Review Updated Personas

[rachaelbradley]

COGA is requesting the Internationalizaiton group review the following personas to ensure we have not misstated anything. If possible, please send any chnages to us by March 3rd. The personas are below and also available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JN6Mrbs4CkQIerM5LVLAoOTOaXj5fnM5t5xzGQTHM-M/edit Comments can be provided on Git or in the Google Document. Thank you.

6.1 Alison: An Aging User with Mild Cognitive Impairment Problem: I'm not sure what I should press. I pressed something that looked like the buy button but it did nothing. I am not sure if it is me or if this website just doesn't work. Works well: The buy button was clearly something I could click. The process was easy. I have now bought matching dresses for all the grandchildren. Alison has a medical background, working in rehabilitation of physical injuries. She recently decided to work part-time to take up more hobbies and be with her grandchildren. She wants to try an online course to learn Chinese, in preparation for a special holiday. Alison considers 63 to be the new 36. However, she has difficulty concentrating and finding the word she wants to say. She often makes typos and has to correct sentences when she re-reads them. She becomes easily frustrated as she finds new technical things, like updated design patterns and applications, hard to learn and less intuitive than they used to be. Plus, navigation takes longer than in the past. Unfortunately, this includes learning how to use a new interface and this affects the way she works when swapping between her tablet, phone and computer. 6.1.1 Alison Scenario 1: Learning How to Use New Technologies and Interfaces Alison took an evening course to learn how to use Windows and MS Word ten years ago and used to feel very comfortable with the interface. She has a new computer now and finds that most applications look very different. She realizes that links and buttons have changed appearance and does not know what to press. Sometimes she presses a picture or stylized heading that is not a control and is not sure if the internet is down, the site is broken or she has made a mistake. Sometimes she touches something accidentally and the focus moves to a different page or application. For example, she recently tried to enlarge some small text and activated a link instead of enlarging it! She misses the days when all links were in blue and underlined. Alison loses self-confidence when things go wrong. For example, selecting an incorrect button or getting an error that she does not understand. She knows to try and press the back button to go back a step, but it does not always work as she thinks it will. She tends to think she cannot cope, so gives up, but with support to adapt the interface to suit her needs she can learn to use the new style. Her children worked with her to reduce the number of menu items on the application toolbar so she can concentrate on the ones she regularly uses. They helped her change her settings so when searching for items on the web, only a limited number appear at one time. They also found her a de-cluttering browser extension that takes away many of the advertisements and other items that clutter her social media pages when communicating with her grandchildren. 6.1.2 Alison Scenario 2: Correcting Typos and Writing Fluently When writing letters and messages on her computer, phone and tablet Alison pauses every so often and checks that what she is writing makes sense. She finds it very annoying having to work so slowly. However, by using text-to-speech to read out content she has found she can hear her mistakes more easily than noticing them on the screen. She has also discovered that this process can make reading web pages easier and less tiring. Nevertheless, she often has to go over instructions several times before completing tasks online. She depends on the fact that forms do not time out or have an option to allow her to extend the time to fill in the edit boxes. 6.1.3 Alison Scenario 3: Coping with Online Banking and Shopping Alison knows her math skills are not as sharp as they used to be. She is worried about making mistakes that will put her financially at risk.She is not sure she should be using her credit card online. Alison wants to feel safe and supported. She finds that autocomplete helps when filling out forms. However, she tends to worry that what is entered may not be accurate. She has a paper card listing some commonly needed information such as her phone number, address and postcode. She stores secure information in a special folder. She has also set up an agreement with the bank to limit spending on her credit card and mobile banking. 6.1.4 Alison Scenario 4: Giving Feedback Alison would like to give feedback and tell her bank what changes they can make to their website to make it more usable for her and other mature customers. She struggles to find the feedback form and she has to type in a lot of information to send her suggestions. When she types in her phone number without the area code she receives an error. She tries to fix the error and send the suggestion but the send button becomes disabled, so she probably needs to correct something else as well. At this point Alison feels they do not want her feedback and gives up. She now uses the site much less often. She also finds it hard to reach a support person on the phone because of the confusing phone menu system, so drives into the bank instead. She is thinking of changing to her daughter’s bank, so her daughter can help her. 6.2 Amy: A Computer Scientist who has Autism Problem: Sometimes people use lots of words on website links that do not seem to make sense. I think they are metaphors, but I'm not sure. Works well: I put my mouse over items I do not understand and there is some clear text that explains what it did. I would rather they use clear text in the first place then at least I can use it. Amy loves her computer science course and now programs in several languages. She has discovered she can visualize the outcome of her coding and is quick to find any errors even if they are not highlighted. Writing documentation is less fun and she is too concise. This means some users do not receive enough help using her applications. 6.2.1 Amy Scenario 1: Coping with Poor Layouts and Illogical Navigation Being able to code your own websites can make you very critical of others! Amy finds that she often feels quite confused by some social media sites that have dynamically changing content with random messages and advertisements. She either avoids these sites or tends to try to personalize them by clearing away the clutter and choosing to hide sections. Navigation that does not follow a simple route across an entire site really annoys her, as she feels this does not help anyone. She also finds that she is missing important information on sites that have too much information on pages or have no clear and logical structure. 6.2.2 Amy Scenario 2: Changing Color Schemes, Flashing, Blinking and Automatic Playing Videos or Music A page that loads automatically or animations and videos that play automatically cause problems for Amy. Sometimes, the movement can be very distracting and the sounds alarming. Amy has always found that sudden noises or something happening unintentionally has been a problem. When designing her own applications and websites, she makes sure the controls for animated objects and videos are clearly visible and do not start until the user decides to play them. 6.2.3 Amy Scenario 3: Designs that Make Use of Abstract Imagery and Metaphors Amy is always concerned about communicating clearly. She finds it hard when people ask her to create a design that includes abstract imagery. Images that do not directly represent something make Amy feel uneasy. She tends to ask if there can be some explanatory text in case other users are confused. On the other hand, a figure of speech where someone has written something that is not literal makes her wish that the writer would use easy to read content as it is hard to understand concepts such as, "the wheels of justice turn slowly." 6.3 Tal: A Student who has Dyslexia and Impaired Eye Hand Coordination Problem: As a slow reader it takes me ages to read through badly structured text and I often miss important information. Works well: The newsletter has headings so I can find the important information quickly. Tal has been a student in Israel for the past year. Tal’s Fashion Design course is challenging but fun. Tal loves the creative aspect of the diploma and would rather be drawing than writing. Tal has moderate dyslexia, which affects their ability to cope with complex text. Tal sometimes finds working out how words are pronounced when they have many syllables. This can make it hard for Tal to grasp the meaning of some paragraphs. Tal often has to reread content. Tal has several projects to complete as part of their portfolio. The one that worries Tal most involves a written assignment to research Post-war fashions and their impact on today’s designs. 6.3.1 Tal Scenario 1: Logging In Tal's use of the library catalogue when using the college computers often fails at the first attempt. This happens when Tal can not remember their password. Tal keeps putting in ‘afib61’ rather than ‘afid16’ and can not see the mistake. The error message on the webpage does not help because it announces that the username or password are incorrect. Tal is not sure which one is wrong. Luckily, when Tal is on their own laptop, the browser settings allow Tal to save their password and they are able to automatically log in. 6.3.2 Tal Scenario 2: Finding Accessible Content Having navigated the online library system, Tal finds a paper on the subject they want. Tal downloads it in pdf format. Tal likes to use a text-to-speech app to read the content aloud, but when Tal tries to highlight the text nothing happens. Tal discovers the document is actually an image and yet there is no warning this is the case. Tal can not find an alternative accessible version of the paper. This means Tal has to use optical character recognition to virtually scan the paper. It is not totally successful leaving Tal with gaps in the information. Tal finds the process makes it even harder to complete the assignment on time.
6.3.3 Tal Scenario 3: Filling in a Form to Ask for an Online Journal Article Finally, Tal finds an online journal that has another article, but there is a form that has to be completed in order to cite the paper. Tal starts the process, but realizes they do not know the author’s name. Tal returns to the web page with the article to copy and paste the name. Sadly, when Tal comes back to the form, all that they filled in is lost. Tal has to retype the whole thing again. (Adapted from MOOCAP Erasmus + Persona CC-BY-4.0 http://gpii.eu/moocap/?page_id=33) 6.3.4 Tal Scenario 4: Overlooking Important Information Tal is a very slow reader and often sounds out words. Tal has low auditory processing skills so cannot speed up the text to speech app. To manage their busy life, Tal tries to scan and skip through the massive amounts of content, emails and newsletters to read the key parts. Sometimes however, Tal cannot find important content because it is buried inside lots of other content. The headers and visual layout of the content does not always guide Tal to the information they need. This all means that Tal worries about missing something important and sometimes that happens. For example, Tal’s daughter's elementary school published a weekly newsletter with interesting stories about activities and important announcements. It contained information that school was ending early one day, but it was buried under less important information about the school activities. Because it takes Tal so long to read each word, they did not manage to read the whole newsletter and did not know that their daughter was coming home earlier than usual. As a result, Tal was not home in time and their daughter was left waiting outside for over an hour. 6.3.5 Scenario 5: Pressing the Correct Button Tal struggles with impaired eye hand coordination, so precise movements are hard. Tal often touches the wrong button or number when typing on a small phone screen. With Tal’s letter recognition difficulties this makes typing in codes or text very unreliable. Tal also confuses left and right so often presses the off button in place of the volume. In most phone interactions, Tal makes some form of mistake, such as loading a new video when trying to expand the screen of the window.. To use an application successfully, Tal feels it needs to have a consistent back or undo function. 6.4 Yuki: A Yoga Teacher who has ADHD Problem: If I come to a website that has lots of banners automatically flying by it really distracts me and I want to turn them off! Works well: I find an option on my computer to say I want less movement and the website stops all the flying things. Yuki found concentrating at school difficult. When she got into college and started taking a course in business studies life became even more stressful. She knew she could cope with the studies but never seemed to get her work completed on time, found it hard to start a report and even to create a plan for a project. When working with others she always had good ideas but somehow they were never taken up and she became frustrated often failing to keep her feelings in check. Luckily, a tutor suggested she look for help. When a psychologist mentioned Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (AD(H)D) Yuki was relieved to have a reason for her planning and organizational difficulties and other executive functions. She did not want to draw attention to her difficulties but knowing what caused the challenges helped her find solutions. She learnt that if she could make use of her constantly active brain and body as well as manage her time better, she could turn her hobby into a very successful Yoga business. 6.4.1 Yuki Scenario 1: Gathering Key Points from a Heavy Text Based Document or Webpage Yuki could not really explain her apparent forgetfulness and not being able to focus or complete tasks. She knew that if she came across a long document or webpage with dense text she had to find the key points. If the webpage failed to have a clear structure, well-spaced and highlighted headings she would be lost and lose concentration. Yuki also said that if she was reading her mobile screen,advertisements appearing between chunks of text upset her focus and she had to stop reading. However, when there was good use of white space, recognizable icons linking to simple bold text clarifying the important points, Yuki could target these areas and find out what she needed. A clear summary helped Yuki understand and she could remember much of what she had read. 6.4.2 Yuki Scenario 2: Stopping Carousels and Banners from Scrolling When setting up a new website for her yoga business, Yuki found an attractive template with several different ways of being able to show images of her exercises. However, she could not make the carousel of photographs pause, or a banner with her latest news stop scrolling. This really annoyed her as she found both items stopped her concentrating on the important content on the rest of the site. She thought that if it was upsetting her; what about her intended audience? She had to find a friend to add some code that not only added controls, but also stopped the automatic movement, giving her website a calmness that she hoped her yoga teaching achieved. 6.4.3 Yuki Scenario 3: Losing Focus when Completing Tasks Yuki enjoyed her Yoga teaching. However,she found that if she was developing some instructional materials for her website, online tools often failed to provide sufficient guidance. Unless there was a clear pathway and a way to return to the place where she was working, she often deleted items by accident or could not make corrections. Saving endless previews with yet more tabs being open in her browser caused anxiety levels to rise. It was not until she found a web app that made each task clear with a submit button, that saved her work in stages, that she was able to cope. Yuki was able to see sections of her work in the correct order and could then manage the bite size chunks of instruction, rather than have to deal with it all at once. This made it so much easier for her to complete the exercise sheets. She became confident in her use of the application to the extent she was willing to purchase the pro version. 6.4.4 Yuki Scenario 4: Learning Information from a Video Yuki likes watching instructional videos, but starts to lose focus after a few minutes. It's especially hard for her to concentrate if there is more than a minute of content that she already knows. Sometimes she watches videos at high speed so that they are less boring, but she still quickly loses focus and has trouble locating information she missed. When a video is broken down into segments with clear headings, she can jump to the information she needs to learn. She can also jump forward over segments that she already knows. When she misses information that she needs she can easily jump to the correct location and focus. If a video transcript is available, she likes to search it for key terms. Watching the video and reading parts of the transcript helps her learn new information.

6.5 Gopal: A Retired Lawyer with Dementia Problem: I want to turn the volume up but there is no dial?

Works well: There is a clear volume button with a label that makes sense, so I know what to press. Gopal retired from his law firm in his early 60s when he found he was forgetting important items that needed to be discussed in his complex caseload. He found that he was forgetting material that he had just read, losing and misplacing objects and having trouble planning or organizing events. Gopal is a very intelligent man and that has not changed. You will often find him reading an article about the law. However, he finds he cannot learn new things that rely on remembering new information. This can include new words or symbols. 6.5.1 Gopal Scenario 1: Managing Dates and Booking Holidays Gopal notices that he has trouble with online calendars and booking flights and hotels when he plans his summer holiday. He can work out the way the dates have to be entered into the form but makes mistakes with the month and day. If only there was a good example or tooltip. He also finds that when he is booking a flight, the table with the various lists of airports automatically enters the initials. He finds this is very confusing when he is checking that everything is correct. Finally, Gopal can make sure he has booked the right number of nights for his hotel stay. He knows his arrival time at the airport is a day later than when he left, but it would help to have a calendar with color and clear markings for the days in the week not just numbers. 6.5.2 Gopal Scenario 2: Coping with Icons that are not Recognizable Many web pages now have their own graphic icons and ways of indicating actions that need to be completed. Gopal is having problems searching for information about a care home that might help him in the future. He can not work out what the various options are when he tries to fill out a form for his requirements. There appear to be a series of small images beside the edit boxes. However, the minute he begins to write in the form the text explanation disappears. He wants the instructions to remain in place above the area where he is writing and for the box to be highlighted when he misses some important sections. 6.5.3 Gopal Scenario 3: Support when Using Search Engines Gopal likes to surf the web for anything to do with fishing, his favorite hobby. However, he finds the sheer number of items that appear very confusing. Ideally he would like the number of search results to be reduced and perhaps have some way of seeing the items categorized in groups so that he can work out which services he needs. In this case it might also be helpful to have icons appearing when the groups are listed, so that he can see articles about fly fishing in one section and sea fishing in another. Blocks of text with more white space around them are also helpful so that he does not have to cope with such a mass of text. 6.5.4 Gopal Scenario 4: Making a Medical Appointment Gopal can be independent, but often finds unsuitable designs make him require help. For example, when he tries to make a doctor's appointment. He goes to the doctor's website and clicks on “make an appointment”. Then a popup opens asking him for the date. He is distracted by a phone call. When he returns to the screen he is not sure what he was doing. So he does not make the appointment. If a popup has a clear heading he can be reminded of what he was doing, but without this landmark he is just confused. Later, Gopal tries calling to make an appointment. Unfortunately, the voice system is automated and asks him questions like “press 2 to make an appointment”. Gopal typically cannot remember the digit - especially while he is processing the options. He usually gets lost in these systems or types the wrong digit. Gopal is reluctant to ask for help and as a result he is not getting the health care he needs. 6.5.5 Gopal Scenario 5: Using the Heating Eventually, Gopal moves to a smaller apartment that is easier to take care of. However, this means he is not used to the ICT interfaces for the heating and television system. He tries to turn on the heat. However, the menu item for selecting heat or air conditioning is labeled "mode" which does not mean anything to him. He cannot remember or learn new terms. Gopal cannot use the whole unit because of this one term. This has caused emergencies, such as hypothermia. Gopal now keeps the heating on at the same setting and temperature and will only change it when his helper comes. The TV also has an ICT interface with a lot of icons that Gopal does not know. His helper puts an “on/off” sticker next to the button that he can use. However, he still cannot change the channel or change the volume. When his microwave broke he bought a new one with controls that were similar to his old one. Because the controls are familiar, Gopal can use the microwave unaided, although he still needs help with the TV and heating. 6.6 George: A User who Works in a Supermarket and has Down Syndrome Problem: I find it hard to understand and remember long and complex written instructions. Works well: The instructions for scanning items are presented as a clear list of steps with pictures and easy to read text next to them. If I get stuck I can quickly find a reminder of what to do with such ‘Easy Read’ content. George enjoys his job and lives semi-independently in a small town, where he can easily find his way around. However, George finds it hard to use search engines and navigate around websites because of the need to work with large blocks of text. He has problems using the online systems at work, and needs help to search for suitable videos or music. 6.6.1 George Scenario 1: Using Symbols for Communication George used Makaton symbols and gestures when at school. He is able to communicate relatively easily now, although reading and writing remains a challenge. Surfing the web is hard when most interactions require text input. Even with these challenges, George likes to watch videos, find images and listen to music as well as playing games online. Friends have set up links with recognizable icons on his tablet and this has made it easy to visit his favorite sites. If recognizable symbols or icons can be used in more situations, George feels he is able to reach more sites independently. There are search engines designed for children and these often use more images. However, these tend to be too childish for George’s taste. 6.6.2 George Scenario 2: Understanding Netiquette and its Impact on Social Media Sites George was told about surfing safely and not giving out personal information. He is very lucky that his family has set up his Facebook and Skype account with various privacy settings. However, George finds the way emojis change or new icons keep appearing on his message systems rather confusing and does not always realize what some of them mean. He has sometimes selected an inappropriate symbol and then receives a rather short message from a friend in return that is upsetting. He finds it hard to explain what might have happened. He knows there are times when he really cannot choose the right symbol because it is too small and he finds it hard to accurately hit the spot. George is then very worried as he does not know how to ‘unlike’ or change his symbol choice. Interacting with emojis, icons and symbols is much easier for him with easy ways to enlarge these features on touch interfaces and to undo errors. 6.6.3 George Scenario 3: Controls on Videos and Popup Windows Using a mouse is not easy for everyone and double clicking can take time to learn. George has worked hard to improve his mouse skills by playing many onscreen games. However, he still finds it hard to move accurately enough to skip ads on videos or to track down the close/exit method offered by some popup windows. Once again friends have come to the rescue and enabled an ad blocker extension for his browser. However, this does not always capture all the ads or prevent George selecting the submit rather than a cross or exit button on a pop-up. There have been times when George has downloaded malware without any second warning appearing. Sometimes he is unable to reach a site because he cannot find the small cross on a transparent popup window that overlays the main page. 6.6.4 George Scenario 4: Finding ways to Read Instructions George finds it very hard to read instructions unless they use very short and easy to read words. He needs text that has been simplified. The best option for George is when there is a summary of a paragraph with a well-known symbol, short bullet points and a clear diagram or image of what is required. He finds videos with instructions usually go too quickly. He has to stop them, going back time and time again. Helpful instructions with well broken up sets of phrases using easy to read words can work well. He can then go back to them when he has to remember how to do a particular task. 6.7 Jonathan: A Therapist with Dyscalculia Problem: It says there is a meeting at 15.34 UTH. Now is lunch time. Did I miss it? Works well: There is a line marker showing what time of day it is now, so I can see the meeting is soon. Jonathan is a massage therapist with dyscalculia. Although he is very intelligent in other areas, he has trouble working with numbers and needs to count on his fingers to add very basic sums. He struggles with concepts like "greater than" and "less than" and understanding how numbers are related to each other, especially ones that end in a series of zeros such as 10, 100, 1000, etc. It's hard for him to follow the logic behind mathematical concepts and to do everyday tasks that involve numbers or quantities, like measuring ingredients in a recipe or paying for things in cash.

6.7.1 Jonathan Scenario 1: Coping with Quantities when Shopping Online Jonathan struggles to understand how much the products in his cart will cost, especially when he is buying items like meat that are priced by weight. It's also hard for him to know the right quantities to purchase. He often orders far too much or too little when using online shopping carts. It helps him when shopping websites provide a way to know the size without numbers, such as showing pictures of the actual products or using terms like small, medium and large. It also helps him to get a warning when he orders a very large quantity of a particular item so he can correct mistakes like ordering six bunches of bananas when he meant to buy one bunch of six bananas. He saves shopping lists that have been successful in terms of ordering the right quantity for each item so that he can re-use the lists on other occasions. He often ends up spending a lot more than he intended to because he is unaware of relative prices. His bank has helped by adding restrictions on the amount he can spend online or using his mobile phone. This can be annoying, but has stopped him from overdrawing his account. 6.7.2 Jonathan Scenario 2: Remembering Pin Numbers and Passwords The use of pin numbers and passwords that insist on including a number has always been an issue and most of the time Jonathan uses a secure password application when online. When it comes to the number on the back of his credit card (Card Verification Code) that is always required at the end of a payment exercise, he has to look it up each time, though autofill has helped with completing the rest of the form. Jonathan made sure that what he originally entered and saved in his browser was correct. Too many times he has had to retrace his steps due to typos and not seeing that the entry was incorrect. When he has to return to the form to make corrections, he finds it essential that the corrections needed are clearly highlighted and the instructions provided are helpful. He also feels that it is important that the data he entered previously is not lost, as the more often he types in numbers etc. the more likely he is to make mistakes. 6.7.3 Jonathan Scenario 3: Using Spreadsheets Shared with Colleagues At work, there are times when Jonathan has to share a spreadsheet with a colleague to ensure that the group’s accounts are in order, suppliers have been correctly invoiced and fees collected. Looking at the massive grid of numbers makes Jonathan anxious and affects his ability to concentrate on specific parts of the spreadsheet. He has found that it helps to use color coding, increased spacing, and larger font sizes to pick out the various elements. He uses a tool for recording his hours where he can press start and stop to see how long he has worked without using math but he is not confident to add hours worked to the spreadsheet himself. He wishes it was integrated into the work spreadsheet. Jonathan will often use the comment feature to add something that he feels his colleague needs to check, rather than making the correction to the spreadsheet himself. When Jonathan needs to give a presentation that involves numbers, he plans ahead by saving the document as a PDF or in another format he can use with his text-to-speech app. This tool helps him find out the correct way to pronounce a multi-digit number, like 1540. Sometimes the context is missing making the pronunciation of the text to speech unreliable, so he also checks with his partner. He annotates the document with the correct pronunciation. 6.8 Maria: A User who has Memory Loss Problem: When there are lots of buttons or menu items I often make mistakes and press the wrong ones and end up getting frustrated and wasting time. Works well: I like websites that allow me to work through a series of instructions and edit boxes one after the other with clear buttons moving me to the next stage. Maria is 50 years old, married, and lives with her family in São Paulo, Brazil. Maria is beginning to lose her memory but still works part-time for a local company. 6.8.1 Maria Scenario 1: Finding Key Information on Websites Maria needs to gather specific types of online information for her job. She often has to run through reports about the company on the company’s website. She is only able to easily read the headlines of webpages. The company’s website looks fancy, has a modern user interface and a lot of elements that change when you hover the mouse over them. For Maria this site is a total nightmare! She finally finds the link to the data she needs as it appears when she happens to hover over a certain menu item with her mouse. The link is positioned in such a bad place that she does not notice it at first. She has found that it really helps if important interactive items are placed in the usual menu areas on a screen and the icons are clearly defined and easily recognizable. 6.8.2 Maria Scenario 2: Remembering Information Entered During a Previous Step While ordering business cards (a multi-step process), Maria has difficulty remembering information that she enters into previous screens. On the first step she sees content choices that the process expects her to remember in later screens. Additionally, the prolonged mental stress that she experiences while navigating means it is hard for her to make new memories. Processes that require her to remember information from one step to another need to provide her access to any previously provided information that is required to proceed, at the exact point of use that is required, otherwise she will not be able to complete the process. 6.8.3 Maria Scenario 3: Pressing the Correct Button Maria has eye hand coordination difficulties, so precise movements are hard. She often touches the wrong button on her small phone screen. This means she often presses the wrong letter or number when typing. With her letter recognition difficulties this also makes typing in codes or text very unreliable. She confuses left and right so she is often pressing the off button in place of the volume. In most interactions on her phone she makes some form of mistake, such as loading a new video when she intends to expand the screen of the window she is watching. To use any application successfully it needs to have a consistent back or undo function. 6.9 Sam: A Librarian who has a Hemiplegia and Aphasia Problem: Long sentences are hard, too many strange words and I get lost. Works well: I like simple short sentences with easy words. Sam loved his work as a librarian. He spent his entire life surrounded by books in peaceful places where he could research his love for history. In recent years, he enjoyed using the web to explore how other people around the world saw the history of his own country and the changing views on famous people from the past. Now he is depressed and very frustrated due to a recent stroke. The right side of his body is paralyzed. He also has difficulty having conversations with friends and family due to aphasia. To him this means that some of his words are muddled and his understanding is not always as clear as it has been. Worst of all; he cannot read as fluently as he has in the past. One handed typing is slow and he finds his word finding abilities often fail him. 6.9.1 Sam Scenario 1: Having Well-spaced Text with Words that are Easy to Pick Out Despite all the difficulties that Sam has with his beloved reading, he is determined to improve and finds that if a website has no clutter or background imagery he can read the headings. He also finds that if there is adequate spacing and the text is not too complex, he can pick words out and with the help of text-to-speech understand the meaning. He does not like the sound of the synthesized speech, because he finds it distracting having always read silently. However, over time, he is learning to enlarge the fonts and if the page has left justified text with uneven right edges, he can find his way about by the different shapes of each paragraph. As he becomes more confident, he is beginning to use some browser tools and is able to increase the line spacing and change the font style on some of his old favorite online historical documents. 6.9.2 Sam Scenario 2: Using Edit Boxes where the Instructions Disappear Sam has to fill in so many online forms to receive benefits due to his disability. They cause immense frustration and feelings of self-doubt due to their lack of clarity. Every time he has to fill in an edit box, the instructions disappear the minute he begins to type and he cannot remember what is required. He often has to refresh the page and start again to see the label in the box. Sam spends so long on the task that the page times out. He has to print it out and get help. This is really upsetting as he wants to be independent and it often reduces him to tears. This is very unlike him, but as the doctor explains, this is linked to his stroke. He also finds it very frustrating when a form requires a particular way of formatting information with no example as to how to complete the action. Worse still is when the error is not clearly explained, making correction even harder. Dates, postal codes and phone numbers are a particular nightmare. 6.9.3 Sam Scenario 3: Trying to Activate Elements that are Mis-recognized The effects of aphasia with acquired dyslexia can be exhausting and confusing but most worrying for Sam is the sense of getting lost on a webpage that he thinks he knows. He admits to being nervous when he cannot pick out elements in a page that requires an interaction. Sometimes he dare not click on a button in case he does something wrong or is sent to somewhere without warning. Sam finds this aspect of his web surfing very alarming, as in the past he has been able to navigate with ease. He discovers that the edges of shapes do not appear as clear as they should when people use pale greys. He misses links unless expressly highlighted. If a pop-up window suddenly appears, there are times when he cannot close it to return to the page. Small crosses become a nightmare. Sam stresses that the more things happen on a page, the more confused he becomes. He mentions the fact that some sites are easier on his tablet, as then it all seems to flow one way. He can just scroll up and down until he feels happy with a decision. 6.9.4 Sam Scenario 4: Coping with Complex Language When text was written in the passive voice or in an academic manner with long complex words Sam struggled to sometimes understand their meaning even if they were in context. He also finds, if he is required to use the same type of language in a form, that he can copy the words as he cannot always spell them and at times he uses the wrong word. When he is able to use an app that enables the text to be read aloud, he can cope if the language is clear and the sentences are kept short. He liked articles that are written in the active tense so he can understand the main ideas straight away. 6.10 Kwame : A Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor Problem: I got lost making a shopping order and I wanted to go back to the previous step. I hit the back button on the browser navigation bar and it reloaded the home page. I had to start all over again Works well: There is a clear back button on each step and when I use the browser back button it also works. Kwame was involved in a very serious car crash that left him with some physical, sensory and cognitive and learning disabilities having sustained a brain injury. He has returned to work. However, he often finds communications strained due to difficulties with memory recollection and visual understanding. Kwame learnt how to walk, talk, and live life all over again. Medical experts informed him that his greatest chances for recovery would take place within the first 2 years after his injury. After that he may continue to recover, but at a much slower, and incremental rate. His friends and family are amazed by how quickly he has regained his ability to speak, and perform his daily life functions. They are confused by all of the cognitive difficulties he says he is having, despite his ability to articulate and communicate. For example, he often cannot recognize images and faces. He gets disorientated in physical spaces. He often gets lost in rooms, as well as buildings, larger places, documents and websites. He has returned to his old company as a researcher and is back using applications and the Internet throughout his working day. 6.10.1 Kwame Scenario 1: Using Speech Recognition to Navigate the Web Kwame has dexterity difficulties, so he sometimes uses speech recognition to work through webpages and enter text. He finds this method the least tiring of all the possible input options. Although his speech is slow, he is able to control his computer using speech commands and dictation. It is quite easy to use simple commands to control websites, although there are times when he forgets some of the commands and has to use his cheat sheet. Kwame likes the scroll commands that allow him to read slowly down a page without using any other input device and he often retraces his steps to reread items. However, there can be problems if the forms on the website are not labeled correctly or if buttons do not have clear names. Kwame has help personalizing some aspects of form completion. However,if an element is inaccessible via the keyboard, he uses the mouse grid to interact with that part of the site. This is a slow process and can be frustrating as Kwame finds he loses concentration. 6.10.2 Kwame Scenario 2: Finding the Right Words to Use for Searching Kwame finds there are times when he spells words incorrectly. He appreciates error corrections, word completion, and systems that accept mistakes. He also has problems finding words when he is tired. He welcomes search suggestions, as these are ideas that might be related to his search. However, too many results can cause concern and Kwame admits he really cannot work his way through very long lists that are not broken up with headings and categories. 6.10.3 Kwame Scenario 3: Being Confident that he Understands the Content Kwame has difficulty understanding content when it is not explicitly clear, and without any ambiguity whatsoever. He takes a notably longer amount of time to read and process information to be certain that he is interpreting it correctly. His interpretation of information is almost always correct. However, even the slightest bit of ambiguity, or open interpretation creates sticking points that he must read over and over again. He questions every which way until he can assure himself that he understands it correctly. Examples and clear step-by-step instructions can help him have the confidence to complete his task. Simple, clear memorable graphics or large indicators of steps in a process increase Kwame’s understanding, confidence and orientation in a process. Kwame also prefers larger fonts. Reading smaller text takes up mental energy that isn't available for trying to understand what is being said. 6.10.4 Kwame Scenario 4: Understanding where Information is in a Hierarchical Structure Kwame tries to understand the outline of the page and site, so that he does not get lost in the content. Sometimes he dives into the website but then he does not know where he is in the content or task. For Kwame to understand the level of importance of content he needs clear and consistent headings in a hierarchical structure. A clear site structure lets him orientate himself in the site. He values simple, clear graphics that relate to the content and break it up. These help him orient as well as understand and remember the content. He needs cons that emphasize the structure and role of the content. Images that accompany the main text and make it memorable also help. 6.10.5 Kwame Scenario 5: Cognitive Overload Complex presentations of information (images, diagrams, content heavy web pages, etc.) overload Kwame’s cognitive functioning. This shuts his brain down and prevents him from progressing through processes, navigating, systems, and environments. He stops understanding the information presented, at both the micro and macro level. Liberal use of white space helps Tom when there is a considerable amount of content on one page. He struggles to keep track of what he is doing in complex tasks. It is important for Tom to have the steps of tasks clearly presented, and a mechanism like breadcrumbs that helps Tom keep track of where he is in a task with multiple steps. Tom appreciates it when tasks are as simple as possible. "It can't ever be too simple," he says. 6.10.6 Kwame Scenario 5: Struggling with Directions Kwame struggles to respond quickly to spoken directions when using a mapping program to find his way to a location.. Kwame benefits from previewing the directions before he leaves. He finds route changes very difficult to adjust to. He changes the settings so that directions are given using the terms ‘driver's side’ and ‘passenger's side’ instead of left and right, and the route does not change automatically.

[xfq]

The i18n WG is reviewing the updated personas and will comment accordingly. I have a question: does the Coga TF only document the use cases and user needs of users with cognitive or learning disabilities? Or do you also provide solutions to the requirements identified?

[rachaelbradley]

Thank you for taking the time to review them, particularly on such short notice. We specifically document use cases and user needs of users with cognitive and learning disabilities. We do not, for example, provide or address the use case of someone without a cognitive and learning disability who is working in a second language. If that didn't answer your question, please let us know.

Thank you again.

On Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 10:18 PM Fuqiao Xue notifications@github.com wrote:

The i18n WG is reviewing the updated personas and will comment accordingly. I have a question: does the Coga TF only document the use cases and user needs of users with cognitive or learning disabilities? Or do you also provide solutions to the requirements identified?

— You are receiving this because you were assigned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/w3c/coga/issues/246#issuecomment-786382994, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFBUPBTYGCODDQW226VVVWDTA4HHZANCNFSM4YESLF6Q .

[xfq]

Sorry, I may not have made it clear. I mean, do you only provide requirements, or do you also provide solutions like:

• how to author HTML and CSS to make content usable
• guidelines for W3C specification developers who want to take account of cognitive and learning disabilities issues during the development of a spec
• direct feedback to relevant technical specifications and implementations

[rachaelbradley]

We provide recommended approaches, design patterns and some references to techniques but do not get deeply into technical details. You can see the rest of the content at https://www.w3.org/TR/coga-usable/

On Thu, Feb 25, 2021 at 10:48 PM Fuqiao Xue notifications@github.com wrote:

Sorry, I may not have made it clear. I mean, do you only provide requirements, or do you also provide solutions like:

• how to author HTML and CSS to make content usable
• guidelines for W3C specification developers who want to take account of cognitive and learning disabilities issues during the development of a spec
• direct feedback to relevant technical specifications and implementations

— You are receiving this because you were assigned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/w3c/coga/issues/246#issuecomment-786391952, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AFBUPBWN6DI73PYPQ4S67HLTA4KZ7ANCNFSM4YESLF6Q .

[xfq]

I see. Thank you!

[r12a]

Ouf! @rachaelbradley is the text in your initial comment the same as the text in https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JN6Mrbs4CkQIerM5LVLAoOTOaXj5fnM5t5xzGQTHM-M/edit ? I ask because i find it quite difficult to read and review such a large amount of unformatted text, and would much rather review a formatted version.

[rachaelbradley]

Yes it is. I provided it both ways as sone users prefer one and others prefer the other. I should have made that clear. Thank you again.

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 26, 2021, at 8:22 AM, r12a notifications@github.com wrote:

 Ouf! @rachaelbradley is the text in your initial comment the same as the text in https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JN6Mrbs4CkQIerM5LVLAoOTOaXj5fnM5t5xzGQTHM-M/edit ? I ask because i find it quite difficult to read and review such a large amount of unformatted text, and would much rather review a formatted version.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.

[fsasaki]

Dear @rachaelbradley and all, thank you very much for the proposed text. The text addresses the comment https://github.com/w3c/coga/issues/161 about having names of users from various cultural backgrounds. The text does not address the comment https://github.com/w3c/coga/issues/162 , to consider adding a persona "non-native speaker with limited language skills". I have added a suggestion for such a persona to the google docs document. Looking forward to your feedback.

[lseeman]

Hi Folks, Adding a new persona, and following up with the user needs, gap analysis, solutions etc is a lot work and research. We also feel that it is a bit out of scope (as being a non-native speaker is not technically a disability). However we are hoping to make a second version. We may included issues around accessibility for learning and cognitive disabilities in different cultures and languages. So we can consider adding a persona and user needs for non-native speakers then. Maybe after we finish with this publication we can have a joint call to discuss what would be involved.

[rainbreaw]

Doing some cleanup and closing this particular issue since Content Usable was already published. I've moved the critical comments to issue #162 , which I've tagged to make sure we look at it in our process as we work toward version 2 of Content Usable.

Note that the i18n WG also asked for the addition of a note if a persona couldn't be added for publication, but that comment was in issue #248. I've closed #248 and replaced it with #310 for tracking purposes.