Papers by Marcelo M P Penha
Design e Tecnologia, Dec 23, 2019
When applications intend to support accessibility, several aspects of interface design and usabil... more When applications intend to support accessibility, several aspects of interface design and usability must be reviewed to adapt or extend common functional requirements that are implemented to ensure easy use of applications. However, initiatives to develop guidelines for accessible mobile applications are recent and several approaches present only suggestions rather than a concrete list of requirements. It is becoming increasingly apparent not only the need for social and digital inclusion of people with disabilities but also the urgency to make devices and applications truly accessible to anyone. This work focuses on accessibility requirements for visually impaired users and it is part of a broader effort that involves different types of impairments. Our research method was based on three main steps. First, from an initial set of 1014 scientific and technical articles, 46 were analyzed to identify requirements that are related to visual impairments. Second, we carried out an observation-based analysis to confirm the importance of these requirements, considering a set of accessibility tests with impaired volunteers. Third, the Design Thinking process was used to implement an application prototype, considering the most important requirements that were identified along with the two first steps. This application was submitted to a user-centered evaluation with volunteers, which also supported the evolution of our requirements. We sought to include prior knowledge aligned with all pre-identified requirements, culminating in something that would add to the procedure greater validation. As the main result, this paper presents the complete roadmap of this process, which resulted in a guideline and evaluation method to support the integration of accessibility aspects into mobile applications.
When applications intend to support accessibility, aspects of usability must be reviewed to adapt... more When applications intend to support accessibility, aspects of usability must be reviewed to adapt or extend common functional requirements that are implemented to ensure an easy use of applications. However, initiatives to develop guidelines for accessible mobile applications are recent and several approaches present only suggestions rather than a concrete list of requirements. This work presents an ample study on this subject, analyzing 247 scientific and technical articles to identify requirements that are discussed related to different types of impairments. This identification and further consolidation are carried out in a contextualized way via a classification schema proposed in this work. An observation based on analysis with real users is then performed to confirm and extend the initial requirements list and support our understanding about the limitations and needs of impaired users regarding the use of mobile technology. As result, this paper presents the main points of a guideline proposal for functional requirements, which should be considered by mobile applications to ensure accessibility with usability.
Advances in intelligent systems and computing, Jun 28, 2018
This article presents a case study of ergonomic evaluation of the usability of the Learning Manag... more This article presents a case study of ergonomic evaluation of the usability of the Learning Management Systems used at the Instituto Federal de Pernambuco (IFPE), based on the MOODLE platform. In order to identify the usability problems of this system, were performed heuristic usability evaluations with experts and user tests. From the results obtained in the realized evaluations, it was possible to elaborate a list of recommendations based on the Nielsen heuristics to be applied in the interface design of the LMS, aiming to offer a better usability for the users of the system.
Proceedings of the XXXII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, 2018
This research aims at identifying if current code validation tools contemplate the requirements o... more This research aims at identifying if current code validation tools contemplate the requirements of a guideline for the development of accessible mobile applications, called GUAMA, which was specified by our team over 3 years of research with visually impaired individuals and whose final conception process is formalized in this paper. Then, several tools were analyzed and two of them were chosen for a deeper study: Lint and Espresso. The results showed that Lint and Espresso respectively contemplate 12 and 6 from the 48 GUAMA requirements. Thus, the unique use of such tools is not adequate to validate the range of requirements. These results have motivated the investigation of a new integrated service/process, which presents a higher coverage regarding the validation of accessibility requirements.
Proceedings of the 18th Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2019
Over the years, it was possible to perceive an increasing inclusion of those with some type of di... more Over the years, it was possible to perceive an increasing inclusion of those with some type of disability, especially individuals with severe or moderate visual impairment. In the literature, it was similarly possible to note a higher interest in studies regarding accessibility, digital inclusion, and even greater humanization for this part of the population that used to be neglected (more than a quarter of the population in several countries). However, there is still a real lack of critical analysis, research and more appropriate and adequate references about improvements in accessibility aspects for individuals with motor and hearing impairments. Given this scenario and considering GuAMA as a mobile application accessibility guide, which is currently focused on visual impairments, this paper aims to present the continuous research process that extends GuAMA with new requirements to improve the mobile accessibility for the motor and hearing disability groups.
Proceedings of the 30th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, 2018
The technology of virtual assistants (VAs) is a powerful option to support the interaction of hum... more The technology of virtual assistants (VAs) is a powerful option to support the interaction of human users with computational systems. These VAs are able, for example, to identify interaction problems and offer recommendations on the execution of commands. This work analyses the use of VAs as a resource of accessibility for mobile devices. This analysis was carried out by means of a literature review, which considered both academic studies and commercial solutions. The results showed that there are very few researches in this area and this fact motivated the development of an evaluation protocol, and related set of tests cases, which can verify if current VAs are in fact able to support the interaction of motor and visually impaired users with their mobile devices.
This paper aims to describe the application of protocol and presentation of results of a Virtual ... more This paper aims to describe the application of protocol and presentation of results of a Virtual Assistants (VAs) evaluation in the field of mobile devices, in their relation of use with People with Motor Disability (PMDs) with limitation in the Upper Limbs. To that end, aspects directly linked to accessibility were the focal points for this issue. The research reported in this present is characterized as exploratory, due to the understanding of the problem by the researchers and the academy still need more in-depth. In this way, the presentation of preliminary data could provide more information on the subject investigated, besides allowing a better delineation of future research. Various insights are possible with such an application that aims to improve the interaction of this public with digital devices through VAs. This same research procedure has already been adopted and replicated with People with Visual Disabilities (PVDs) with prodigious results not just for this kind of au...
Human Factors in Design, 2018
The development of accessible applications is huge challenge even nowadays, despite the exponenti... more The development of accessible applications is huge challenge even nowadays, despite the exponential technologies advances. Navigation problems that are faced by the visually impaired users have became more important to designers and developers each day. This article describes theoretical elements used when creating the Controle Fácil ("Easy Control"), a financial management application developed with the main goal of accessibility to visually impaired users. We describe the application's development process, prototypes with different levels of complexity and evaluation made with users, where it was possible to validate a set of requirements to applications and create a guideline to develop accessible mobile applications.
Anais Estendidos do XVII Simpósio Brasileiro de Fatores Humanos em Sistemas Computacionais (IHC), 2018
Our current project involves the use of a multistage research method to specify a guideline for m... more Our current project involves the use of a multistage research method to specify a guideline for mobile applications, which intends to support visually impaired users. This paper discusses the employment of this guideline along the development of a mobile application for personal financial management. Such application was evaluated by a group of visually impaired volunteers and the evaluation results were used as a source of insights to refine the guideline and its requirements. Qualitative interviews show that the guideline ensures a higher level of usability when compared to previous experiences of volunteers with other applications. Thus, such outcomes confirm the guideline potential as a resource to support the development of a brand new set of accessible applications.3-Our current project involves the use of a multistage research method to specify a guideline for mobile applications, which intends to support visually impaired users. This paper discusses the employment of this gu...
Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services Adjunct, 2015
The development of mobile applications that consider accessibility can uniquely make use of softw... more The development of mobile applications that consider accessibility can uniquely make use of software extensions to provide special interfaces to people with impairments. However, such extensions are limited so that the use of external devices is a natural alternative. The current market provides several accessibility devices that can be coupled to mobile devices, extending their interface abilities. However, there is not a work that compares such devices and assists the job of developers in finding an adequate device in accordance with their needs. Considering this scenario, this paper analyzed 60 scientific articles and over 250 relevant sites to identify devices that facilitate the use of applications running on mobile operating systems for impaired people. At the final of the process, 15 products were analyzed and compared against predefined features. Apart the number of existing devices for accessibility, it is possible to conclude that the market is still requiring a higher variety of options and further researches to provide a better level of accessibility for impaired users.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2013
This paper presents the application of a cooperative evaluation, technical evaluation performed e... more This paper presents the application of a cooperative evaluation, technical evaluation performed ergonomic usability with users in the Learning Management Systens (LMS) used at the Instituto Federal de Pernambuco (IFPE). The data collected in the assessments were analyzed with users from Nielsen usability heuristics. The results showed that the environment has evaluated a large number of usability problems.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
This paper presents a heuristic evaluation of the usability of the interface of the Learning Mana... more This paper presents a heuristic evaluation of the usability of the interface of the Learning Management Systems (LMS) used in undergraduate Environmental Management offered in the e-learning at Instituto Federal de Pernambuco (IFPE). The data collected in the evaluations performed with usability experts were analyzed from the 10 Nielsen usability heuristics. The results showed that this method of assessment is effective in pointing various usability issues in the virtual environment assessed.
Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility - ASSETS '15, 2015
Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services Adjunct - MobileHCI '16, 2016
Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia - MUM '15, 2015
The development of mobile applications that consider accessibility can uniquely make use of softw... more The development of mobile applications that consider accessibility can uniquely make use of software extensions to provide special interfaces to people with impairments. However, such extensions are limited so that the use of external devices is a natural alternative. The current market provides several accessibility devices that can be coupled to mobile devices, extending their interface abilities. However, there is not a work that compares such devices and assists the job of developers in finding an adequate device in accordance with their needs. Considering this scenario, this paper analyzed 60 scientific articles and over 250 relevant sites to identify devices that facilitate the use of applications running on mobile operating systems for impaired people. At the final of the process, 15 products were analyzed and compared against predefined features. Apart the number of existing devices for accessibility, it is possible to conclude that the market is still requiring a higher variety of options and further researches to provide a better level of accessibility for impaired users.
The objective of this paper is to present what has been researched in the international arena on ... more The objective of this paper is to present what has been researched in the international arena on the topic of interaction design in e-learning. The survey was conducted from a selection of articles published in international journals available in the Capes. It was noted that issues relating to interaction design in e-learning are studied in various fields of knowledge, with the largest number of occurrences in the area of computer science. Given the importance of a graphical interface in e-learning, it is concluded that this is an area with numerous opportunities for design studies have not yet explored.
This paper presents the application of a cooperative evaluation, technical evaluation performed e... more This paper presents the application of a cooperative evaluation, technical evaluation performed ergonomic usability with users in the Learning Management Systens (LMS) used at the Instituto Federal de Pernambuco (IFPE). The data collected in the assessments were analyzed with users from Nielsen usability heuristics. The results showed that the environment has evaluated a large number of usability problems.
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Papers by Marcelo M P Penha