UNIVERSAL USABILITY.(Technology Information)

Pushing human-computer interaction research to empower every citizen.

In a fair society, all individuals would have equal opportunity to participate in, or benefit from, the use of computer resources regardless of race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin or other such similar factors.

--ACM CODE OF ETHICS

The goal of universal access to information and communications services is compelling. Enthusiastic networking innovators, business leaders, and government policymakers see opportunities and benefits from widespread usage. But even if they succeed and the economies of scale bring low costs, computing researchers will still have much work to do. They will have to deal with the difficult question: How can information and communications services be made usable for every citizen? Designing for experienced frequent users is difficult enough, but designing for a broad audience of unskilled users is a far greater challenge. Scaling up from a listserv for 100 software engineers to 100,000 schoolteachers to 100,000,000 registered voters will require both inspiration and perspiration.

Designers of older technologies such as postal services, telephones, and television have reached the goal of universal usability, but computing technology is still too difficult to use for many people [9]. One survey of 6,000 computer users found an average of 5.1 hours per week wasted trying to use computers. More time is wasted in front of computers than on highways. The frustration and anxiety of users is growing, and the number of nonusers is still high. Low-cost hardware, software, and networking will bring in many new users, but interface and information design breakthroughs are necessary to achieve higher levels of success.

Universal usability can be defined as having more than 90% of all households as successful users of information and communications services at least once a week. A 1998 survey of U.S. households shows that 42% have computers and 26% use Internet-based email or other services [7]. The French Minitel reaches 21% of residences, but the percentage declines in poorer and less educated areas within the U.S. and in many countries around the world. Cost is an issue for many, but hardware limitations, the perceived usability difficulty, and lack of utility discourages others. If countries are to meet the goal of universal usability, then researchers will have to aggressively address usability issues.

This article presents a research agenda based on three challenges in attaining universal usability for Web-based and other services:

* Technology variety: Supporting a broad range of hardware, software, and network access;

* User diversity: Accommodating users with different skills, knowledge, age, gender, disabilities, disabling conditions (mobility, sunlight, noise), literacy, culture, income, and so forth; and

* Gaps in user knowledge: Bridging the gap between what users know and what they need to know.

This list may not be complete but it addresses important issues that are insufficiently funded by current initiatives. Research devoted to these challenges will have a broad range of benefits for first-time, intermittent, and frequent users.

The term universal access is usually linked to the U.S. Communications Act of 1934 covering telephone, telegraph, and radio services. It sought to ensure "adequate facilities at reasonable charges," especially in rural areas and prevent "discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex." The term universal access has been applied to computing services, but the greater complexity of computing services means that access is not sufficient to ensure successful usage. Therefore universal usability has emerged as an important issue and a topic for computing research. The complexity emerges, in part, from high degree of interactivity that is necessary for information exploration, commercial applications, and creative activities. The Internet is compelling because of its support for interpersonal communications and decentralized initiatives: entrepreneurs can open businesses, journalists can start publications, and citizens can organize political movements.

The increased pressure for universal access and usability is a happy byproduct of the growth of the Internet. Since services such as …