Web and Aging How the Web may

Web and Aging — How the Web may evolve to a usable technical artifact as others which we are familiar with — Hans-Jürgen Hoffmann Darmstadt University of Technology Dept. of Computer Science June 2003 HCI Intl. , Crete Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann

• Digression to history - Automobile - Telephone - ATM banking • Web in history - 1995 minus - 2003 - 2011 plus • Some examples of stupid designs • Less is more • Be positive • And an epilogue (if you like) Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 2

Remarks from a retired professor in Computer Science Take it easy ! Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 3

Digression to history — the automobile — • Take Volkswagen as an example • Ferdinand Porsche, designing engineer, 1934 • High time in the fifties/sixties, millions in use • Do you remember: - poor heating fixed seats manual choke frequent checking of oil level fuel reserve switch at the floor board manual switching for direction change, no automatic reset • Production just stopped in 2003 Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 4

Digression to history — the telephone — • Philipp Reis, inventor, 1861 Alexander Graham Bell, inventor and designing engineer, 1876 Thomas Alva Edison, inventor, 1876 • Long-distance calling, in the fifties • Replacement of analogue signalling by digital signalling, ~1990 • Internet telephonie, ~2000 • Do you remember: - ringing by pulse wheel - operator switching - ground key • Largest “computerized” network • Easy to use, just lift handset and dial Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 5

Digression to history — ATM banking — • • • Who invented it? Luther George Simjian, 1939 Usable design by Don Wetzel, about 1970 Touch screen, multi-lingual Full service approaching Security features. . phy Now nearly everywhere, togra pho etter dab networked, worldwide n’t fin I did orry, S • Home banking, internet banking • Standardisation missing Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 6

Web in history — 1995 minus — • Hypertext, first approaches beginning 1945 • U. S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 1973 - basics of Internet technology • Tim Berners-Lee (now Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, W 3 C), inventor and designing engineer of WWW; prototyping begins about 1990, demonstrations 1991 running • Browser development; propagation in science institutes and universities • Study Georgia University 1994 http: //www. gvu. gatech. edu/user_surveys/survey-01 -1994/graphs/results-general. html => 2 % of users elder than 50 years • First usability studies and design guidelines in literature (seldom followed) Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 7

Web in history — 2003 — • Web is “omnipresent”, like automobile, telephone, ATM • Electronic business (B 2 B), electronic commerce (B 2 C) • Not much advance in usability (although much articles in literature) • Elder people on the Web - passive (like TV) - semi-active (surfing for what they are interested in) - active (e. g. , contributing in discussing communities) • However, (still) low consideration during design for what elder people wish or need, resp. Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 8

Web in history — 2011 plus — • Technical restrictions decreasing (e. g. , broadband access) and access cheaper • Commercialisation • Some advance in usability (e. g. , “Less is more”movement) • Web even more omnipresent, “mobile” Web: E-Government, E-Learning, E-anything, Virtual travelling, M-Commerce • W 3 C starts to work on usability guidelines for Web usage by elder (and impaired) users • Elder people should actively influence Web design and usage — thanks for organising this workshop — Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 9

Some examples of stupid designs • Not all (especially elder people) use most recently introduced technologies; incompatibilities • Not much emphasis on content • Complex, bad arrangements • Small font, line thickness, button size, jargon • Flashing etc. • Who will continue this list ? • Similar complaints by other serious Web users ! Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 10

Less is more (i) Friedrich Schiller, 1795 - 1805: Einfachheit ist das Resultat der Reife (Simplicity is the result of maturity) Bill Raduchel, ~1999 ( Chief Strategy Officer, Sun Microsystems ) The challenge over the next 20 years will not be speed or cost or performance; it will be a question of complexity Jan Baan, ~1999 Our enemy is complexity, and it’s our goal to kill it Dave Moss, 2001 Keep it simple ( in recognition of Visual Studio. Net, Microsoft Developer Network Journal, issue 27 ) Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 11

Less is more (ii) Stickers distributed by an American company, 2000, 2003, . . . Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 12

Less is more (iii) There are posters distributed by IBM at CHI 2003 also following the Less is more-movement (sorry, the posters are so big that I can’t scan them in) Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 13

Be positive ! However, don’t stop to identify stupid designs ! Say it ! Avoid to visit/use them ! Stupid designs are stupid for all users, not only for the elder people ! Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 14

Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 15

Epilogue Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 16

That is what we missed ! . Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 17

And that is what will come ! Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 18

Contact Prof. em. Dr. Hans-Jürgen Hoffmann Darmstadt University of Technology Darmstadt, Germany HJHoffmann@ACM. org Web, a usable technical artifact - H. -J. Hoffmann 19