DEGREE PROJECT IN TECHNOLOGY, FIRST CYCLE, 15 CREDITS
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2019
A Model of Universal Manual Design for
Technical Products
KTH Bachelor Thesis Report
Nuo Chen
KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Abstract
Unlike consumer technologies and electronics that have advanced and become more affordable and intuitive to use, the supplied user manuals are still using the old-fashioned book-like design. There are people who do not read the manuals, even when they are in trouble, because these book-like manuals might be too complicated or difficult to understand. There are also people who are unable to use the manuals because of reading disabilities or illiteracy. These problems can be solved with an universal design for manuals (UDM) on digital platforms. Universal design is a design approach with the goal to provide the same accessibility and usability to all people. However, there was no such published design on the market.
The purpose of this research was to investigate requirements for the UDM, and create a model of it. The goal was to propose a model of UDM (MUDM) that describes how a manual can be designed on digital platforms, that is universally accessible and usable.
The research method was qualitative with exploratory nature. By studying the relevant literature, scientific papers and existing manuals with high level of usability, a list of the requirements for UDM was compiled and analyzed. Based on the findings from the studies, a model of UDM was created which describes an implementation of the manual as a mobile application on smartphones.
The model consists of two diagrams, a flow-chart diagram which describes the navigation and the structure of the application, and a package diagram which covers interaction methods, layouts, components, and information presentation methods. The model covers all the found requirements for UDM, which implies that the model includes methods to achieve all these requirements.
Keywords
User manuals, universal design, accessibility, usability, modelling, mobile application
Abstrakt
Till skillnad från ständigt utvecklande konsumentteknik och konsumentelektronik som har blivit billigare och mer intuitiva att använda, de medföljande manualerna använder fortfarande den gamla bokliknande design. Det finns människor som inte läser manual när de har funderingar eller frågor, eftersom manualen kanske är för komplicerad eller svårbegriplig. Det finns också människor som inte kan använda manualen, på grund av lässvårigheter eller analfabetism. Sådana problem kan lösas med en universell design för manual (UDM) på digitala plattformer. Universell design är en design strategi som syftar på att göra produkten lika tillgänglig och användbar för alla. Dock fanns det ingen sådan design på marknaden.
Denna forskning syftade på att undersöka vad det är som krävs för UDM och sedan utveckla en model för det. Målet var att förslå en model för UDM (MUDM) som beskriver hur manual kan designas på digitala plattformer, för att uppnå universell tillgänglighet och användbarhet.
Forskningsmetoden var kvalitativ och utforskande. Genom att studera relevanta litteratur, forskningsrapporter och existerande manualer med hög nivå av användbarhet, en lista med kraven för UDM skapades och analyserades. Därefter skapades en model av UDM baserat på upptäckterna från studierna.
Modellen beskriver en implementering av manual som mobilapplikation på smartphones.
Modellen består av två diagram, ett flödesdiagram och ett paketdiagram. Diagrammen omfattar interaktionsmetoder, layouter, komponenter, navigeringen och metoder för informationspresentation. Modellen täcker också all kraven för UDM, vilket vill säga den innehåller metoder för att uppfylla samtliga kraven.
Nyckelord
Manual, bruksanvisning, universell design, tillgänglighet, använderbarhet, modellering, mobilapplikation
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for our examiner Mira Kajko-Mattsson and our supervisor Anders Västberg, for their great advice and help that improved our research and writing. We also want to thank our supervisor from Victrix AB, Susanne Goldberg, for her helpful assistance throughout the research. At last, we want to thank our opponents Viktor Vitek, Taqui Syed Shah and Marcus Österberg for their insightful and constructive feedback.
Authors Nuo Chen nuoc@kth.se
Information and Communication Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Place for Project Stockholm, Sweden Kista
Examiner
Mira Kajko-Mattsson Kista
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Supervisor Anders Västberg Kista
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Problem . . . . 1
1.2 Purpose . . . . 2
1.3 Goal . . . . 2
1.4 Methodology . . . . 2
1.5 Benefits and Sustainability . . . . 2
1.6 Commissioned work . . . . 3
1.7 Delimitations . . . . 3
1.8 Outline . . . . 4
2 Theoretical background 5 2.1 User manuals . . . . 5
2.2 Universal design . . . . 9
2.3 Nonverbal communication . . . . 11
2.4 Mobile platform . . . . 14
3 Methodologies and methods 17 3.1 Research design . . . . 17
3.2 Research phases . . . . 20
4 Work 25 4.1 Questions to be studied in the cases . . . . 25
4.2 Study: IKEA assembly manual . . . . 26
4.3 Study: Exam Reader interactive manual . . . . 30
4.4 Design choices . . . . 32
4.5 Evaluation Model . . . . 35
5 Model of universal design for technical manuals 39 5.1 MUDM - Navigation and usage . . . . 39
5.2 MUDM - Layout and components . . . . 40
6 Discussion 43 6.1 Evaluation result . . . . 43
6.2 Ethics . . . . 46
6.3 Qualities of the result . . . . 47
7 Conclusion 49 7.1 Future Work . . . . 49
References 51
List of Figures
2.1 Short user manual for portable speaker DS3205 from Philips.[37] . . . . 6
3.1 Research design diagram . . . . 18
3.2 Research phases . . . . 21
4.1 IKEA manual example 1 . . . . 26
4.2 IKEA manual example 2 . . . . 27
4.3 IKEA manual example 3 . . . . 27
4.4 IKEA manual example 4 . . . . 28
4.5 Exam Reader manual example 1 . . . . 30
4.6 Exam Reader manual example 2 . . . . 31
4.7 Home menu example . . . . 34
4.8 Overview of the evaluation model . . . . 36
5.1 MUDM - Navigation and usage flow chart . . . . 39
5.2 MUDM - Layout and components diagram . . . . 41
1 Introduction
If you have ever bought an electronic product, then you are certainly familiar with the booklet which you always can find at the bottom of the packaging. The document is the technical manual (user guide) for the product, and it provides guidance to the user on how to assemble, operate and troubleshoot the product. However, not everyone use the manual when in confusion or trouble. Actually, some of the users do not even read the manual in the first place [6]. Instead of trying to find answers in the detailed, product- specific document, they would rather seek help online or consult someone else.
They are many reasons for why there are people who do not read manuals. The manual might not be available at the moment. It might be difficult and tedious to read, or the structure is complicated which makes the navigation troublesome [48][35]. One of the reasons could also be that the user could not use the manual because of language barrier or illiteracy. In the recent decades, there have been many researches and attempts to create adaptive or specialized designs for people with diverse disabilities, to allow them to benefit from modern technologies.
Although the modern technological products have become easier and more intuitive to use, there still will be users who are confused at some point. Unfortunately, the user manuals, which are intended to provide first-aid in such cases, have not advanced as much as the technology.
Universal design is a comprehensive concept that aims to lower the barriers of the product or the environment that is being designed [50]. By doing so, it allows all people to access and use the product equally, without any adaption. An universally designed technical manual might be the next phase in the evolution of manuals. Inherently, it would be a manual on digital platforms that can be easily read and understood by everyone, regardless of ages, literacy skills, disabilities and situations.
1.1 Problem
There are people who avoid using manuals and people who cannot use manuals at all. These problems might be solved with universally designed manuals that are easily accessed, used and understandable, but there are no such manuals available on the market today, nor are there any models or frameworks for designing and creating such manuals.
Hence the research question is formulated as following:
• What are the requirements for the universal design for technical manuals on digital platforms, and what should be included in a model of the design to cover all the requirements?
1.2 Purpose
The purpose of this research was to investigate and study requirements of universal design for technical manuals (UDM) and how they can be implemented. Based on the findings, a model of UDM was developed and evaluated against the found requirements.
1.3 Goal
The goal was to present directives for future development of UDM, and propose a model of UDM that can be improved and extended in the future work. The ultimate goal is to introduce a valid and complete framework of UDM to the market, using which manufacturers can create universally accessible and usable manuals for their products.
1.4 Methodology
The research was conducted using a qualitative method based on interpretivism and inductive reasoning, with the focus on exploring the concept of universal design and its related work, and investigating how these theories and guidelines can be integrated with the manual design. The research process consists of three phases. In the first phase, a knowledge base about the topic was gradually built through the literature studies and the case studies. The second phase was about assembling and analyzing the requirements for UDM, and creating a model of UDM based on the knowledge base. The last phase was the evaluation phase, where the theoretical correctness of the model was be evaluated with the found requirements of UDM.
1.5 Benefits and Sustainability
In the long term, with an established and proved UDM model or framework, the manufacturers can create universally designed manuals for their products, which do not
only benefit themselves, but also their users, especially those with disabilities. Moreover, the standardization of digitized manuals also reduces the excessive production of paper manuals, which in turn reduces the worldwide paper waste and contributes to the sustainable development. More details and contexts are presented in Section 2.1.3
1.6 Commissioned work
This work was commissioned by Victrix AB, which is a Swedish company that is working on an innovative, smart pill box solution that is called Dosis. The pill boxes aim to facilitate the daily medication for the patients and the medication control for their doctors to check if the patients have followed the prescription. The pill box is designed with universal accessibility and usability in mind, so it can be used by everyone including elderly, deaf, blind people, and those with Parkinson or Alzheimer’s et cetera.
The company is also planning to sell the product in over 100 countries, hence, they need a manual for the product that can be easily accessed and understood by all people around the globe. It means the manual should be designed and formed in such way that even illiterate people and people with cognitive disabilities can use it. Victrix commissioned us to examine and create an UDM model and develop a prototype using the model. The company is also involved in the second phase of the research, to provide assistance and insights about what certain special groups need, how they behave and how they use the modern technology.
1.7 Delimitations
The main focus of the research was on technical manuals for consumer electronics, in essence, manuals for white goods, domestic appliances and care apparatus et cetera.
However, the developed model should be applicable to all types of manuals with some modification.
This thesis only covers verification of the theoretical correctness of the developed model.
While it was theoretically verified, its practical performance and efficacy were not tested or validated. In practice, the development cost of the manual using this model is also an important factor, which is beyond the scope of this thesis. Despite a manual prototype was developed using the model as a part of the commissioned work, it could not be tested until the company had produced a working prototype of the pill box.
1.8 Outline
The remainder of this thesis consists of the following sections:
• Chapter 2: Extended background presents the important background information and knowledge from the literature study. These are necessary to understand the topic and our approach to solve the problem.
• Chapter 3: Methodologies and methods presents the research design and the research method. In this chapter, the research method is explained and motivated, and the research phases are also presented and described in detail.
• Chapter 4: Work presents some relevant parts in the research process, which includes the case analysis of the existing manuals with high level of usability, and the design choices that were made when constructing the solution. The evaluation model that was used to evaluate the solution is also presented in this chapter.
• Chapter 5: Model of universal design for technical manuals presents the results of this research, which is a model of UDM and its components. The details and explanation of the model are also provided in this chapter.
• Chapter 6: Discussion includes the evaluation of the created model, and discussions about ethics and validity threats for the research.
• Chapter 7: Conclusion presents the conclusion of the research and suggestions for future work.
2 Theoretical background
In this section, all background information that is necessary to understand the research is presented. In Section 2.1, an overview of general user manuals is presented, the problems and the limitations of paper manuals are also introduced. These problems can be solved with an universal design of manuals (UDM). The concept of universal design (UD) is explained in Section 2.2. Furthermore, there have been many studies and research related to UD, such as UD for learning (UDL), UD for user experience (UDUX). These studies are presented in Sections 2.2.2 and 2.2.4, which provide insights into what are required for UDM, and guidelines about implementing UDM in practice. For universal comprehensibility, the information in the manual must be conveyed in such way that it can be easily perceived and understood by all people. Nonverbal communication is one possible solution for this, which is introduced and explained in Section 2.3. Section 2.4 presents and describes mobile application platform, which is a suitable digital platform for UDM.
2.1 User manuals
A user manual is a technical communication document. It is often written by technical writers, for hardware or software products. It contains descriptions about the products, components and functions, instructions about how to activate, use and troubleshoot, and precautionary information [34]. Depending on the complexity of the product, the manual can be as thick as the manual for Adobe Photoshop 6.0 [2], which has about 400 pages, or it can be as short as few pages. For example, the manual for portable speaker from Philips only contains two pages, but it still manages to include all necessary components such as usage and safety instructions and general information about the product itself and its accessories, as illustrated in Figures 2.1a and 2.1b.
The primary audience of manuals is the users, and the purpose of the manuals is to assist the users in learning to use the product and help them to solve their usability problems.
(a) Philips short manual page 1 (b) Philips short manual page 2
Figure 2.1: Short user manual for portable speaker DS3205 from Philips.[37]
2.1.1 Contents
There is no requirement for what must be included in a manual, except the safety information that is required in certain countries [38], but it can be put on a separate leaflet instead. In fact, the manual itself is entirely optional. However, most technology companies still include manuals for their products, because of the product marketing ethics, which involve principles such as including clear direction for use and warning of any hazards [46]. By providing correct operating instructions, it would also reduce risks for misuse and potential liabilities, thus, extending the lifetime of the product.
Depending on the complexity of the product, the portability and the other business factors, a manual can consist of only one page, where all information and even all the translated versions are printed on it, or it could be a book-length document containing all the standard components of a book, such as table of contents, chapters and disclaimers et cetera. [34]
A manual includes generally the following information [34]:
Instructions: Step by step directions of how to start, operate and troubleshoot the functions or the components of the product. These instructions are task-oriented, which implies each instruction maps to one task that the user must perform to achieve the result.
Precautionary information: Warnings, caution notes and safety information to alert the user of potential hazards.
Getting-started information (quick start guide): Tutorials to get the product started and functioning as easily and quickly as possible.
Technical information: Hardware information such as the dimensions of the product, the certificates, the standards and the system requirements.
2.1.2 Why did the users avoid using manuals?
There was a study in 2006 [8] that examined how many people actually used manuals, and if they avoided using manuals, then how did they solve their usability issues. The research was aimed at computer software users. The researchers found out that the participants generally abandoned their tasks rather than trying to find answers in the manual when encountering usability issues. The reported reasons were the unavailability of the manual, the difficulty of navigating through the manual, the inappropriate level of details and the manual being out of date [8].
Philip Hodgson, a senior UX researcher, examined what people in USA think is the most confusing technical item, and the result was user manuals [53]. He also presented many principles and guidelines for writing user manuals. Examples of the guidelines are:
• Instructions should map to the product in all aspects.
• Always include quick start guide.
• Provide context for the functions. Tell the user when and why it is good to use them.
• Provide alternatives, such as Braille, larger print, audio etc.
• Prioritize findability. The user should be able quickly find what they are looking.
2.1.3 Sustainability problems of paper manuals
A document containing safety information is a requirement for selling a product in many countries [38]. The document must be included in the packaging of the product at the time of the sale. In some countries, there is an additional requirement stating that the document must also be translated to the country’s official language. For example, products in Canada must have safety manual available in both English and French [3].
Similar requirements also apply to exporting products to some EU-countries, depending on which product standard is applied [38]. When a company needs to translate their manuals, the company normally assigns the job to a professional translation agency. For instance, the translation service at The Native Translator costs 1.20 - 1.80 SEK per word depending on the complexity of the target text [36]. The more complex the manual is, or the more languages it needs to be translated to, the higher the translation cost would be.
It can eventually become an unneglectable expense for the company.
Furthermore, by including multiple versions of the same manual in every packaging, it increases the paper waste which has negative impacts on the environment and the sustainable development. Regardless of which country is in question, the user always need only one of the many manuals, and the rest are wasted. This also implies that the resources which were consumed for this excessive production of manuals are also wasted. Producing and including multiple manuals in every packaging might be cost- efficient for the company, since it facilitates the management and the administration of the international sales, but it is not environmentally sustainable in the long term.
2.1.4 Limitations of paper manuals
Due to the robust advancement of internet technology and the telecommunication technology in the recent decades, people can now easily access Internet whenever and wherever with their computers or mobile devices. Searching answers on Google or Youtube has become a faster and convenient way to solve usability issues, and it is the preferable method for most people when they are having questions [48]. Despite the fact that there are usually online manuals in PDF-format. One possible reason is that the users usually want answers immediately and effortlessly. If the manual covers every detail of the product, then it might become too complex and tedious to read. However, if the manual is minimalist with high level of abstraction, and only contains basic instructions and simplified descriptions, then the user might not be able to find an clear answer for their problems.
It does not mean that the user always can find answers on Google. The found answers might not be applicable to the user’s model, or it might be out-of-date, or it might be an answer to a similar case which is not applicable to the user’s case.
Despite that many manuals include graphics, most of the manuals still rely on language and text to convey the information. This excludes all illiterate people and people who
cannot understand the language from using the manual. Since a manual is a technical document, people with low technical knowledge might not be able to comprehend the details. Moreover, people with cognitive disabilities that impede their concentration, reading or learning also have problems to utilize the manual.
2.2 Universal design
Universal design (UD) is a design approach that deploys Design for All (DfA) philosophy, and has its origin from Barrier Free design standard which was first published in 1950 [47]. The goals of universal design is to make the environments or products accessible and usable by all people regardless of age, disability, knowledge or situation. UD has wide range of application, it can be applied to environments, architectures, products, services, communication and everything that involves human interaction [50].
2.2.1 Principles and goals
UD itself does not contain any concrete method for creating an universal product, but only principles and goals which the designer can follow and apply to their design.
The original principles were developed by a team of architects, product designers, engineers and environmental design researchers [50]. Each principle is ”supported by an interdisciplinary knowledge base (eg. anthropometrics, biomechanics, perception, cognition, safety, health promotion, social interaction)” [50]. These principles provide general guidance for designers to better integrate universal design features. However, these principles and the corresponding guidelines only address universal accessibility and usability. There are usually more involving factors when it comes to the practice of design, such as engineering, economic and environmental sustainability concerns.
2.2.2 Universal design for learning
While the principles of UD can be applied to basically everything [50], its origin, barrier- free design was originally focused on making architectures and environments accessible to people with disabilities [47]. In 1984, a nonprofit education research and development organization, CAST, has been founded and coined the concept of universal design for learning (UDL), which is based on cognitive neuroscience and universal design [1]. The goal of UDL is to lower barriers in learning environments, thus, allowing all students to
access the same materials and contents [18]. By improving the design of environments, the ultimate goal of UDL is to create an environment where all learners can be ”purposeful, motivated, resourceful, knowledgeable, strategic and goal-directed” [51].
Universal design for learning (UDL) and universal design for instruction (UDI) are often referenced as frameworks for designing and creating accessible curriculum, instructions and educational environments for all students, especially for those with disabilities [32].
The UDL framework originally comprises three principles, that map to three neurological domains that are involved in human learning [51]:
• Provide multiple means of engagement (Affective networks).
• Provide multiple means of representation (Recognition networks).
• Provide multiple means of action and express (Strategic networks).
CAST has also developed various specific guidelines for applying these principles in practice. These guidelines are used primarily by educators, curriculum developers, researchers and parents.
2.2.3 Effect of UDL
Two philosophy doctors, Kavita Rao and Brian R. Bryant, reviewed a number of research studies about educational models based on UDL principles and guidelines [32]. Their goal was to examine how the principles and the guidelines were implemented in practice and what result the models did yield. The majority of the reviewed studies only addressed the models at a superficial level in a descriptive manner. Most of them focused on emphasizing importance of UDL rather than exploring possible applications of UDL and the effect. Nevertheless, there were a few research studies where the educators developed educational models, curriculum and instructions using UDL, and studied the learning efficacy. The results were promising, as both the teachers and the learners reported improved teaching and learning efficiency and better learning outcome [32].
Another group of researchers investigated whether UDL framework was effective for students with different cultural background [54]. They explained the mechanism through which the learning was affected by cultural variability, and demonstrated how UDL could be used to create culturally informed curriculum for all learners.
2.2.4 Universal design for user experience
UD for user experience (UDUX) is more difficult, complex and it has wider coverage than UDL. To design user experience that is accessible, usable and appealing to everyone is a very challenging task, because there are many factors that must be considered [17].
For example, when designing a website or a digital product with global availability, the factors such as the disabilities, the literacy level, the lack of internet experience and the knowledge, and the cultural and linguistic bias can affect the user experience. These factors must be considered and the support must be provided. In the book ”Universal UX Design” [17], by Alberto Ferreira, the author discusses whether or not the technology can be universal, or is it possible to design the technology that is universally appealing and usable. One example of universal technology given in the book, is the smartphones which provide the same experience to all users in the world, without any adaption.
When the target group of the product also includes elderly people, the designers must also consider support for people with impaired abilities. In the book ”Designing for an Aging Population” [30], the authors chose the age of 50 as the starting point for this category. Since the global average life expectancy has drastically increased and it is still increasing, the world is said to be aging. The people who are currently aged over 50 constitute a significant proportion of the world population [30]. Comparing to their age, the modern technology is still new and young. Many elderly people are unfamiliar with the newest technology or find it difficult to grasp the new concepts, especially in developing countries where accesses to Internet and modern technology are limited. In addition to the inexperience of digital technology, there are other experience-influencing factors such as worsen vision, reduced manual dexterity, impaired hearing and cognition [30].
2.3 Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the communication that does not rely on languages and words to transmit information. Instead, it uses visual cues including body language (kniesics), distance (proxemics) and audiotorial cues such as voice (paralanguage) [20].
The paralanguage is the nonverbal elements in speech, for example, the voice quality, the rate, the pitch and the volume. Even handwritten texts contain nonverbal elements such as handwriting style and the layout, which can reveal the writer’s personality and preferences. Obviously, NVC involves both conscious and unconscious processes of
sending and receiving information. In fact, NVC constitutes approximately 66% of all transmission of information in human interactions [31].
NVC is the candidate for the information presentation method for UDM, since it is globally usable, and has the potential of being understood by the majority of the world population to a certain degree [20]. If properly used, it can reduce or eliminate the linguistic barrier and the literacy requirement in manuals.
2.3.1 Visual language
Visual language is the perception, comprehension and production of visual elements consisting of lines, shapes, colors, patterns, direction and other elements of art [7]. It is a communication system where the image producer visualizes messages and information in the form of a combination of visual elements, and the receiver perceives the messages and the information by observing the produced image. Unlike the verbal communication with clear and unambiguous meaning in the transmitted messages, the visual communication system is entirely dependent on both parties’ ability, values and knowledge, which may infer great risk for misunderstanding.
2.3.2 Infographic
Infographics is the term for the representations of information, data and knowledge [43].
The use of infographics has increased significantly as the internet technology advances, especially in recent years with the rise of smartphones and the 4G telecommunication technology. Nowadays, people can easily view images and videos on Internet.
Infographics such as graphs, diagrams, maps and photos are widely used to display information, concepts, data and messages. It is usually a faster and easier way to convey messages than texts when it is done properly, while still maintaining high accuracy [43].
2.3.3 Information mapping
Information mapping is a research-based and systematic method to analyze, organize and present user focused information. This method can be applied to design technical communications. The method was introduced by Robert E. Horn, who categorized
information into six types and presented six principles for organizing and presenting the information [25].
Information types: Principles:
Procedure Chunking: breaking up information into smaller chunks
Process Relevance
Principle Labeling
Concept Consistency
Structure Accessible detail
Fact Integrated graphics
2.3.4 Instructional pictures and animations
There have been many research and studies about using pictures and animations for instructional and educational purposes. The goals were to examine potentials of integrating dynamic and non-dynamic graphics in the learning, identify the conditions under which it is preferable to use graphics over texts, or dynamic over non-dynamic graphics, and to induce theories for maximizing learning outcomes by using graphics.
According to Mayer’s ”Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning” [33], the learners are actively selecting, organizing and integrating the visual and the verbal information in order to grasp the knowledge. Hence, Mayer argues that learning efficacy can be increased by combining the visual and the verbal information.
As for the question ”static pictures or animations?” [52], the scientists have still not agreed upon a definite answer. There are research implicating that there is no advantage of using animations instead of pictures, meanwhile there are empirical experimental research arguing for the opposite [52]. Theoretically, animations are an efficient tool for demonstrating or explaining a process or a phenomenon that changes over time, whereas static pictures that illustrate key concepts might achieve the same effect while being easier to construct. Both visual representations can be enhanced with realism. According to the meta analysis of 26 studies, representational animations are superior than static pictures in general cases. Moreover, animations are better tool for acquiring procedural-motor knowledge [52].
Most of these studies concerning educational values of graphics were conducted in the developed countries for the developed countries, it is therefore interesting to know how instructional pictures and animations perform in developing countries, where students might have lower technical skills and knowledge. The researchers in India conducted a quantitative study about the effectiveness of animation in learning in India [42]. The
result showed improved performance, motivation and engagement among participating students. It is worth noting that the researchers also took the social and the economical aspects into account when conducting the research. The study concluded that animations are an effective and attractive tool for both teaching and learning, even in India where resources and access to modern technologies for general students are limited.
2.4 Mobile platform
Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have become more affordable, accessible and versatile while also providing fast internet access and millions of applications (apps). With the constant updates and the improvements on the assistive functions and the usability features, these smart devices are now even usable by people with diverse disabilities [17]. According to the latest estimation, roughly 66% of the world’s population possess a smartphone. This is a further indication that the smartphones are an universal technology, which can be learned and used by all people without any adaptation, except that the user interface needs to be translated to accommodate the local cultures, to improve the user experience [17]. The introduction of touchscreen has made the interaction and the navigation more swift and intuitive, even children younger than 2 years can learn to use a touchscreen [22]. The availability, the accessibility and the interactivity make the smartphones the ideal platform for learning and instruction.
2.4.1 Mobile Application for education
According to Goodwin, an educational researcher, educational apps can be categorised into three categories [21]:
• Constructive apps, which provide a platform or tool for users to create their own content.
• Instructive apps, which present predetermined tasks for the user to perform, and the expected outcome should be the same for all users.
• Manipulable apps, which provide ”guided discovery and experimentation within a predetermined context or framework”.
Mobile applications are great opportunities for learning outside the classrooms for young children. While there are innumerable educational apps on mobile application markets, researchers revealed that many of these self-proclaimed educational apps are merely
mimicking existing learning materials such as books and worksheets [45]. These apps are generally not utilizing the advantages of mobile devices to enhance to digital experiences.
For maximizing the learning effect of an educational app, it must foster learning that is cognitive active, engaging, meaningful and socially interactive [45].
3 Methodologies and methods
In this section, the methodologies and methods used in this research are presented and explained in detail. The research design is presented in Section 3.1, which covers all components of this research such as the philosophical assumption, the research method and the research approach. The research process was divided into 3 phases, which are presented in Section 3.2.
3.1 Research design
This section presents how the research was structured and designed, which methods were chosen for the research, and the reasons behind the choices. As illustrated in the Figure 3.1, the research was based on the interpretivism philosophy and the inductive reasoning.
The research design covers 5 components: Research methods (3.1.3), Research phases (3.2), Research instruments (3.1.4), Quality assurance (3.1.5) and Data analysis methods (3.1.6).
3.1.1 Interpretivism
This research philosophy implies that all meanings and values extracted from studies, data and analysis are based on mere interpretations, thus, the interpreter’s interest is an affecting factor for the generated results [12]. Interpretivism assumes that the reality is only accessed through social constructs, which means the assumed reality is ”... based on collective views developed and maintained within a society or social group” [44]. The main disadvantage of this philosophy is the heavy dependence on the researchers’ interests and points of view, hence, the generated data can often not be generalized [12].
Interpretivism was chosen for this research because it suited the aims of the research, and the requirements of UDM are defined by interpreting the literature studies, the other scientific papers and the case studies.
3.1.2 Inductive reasoning
The research was conducted in an inductive manner, which meant that the collected data was used to generate theories or knowledge [23]. Unlike the deductive research approach, in which the collected data iss used to verify or falsify a predefined hypothesis. This
Figure 3.1: Research design diagram
research approach was chosen because of the exploratory nature of this research. The aims were to explore the requirements of UDM and the possibilities of implementing UDM.
3.1.3 Research methods
A research method describes the procedures for completing the tasks and achieve the goals [23]. It defines the framework for the research. A qualitative method with exploratory nature was used in this research. The goals of this research type were exploring and gaining knowledge about the subjects or the phenomenon, by studying and analyzing a small set of data. For the research, two research methods were combined and used: the fundamental research method and the conceptual research method.
The conceptual research method is about developing new concepts or studying existing concepts. The method involves ”... theory development, historical research, literature reviews, and critical analysis..” [23]. It was used to study and explore the universal design concept.
The fundamental method is the most basic research method, which is about gaining knowledge and understanding in the specific research area. It is the type of research that is often conducted in universities, and the results have usually not any immediate application in a practical level [10]. This method was used to explore the possibilities of implementation of UDM.
The qualitative method was chosen because it simply suited the purpose of this research better than quantitative methods. Due to lack of literature and research work in this exact topic, and the rather tight time span of the research, it was not possible to gather a large set of data to be used in any quantitative method.
3.1.4 Research Instrument
The instruments that were chosen for this research were the studied research literature, the cases of existing manuals with high level of universal accessibility and usability, and the defined evaluation criteria.
Since there was no existing universally designed manual on the market, nor was there any research or study regarding specifically universally accessible and usable manuals, we had to rely on relevant scientific literature. In addition, we also studied the available manuals that were designed with usability and accessibility in mind, to gain insights into how UDM can be implemented.
The evaluation criteria are all the requirements of UDM that were found and analyzed from the literature studies and the case studies. They were used to evaluate the developed model of UDM.
3.1.5 Quality assurance
Due to the choice of using a qualitative method, there were several common validity threats that needed to be analyzed and addressed to ensure the qualities of the results.
The validity threats were the the following:
• Validity. It corresponds to the internal validity of this qualitative research. It refers to the trustworthiness and the correctness of the produced results.
• Reliability. It refers to whether or not the results were correctly generated according to the method, and if the results were supported by the collected data.
• Replicability. It refers to whether or not the results were replicable. If the results were replicable, it means that other researchers are able to get the same results by repeating this research using the exact same method.
• Ethics. It refers to whether or not the planning, conducting and reporting the results of this research violated the ethical principles for general research [19].
• Transferability. It refers to the possibility of transferring the results to future work.
3.1.6 Data analysis
The collected data from the literature and the case studies were analyzed with the grounded theory method. This method starts with analyzing a single case to formulate a base theory, all other cases and data were revised and examined whether they contribute to the theory [11].
3.2 Research phases
This section presents an overview of the research process. As illustrated in Figure 3.2, there were 3 research phases that comprised 4 main components: Literature study (3.2.1), Case study (3.2.2), Modelling (3.2.3), Evaluation (3.2.4). The first phase was about building a knowledge base about universal design and how it could be implemented, by studying the relevant literature, the research papers, and the existing manuals with high level of universal usability. The second phase was about compiling a requirement list for UDM, and building a model of UDM based on the gained knowledge. The last phase was about evaluating the model and analyzing the results from the ethical perspective, to ensure the qualities.
Figure 3.2: Research phases
3.2.1 Literature study
The systematic literature review method was used to study and investigate what are required for UDM and the possibilities of implementing UDM in practice. There are orders of information sources, depending on the level of the details. The primary order of source is reports, theses and government publications. The secondary source is journals and books, and the tertiary source is encyclopedias and dictionaries [13]. In this process, a number of databases were selected and searched using predetermined keywords, and only the papers meeting the inclusion criteria were reviewed and analyzed.
The searched databases were DiVA [9], Emerald Insight [14], ResearchGate [39], Science Direct [41] and SAGE [40]. The predefined keywords were universal design, universal design for learning, universal design for instruction, universal design framework, universal manual, design for elderly people, nonverbal communication, graphical language, animation for instruction and mobile application for education.
The chosen inclusion criteria were the following [5]:
• Release date. All research papers released before 2010 were excluded, except those about definitions, concepts and base theories.
• Results. Only those papers with validated and consistent results were reviewed.
• Order of source. Primary and secondary order of source were prioritized.
• Ethics. Only those papers where information was obtained in an ethically correct way were included.
3.2.2 Case study
By including case studies of some manuals with high level of universal accessibility and usability, it was possible to obtain more details to add to the findings from the literature reviews, and gain additional knowledge about universal design and its applications on the manuals. The case studies were designed to explore answers to questions ”what”, ”how”
and ”why”.
The case studies were carried out as following: Firstly, several questions were formulated to guide the studying of cases. Secondly, the cases were selected according to the inclusion criteria. Lastly, the cases were analysed with the guidance of the questions, and investigated the advantages and the disadvantages.
The inclusion criteria for selecting manuals to be studied were the following:
• Date. Only manuals released after 2014 were considered.
• Label. Only manuals that are labeled as ”universal” or ”interactive” were considered.
• Product. Only manuals for products that target general public were focused in the research.
After searched and studied several manuals from various companies, there were only two manuals that were meaningful and worth mentioning. They were IKEA’s comic- alike assembly manual for their furniture and home appliances, and Cpen’s interactive manual for their Exam Reader product. The details of what we learned from studying these manuals are presented in Sections 4.2 and 4.3.
3.2.3 Compiling and modelling
In this phase, the found requirements for UDM were gathered and put on a list.
The requirements were analyzed and assigned with a priority of importance. The requirements were later categorised into different groups. Each group was summarized into one goal that was used to evaluate the results. Next step was to create the model of UDM based on the knowledge base. The model was created with Unified Modeling Language (UML) [55]. The created model includes two diagrams, one flow-chart diagram that describes the structure and the navigation of UDM, and one package diagram that
describes the layouts, the components, the interaction and the information presentation methods of UDM.
3.2.4 Evaluation
In this evaluation phase, the theoretical correctness of the created model of UDM was evaluated. In Section 4.5, the defined evaluation model is presented, which were used for the evaluation of the result. The model contains the evaluation criteria and how the evaluation was conducted. To give a brief description of the model, the result was evaluated for each goal that was summarized from the compiled requirement list, to check if the goals were covered by the model, and how well they were covered.
4 Work
This section presents the relevant parts and the work in the research process. In Section 4.1, the guiding questions for the case studies are presented and explained. The following Section 4.2 and 4.3 describe the case study of IKEA’s assembling manual and Cpen’s manual for their Exam Reader product. Section 4.4 presents and motivates the relevant design choices that were made for constructing the model of UDM. Section 4.5 presents the defined evaluation model that was used for the evaluation of the results.
4.1 Questions to be studied in the cases
After the literature review, a preliminary definition of universally designed manuals was defined to act as a guide and starting point for the case study. An universally designed manual for technical products is preliminary defined as following:
• Accessible. The manual can be accessed whenever and wherever, and the accessibility is independent of any third party service.
• Usable. The manual can be used (read) by all users targeted by the product with minimal physical effort. For home appliances, the target group generally includes people from different cultures or countries, people of all age and people with cognitive or physical disability.
• Efficient. People should be able to find the wanted information in the manual in an easy, fast, intuitive and convenient way. Preferably, searching in the manual should be a faster and better way to find answers than searching on Google or Youtube. The information should be presented in such way that it can be perceived and understood by all people.
Based on this preliminary definition, three questions that were examined in the case studies were formulated as following:
1. What is the platform or format of the manual? (Accessibility, usability) 2. How is the content organised? Is it clear and easy to navigate? (Efficacy)
3. How is the information presented? What are the pros and cons? (Usability and efficacy)
The goals of the case studies were to identify what method was used on the manuals to expand the range of the users, and analyze the advantages and the disadvantages of the identified method.
4.2 Study: IKEA assembly manual
IKEA is well known for their comic-book alike assembly manuals. IKEA is the largest furniture retailer that designs and sells furniture, kitchen-ware and home accessories [28]. Their assembly instruction manuals use only graphics to illustrate the required components or tools, the scenarios and the assembly instructions, but the warning notes on the manual are still presented using texts, with many translations, as illustrated in Figure 4.2. They also have instruction videos on Youtube, with the staffs demonstrating the assembly processes [4]. The videos are wordless, with only figures to show what components are needed. However, their manuals for appliances and other electronic products are still using the standard manual style that relies on texts to convey the information [16]. Figures 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 show an example of the IKEA assembly manual for an book shelf [27].
Figure 4.1: IKEA manual example 1
4.2.1 Platform and format
The manuals that come with the products are paper booklets, but IKEA also provides the manuals in PDF format which the consumers can find on their home page. However,
Figure 4.2: IKEA manual example 2
Figure 4.3: IKEA manual example 3
finding the correct manual is tricky, since the user has to first find the product in their catalogue, and searching by the product name is not efficient because all IKEA products in the same series have the same name. Anyway, there is an option for the user to access the manuals when the paper manuals are not available.
Figure 4.4: IKEA manual example 4
4.2.2 Information presentation method
The manuals use abstract illustrations of the materials, the components, the tools and the accessories to present information such as assembly instructions, required components, materials, tools, potential scenarios and how to handle them. By using abstract illustrations, it helps the user to focus on the essential information and eliminates potential distractions and confusions. Moreover, by using only black and white colours, it maintains good contrast and makes the information easily perceivable.
The scenarios are illustrated with gender neutral, humanoid characters, well known symbols and minimal details. For example, the second scenario in Figure 4.3 shows first a person holding a booklet, standing in front of an opened packaging, and there are bubbles arising from her head containing a question mark. In the second figure, the person presses a phone-like object against her head, and the object is connected to something that resembles an IKEA building. The scenario can be interpreted in many ways, but the most important message is distinctly presented, which is ”if you have questions, call IKEA”.
4.2.3 Structure
The assembly instructions are ordered with numbers, which makes it easy to follow the instruction. At each step, there are annotations such as arrows showing the inserting direction, enlarged details showing the needed components and the orientation of
them. The needed tools and the components such as screws and hinges, are presented without names but only figures. The figures present the characteristics of each tool and component, which facilitates the user to recognize them or find the right items by comparing them to the figures.
4.2.4 Analysis
The minimal details are the advantage of abstract illustrations but also a disadvantage at the same time. Every step in the assembly instructions shows the result from the previous step. While it is clear what the result is, it might not always be clear how this result is achieved. By increasing number of steps, it makes the process more exact, hence, minimizing the risk of confusion between steps. However, too many steps might cause the manual being too long, and the user might find it boring or difficult to follow. IKEA has started providing assembly videos as an alternative for the instruction drawings. The advantage with the videos is that there is no skipping between steps, and the user gets to see the whole process. Although the illustrations in the manuals are unambiguous and straight-forward, there might still be some people who cannot comprehend the illustrations, but this would not be a problem for the videos.
Generally, the assembly instruction is the only information most people need when buying an IKEA product. For this reason, there are only the assembly instruction and the precautionary information in the manuals for the furniture and the simple accessories, so people can find this information immediately when unfolding the manual. Although, it is usually not the case for electronic products. IKEA manuals for electronic products are still using texts to describe the functions, how to use them, and the disposal information.
It is probably not impossible to present the same information using pictures, but it would be difficult to depict the information using only a small number of pictures, while still maintaining high precision.
To achieve the same global usability as the assembly manuals, IKEA have to translate the text manuals to as many languages as possible. The European version of the manual for a digital thermometer has up 28 language translations included [16]. They also have comic-book alike manuals for installation instructions for some of the appliances.
4.3 Study: Exam Reader interactive manual
Cpen is a company that produces and sells pen scanners. Their product Exam Reader is a pen-sized scanner that can scan the printed text and read it out loud [15]. The purpose is to assist people with reading disabilities, by letting them ”hear” the text instead of reading it. The Figures 4.3 and 4.3 are examples from the manual for Exam Reader.
Figure 4.5: Exam Reader manual example 1
4.3.1 Platform and format
This interactive manual uses standard text manual format, with a table of content and sections for each function or button. The manual contains an introduction to the product, a quick start guide, information about the buttons, how to scan, how to change settings, how text reader function works and how to charge the device. The manual covers all detail about the functions, and precautionary information about the battery.
Figure 4.6: Exam Reader manual example 2
4.3.2 Information presentation method
All information are presented in text. The interactive part of the manual is that it includes a Youtube video link in each section, as shown in the figures. The user who reads the manual (PDF) on a computer, can click on the link which redirects the user to a Youtube page with a video. The videos are demonstrations of the content in each section, in a way that resembles the IKEA assembly videos. In the videos, there is a person presenting and demonstrating the device and how the functions can be activated and used.
