C-TOC Interviews

Iteration 1 - May/June 2010

Interview notes

• Interview 1 - Monday, May 17
• Interview 2 - Thursday, June 3
• Interview 3 - Friday, June 4 - Withdrew from evaluation
• Interview 4 - Thursday, June 17
• Interview 5 - Friday, June 25 - 11am
• Interview 6 - Friday, June 25 - 2:30pm
• Interview 7 - Monday, July 6

Interview questions

Demographic questions

• adapted from [Goodman 03] J. Goodman, A. Syme, and R. Eisma, "Older Adults' Use of Computers. A Survey," Proceedings of HCI 2003, 2003, pp. 12-15.
  • computer use, ownership & access to computer(s), frequency of use
  • details about their computer (if applicable): how they selected their computer
  • reasons for computer use
    • word processing, internet, email, spreadsheets, databases, games, photos, music, other...
  • how they learned to use a computer
    • courses / relatives or friends / work / self-taught / etc...
  • problems with computer use

Prototype-specific questions

• With respect to each test in the prototype battery in turn:
• See Claudia's interview script draft

C-TOC Usability Interview Draft

• May 12, 2010, Claudia Jacova; for questions on test content and purpose, see the complete script; only the HCI-related questions are posted here.
• Interview questions w/ revision notes by MB:

Prior to interaction w/ C-TOC

Note: For the purposes of this interview, the term computer refers to any of the following: desktop, laptop/notebook, tablet, or handheld (such as a personal digital assistant like a Palm Pilot).

• When did you first use a computer, and for what purpose?

• How did you learn to use a computer? (e.g., computer classes/course, relatives/friends, work, self-taught, other)

• Do you have a computer in your household now? If yes, describe your home computer. How did you come to own your computer? (e.g. bought new, second-hand from friend/relative, selected by friend/relative, other)

• If not, where have they used / where do they use a computer? (e.g., library, @ relatives/fiends, community centre, other)

• How would you characterize yourself in terms of your knowledge of computers?

• What kinds of computers have you used? (e.g., Windows, Linux, Mac/Apple, Unix, Laptop/Notebook, Tablet, Handheld (PDA/Palm Pilot), Not sure, Other?)

• Do/did you use a computer for work? (either at home or work) If yes, on an average day (or week), approximately how many hours do/did you spend using a computer for work? What work-related tasks did you perform on a computer?

• Do you use a computer for leisure or personal tasks? If yes, on an average day (or week), approximately how many hours do you spend using a computer for this purpose? (e.g., web browsing (includes looking up health information), communicating with friends/relatives (email, chat, social networks), shopping)

• How familiar are you with the following types of computer programs?
  • Word processor (e.g., Microsoft Word)
  • Web Browser (e.g., Firefox, Internet Explorer)
  • Email (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, Thunderbird, gmail)
  • Spreadsheets (e.g., Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3)
  • Databases (e.g., MySql, Oracle)
  • Games (e.g., Solitaire, Hearts, online games, other)
  • Music/Video/Photos (e.g., iTunes, iPhoto, Quicktime, Windows Media Player)
  • Graphics Software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator)
  • Presentation software (e.g., Microsoft Powerpoint)

• Have you ever read help documentation to learn about using a computer or a particular computer program? If yes, how helpful was this process? Did you experience any common frustrations when reading documentation?

• How would you describe your overall enjoyment using computers?

• Are you comfortable using a mouse? Keyboard? Trackball / track-pad?

• If you have stopped using a computer, can you tell us why? Was it because you forgot how to use the technology or because you no longer needed it?

During interaction w/ C-TOC

[During/after instruction slides only]

• Do you have any difficulty reading the text on the instruction screens? (Would it help if the text was larger?)

[During/after opening slides]

• How easy is it to move to the next screen?

• How easy is it to use the mouse to respond during the practice items? Would you need more practice?

• How good is the help menu? Can you think of anything else that you might want in this menu?

• Is the amount of information on the screen reasonable? (Is it perhaps too cluttered, or too simple?)

• Is the information positioned in an understandable way? If not, how would you arrange the information?

• Can you show me how to .... (access the help menu, go to the previous screen, etc.)?

[During/after every task]

• Did you have any difficulties using the mouse to respond to the test items? What difficulties? [If applicable]

• Would you prefer ‘click and snap’ or ‘drag and drop’? Was anything on the screen distracting you from the task?

• Did you at any time have a feeling of being stuck or lost? Not knowing how to move to the next screen? What would make it easier for you?

• Imagine being at home while doing this task on your own computer. What concerns would you have in terms of completing the it?

• Do you think you would perform better or worse than in the Clinic office?

• Do you feel like you might forget information on how to advance through the test? You might need reminders? Which do you think would work?

After interaction w/ C-TOC

• With regards to using the computer , What were the major difficulties in self-administering the C-TOC battery?

• What additional functions, if any, should C-TOC help menu have for test-takers like you?

• Are their any computer-related aspects of the test battery, ones that we haven’t already discussed, that you would want to see changed or improved? What are they?

• How would you feel about taking C-TOC at home on the web using your own computer? What concerns would you have?

• Would you be able to get set up for the C-TOC and do everything by yourself? What would you need help with?

Interview tips - working with older users

(credit: Rock Leung)

• Expect that your study session with a senior will take about twice as long as it does with a university student; I've experienced this in almost all my studies.

• Seniors will often see their participation as a social event in their calendar, so make them comfortable and be personable (which I'm sure you'll have no problems doing). They will often be chatty and give you lots of rich data; however, you will still need to keep the session on track and so may need to steer them back on track.

• Older adults will sometimes give responses that they think the experimenter wants to hear, particularly on topics that they are not very comfortable with (e.g., computer technology), so make sure you don't lead them to answer a particular way.

• Older adults are not as confident in their abilities with technology, and will often attribute problems using the technology with their own shortcomings rather than usability issues. They need to be reassured that they are not being evaluated and that the prototype is being evaluated, and both positive and negative comments are useful.

[Dickinson 07]

• Ongoing reference notes can be found on the literature review page.
  • See: A. Dickinson, J. Arnott, and S. Prior, "Methods for human - computer interaction research with older people," Behaviour & Information Technology, vol. 26, 2007, pp. 343-352.
    • esp. see Table 1: some considerations for planning research studies involving older participants; various procedural issues, suggested solutions, and possible reasons for the issue