Applying usability engineering to optimize the user experience of the hearing health assessment for older adults
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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Date
2024-11-18
Department
Major/Subject
Uusi media
Mcode
Degree programme
Taiteen ja median maisteriohjelma
Language
en
Pages
89
Series
Abstract
Hearing loss has emerged as a global challenge due to the increasing aging population. Due to a lack of accessible, convenient, and affordable hearing tests, many people are suffering from unidentified hearing loss. To address this, Otos, a Research to Business startup developed an effective hearing screening method, Otos Hearing Health Assessment (OHHA). This thesis focused on designing a user interface (UI) for the OHHA and conducting a formative usability evaluation guided by the IEC 62366-1 usability standard. It aimed to optimize usability and user experience for older adults. A Human Centered Design (HCD) approach was adopted to address the limitations of older adults. Due to agile development process followed by Otos, the lean UX method was embraced which led to iterative design sprints and early-stage usability testing. The key design elements were designed by taking into consideration the age-related challenges faced by older adults, including visual impairments, cognitive decline, and reduced motor skills. The usability engineering process described in the IEC 62366-1 standard was followed and formative usability evaluation of OHHA application was conducted. It consisted methods such as combination of interview and hybrid think aloud, and the AttrakDiff questionnaire. For qualitative data analysis, reflexive thematic analysis was adopted. It uncovered themes related to usability and these insights were validated with results from AttrakDiff. The triangulation of results from these methods further enhanced the validity of the findings. The results demonstrated that the use of HCD principles for UX design process and implementation of usability engineering process to identify usability issues at early stage can enhance the user experience of medical devices. The findings from this research will guide the design and development of OHHA and further inform the design of summative evaluations.Description
Supervisor
Lucero, AndresThesis advisor
Uusitalo, SeveriKeywords
usability engineering, human centered design, usability testing, UX design, human factors engineering, hearing healthcare