Usability evaluation of Dosvox system in the interaction of blind people with the Web

Authors

  • Edson Rufino de Souza ESDI/UERJ
  • Sydney Fernandes de Freitas ESDI/UERJ

Keywords:

usability, accessibility, blind people

Abstract

This paper summarizes the development and results of a master degree research about usability of
Dosvox, free system developed in the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and used by
blind people in the performance of their tasks with the use of computers, including the interaction
with the Web. Through exploratory research based on the observation of the interaction of blind
students with the Web, usability problems were identified in the Dosvox interface and in the Webvox, that is a program which is part of the system and is used to access the web sites on the Web. While there has been a major concern to develop the Dosvox with focus on novice users, structured interviews with the system developers discovered that the problems were related to the fact that the interface is designed in accordance with the mental model of these Information Technology professionals. This fact hampers its use by people less accustomed to these concepts. In addition to these results, information found on observation of blind specialists in accessibility using Dosvox in the interaction with the Web was realized. After this observation, structured interviews were conducted, an other problems in the system were highlighted, added to proposals of usability improving to Dosvox.

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References

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Published

2010-07-05

How to Cite

SOUZA, Edson Rufino de; FREITAS, Sydney Fernandes de. Usability evaluation of Dosvox system in the interaction of blind people with the Web. Arcos Design, Rio de Janeiro, v. 5, n. 1, p. 1–14, 2010. Disponível em: https://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/arcosdesign/article/view/85670. Acesso em: 2 may. 2025.

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Section

Artigos