheyfeltwereneeded.Pleasescrolltotheappendixformoreinformationonthescript usedforthewalkthrough,ortheevaluationprocess. Evaluator1isanoldergentlemanaroundtheageoffortytwowhofitintobeingaenduser,as hehastroubleworkingwithcomputersdespiteusingoneforwork.Throughthewalkthrough evaluator1wasabletoguidehimselfthroughtheprototypethankstothescriptmakinggood timedespiteshowingacouplesignsofconfusion,andgettinglostafewtimeswhichseemed normalforanfirsttimeuse.Notablefeedbackgatheredcameasprocessdatasuchasnot knowingwhithertheemailhadbeensentthefirsttimeduetothefactthattheconfirmation messageseemedhiddenatthebottomofthescreen.Thesecondpiececamewhenthe evaluatorreadthetasktoaddacontactfromanmessagewithoutreadingtheinstructionshe proceededtomanagecontactsonlytorealizehecouldntaddacontactfromthemenu,thus leadinghimtorequestthefunctionalitytoaddacontactwithoutreceivinganmessagefirst. Whenaskedwhatheliked,hestatedthedesignwassimplistic,andeasytouse.Whenasked whathedidntlike,hestatedthathewishedthesendbuttonwasmoreintuitivetoanactualsend button. Evaluator2isanyoungermanwhofitintothecategoryofbeinganUIexpertduetohis technicalbackground.Hewasabletonavigatethroughtheprototypewithease,andwasmuch fasterthanevaluator1,showinglittleconfusion.Heonlygotlostoncelikeevaluator1in mistakingthecontactsbuttonforaddingancontact.Otherwise,mostofthenoteworthyfeedback cameduringthequestionnaire.Whenaskedwhatheliked,evaluator1statedthathethoughtthe prototypefollowedanminimalistdesign.Whenaskedwhathedidntlike,herepliedthatreading fromlefttorightwithmessageswasanpain,andthatthetextwastoosmallinanmessagebox ifitdidnthaveanpictureofthecontactinit,asitrequiredfocusinginonthesmalltext.Despite thecriticismwhenaskedwhohethoughtwouldusethiskindofemail,headmittedthatit seemedlikesomethingforelderly,andcouldlookpastreadingfromlefttorightforthem. Fromevaluators1and2feedback,webelievethatitsimportantforustomakethetextlarger foreachemailintheinboxthatlacksthecontactspicture,andtoaddthefunctionalityforadding contactsinthemanagecontactspagewhichwasntaddedpriortonowduetotimeconstraints.

Appendix
Consent Form 1

Consent Form 2

Consent Form 3

Raw Data
User1
Compose Message (completed):
Navigatedwithease&precision EasilyNavigatedtoInbox Mistooksometextforanbutton Notroubleinfulfillingtask Wasntsureifcontactwasdeletedafterbeingsentbackhome

Check Mail (completed):

Delete Contact (competed):

User2
Compose Message (completed):
UnderstoodUIactions,andtaskfornavigatingtocomposemessage Tookabittorealizehowtoaddmultiplecontacts,andmanagethem Wasntsureifmessagewasactuallysentatfirst NavigatedInboxwithease Wasconfusedaboutthecontactsattachedtothemessage Deletedcontactwithouttrouble

Check Mail (completed):

Delete Contact (completed):

User3
Compose Message (completed):
NavigatedUIatbriskpace,addingcontactseasily Assumedinputboxeswereclickable Uponnavigatingtoinbox,hadtothinkaboutmessagesforabit Also,hadtothinkaboutthedetailsbuttonforanmessage,andwhatitdoes Uponbeingtakenbacktoinboxafterdeletingmessage,userwasntsureiftask wascompleted Realizedhowtomanagecontactswithouttrouble,shownbypace Accidentlydeletedcontact,andwishedtotakeitback

Check Mail (completed):

Delete Contact (completed):

All the elements of the paper prototype

Menu

ComposeNewMessage,ManageContactandCheckInbox

Script:
Task 1: Open an New Message from Wanda Fuqua
1. ClickonInbox 2. ClickonQuestionsonHWfromWandaFuqua

Task 2: Send an Group Email to: Jonny, Liz, and Draco

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ClickonSendanMessage ClickonJonny,Liz,andDraco Clickonnextbutton TypeintextforSubject TypeintextforBody ClickSend

Task 3: Add new contact as Bob from live42@yahoo.com

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Clickontheinbox ClickonmessagetitledNiceMeetingYoufromlive42@yahoo.com Clickonaddtocontacts EnterinBobunderFirstName ClickSave

Evaluation Technique:
Bottom Line Data:
Numberoftimesusermakesagesture,orcommenttoshowconfusion Numberoftimesuserclicksbuttonsoutofproceedingorder UserrealizeshomebuttontakesuserbacktoMainMenu Howlongdidittakeforthefirst,second,andthirdtask

Questionnaire:
1. 2. 3. 4. Whatdidyoulikeaboutit? Whatdidntyoulikeaboutit? Whatdidyouthinkoftheboxbuttons? Wouldyouuseitagain?

UI Expert
1. Whodoimaginewouldusethiskindofemail?

Process Data (Interesting Data Gathered on Sight):