1.2 Human Interaction with the System

Question 1

1.2.12

Define the term usability

Answer 1

Usability is not functionality. Usability is how self-explanatory a system is, and how effectively, comfortably, and efficiently users can use a system. It essentially describes how user friendly the user experience is.

Question 2

1.2.13

Identify a range of usability problems with commonly used digital devices

Answer 2

• Software such as photo editing, movie editing, or digital drawing apps are complicated. There is often very complicated user interfaces which may lead to user frustration.
• Devices like phones may be hard for people as it has a small screen size. It also has a lot of small buttons which may be hard to press
• A lot of websites are not responsive and are therefore not intuitive at certain screen sizes.
• Devices with limited battery life affect usability.

Question 3

1.2.14

Identify methods that can be used to improve the accessibility of systems for visual impairement

Answer 3

• Braile keyboards
• Screen magnifiers
• Text to speech
• Screen readers
• Larger fonts

Question 4

1.2.14

Identify methods that can be used to improve the accessibility of systems for auditory & speech impairement

Answer 4

subtitles

Question 5

1.2.14

Identify methods that can be used to improve the accessibility of systems for mobility issues

Answer 5

• Word prediction software
• different ergonomic designs for people with mobility issues (e.g. adaptive game controllers)

Question 6

1.2.15

Identify a range of usability problems that can occur in a system

Answer 6

• Complicated or unclear UI interfaces
• Unresponsive buttons
• Small fonts
• Poor mobile responsiveness
• Inadequate user support such as help documentation or customer support

Question 7

1.2.16

Discuss the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of the interaction between humans and machines

Answer 7

• Technological advancements causing jobs to be replaced
• Social media use is leading to more cyberbullying and social isolation
• Censorship on social media controlling what information we get
• More and more of our personal information is stored online, this poses a security risk
• Ethical concerns with companies monitoring our internet use
• Production of circuit boards uses a lot of water. In droughts, governments must decide how much water to allocate to the tech production industry and how much to give to other sectors. Deciding how to allocate scarce resources is both an environmental, environmental, and ethical issue.