=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3070/short04
|storemode=property
|title=Proposal of usability Guidelines for the Design of Mobile Applications in the Rehabilitation of Children with Disabilities in Working Memory and Verbal Comprehension
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3070/short04.pdf
|volume=Vol-3070
|authors=Hernán David Montilla,Brayan Alejandro Chilito,Pablo H. Ruiz,Vanessa Agredo-Delgado
}}
==Proposal of usability Guidelines for the Design of Mobile Applications in the Rehabilitation of Children with Disabilities in Working Memory and Verbal Comprehension==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3070/short04.pdf
Proposal of usability guidelines for the design of mobile
applications in the rehabilitation of children with
disabilities in working memory and verbal
comprehension
Hernán David Montilla1[0000-0002-4276-5701], Brayan Alejandro Chilito1[0000-0003-4680-5990],
Pablo H. Ruiz 1,2[0000-0003-2098-2614] and Vanessa Agredo-Delgado1,2[0000-0003-0870-6895]
1Corporación Universitaria Comfacauca - Unicomfacauca, Popayán, Colombia
{hernanmontilla, brayanchilito, pruiz,
vagredo}@unicomfacauca.edu.co
2Universidad del Cauca, Popayán, Colombia
Abstract. Usability allows users to interact with a software application in an eas-
ier, more comfortable, and intuitive way, hence its importance for software de-
sign and development. However, there is an absence of clear rules on what and
how to apply such usability in specific contexts. In this sense, this paper refers to
the definition of a proposal to define and characterize usability guidelines that
should be included when designing an interactive mobile application, specifically
to help enhance rehabilitation processes in learning of children with cognitive
disabilities between 6 and 8 years old, specifically in the ability of verbal com-
prehension and working memory. With this, it is expected to provide developers
with a series of usability guidelines that can be useful for the design of this type
of application, in such a way that they allow to improve the experience that chil-
dren have when using them in the development of their skills, necessary for their
rehabilitation. This paper aims to show the proposal framed in making a review,
characterization, definition, and validation of these guidelines, the related works,
and the methodology that will be carried out to obtain the proposed objectives.
Keywords: Usability guidelines, Interactive mobile application design, Cogni-
tive disability, Rehabilitation.
1 Problem statement
The use of mobile devices is conditioned by the environment in which they are run, the
type of users, and their software applications, consequently, it is necessary to take these
conditions into account to offer suitable devices that satisfy the specific scenarios of
the environment and its possible users [1]. One of the key elements that allow integrat-
ing these conditions is usability, as a relevant software quality characteristic, therefore,
for its incorporation into software products, specific guidelines must be considered spe-
cific guidelines that allow compliance with the quality conditions of the product and
also its context of use [2]. The quality of the software product is linked to the way in
which it is developed, therefore it is necessary to provide usability guidelines, which
allow providing relevant support in its construction in such a way that the applications
meet the quality expectations and thus meet the needs of its users and the context [3].
Copyright © 2021 for this paper by its authors.
Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
2
On the other hand, there are multiple barriers (accessibility, assistive technology for
motor or cognitive interaction, etc.) that disabled users face when they are at an infant
age when using an application [4], evidencing the need for adaptable interfaces that
allow their control through interoperable systems; further demonstrating that, despite
the fact that these types of barriers affect a very broad group, cognitive accessibility
studies are less developed than physical accessibility studies [5]. Considering that cog-
nitive or intellectual disability is a problem characterized by delayed mental growth,
this being an anomaly in the learning process, which refers to the late and incomplete
acquisition of intellectual skills during human development [6]. Often, the learning dis-
abilities in children can often be treated very successfully, which is why the goal of
rehabilitation is to allow children to live with their limitations in the most productive
way possible [7]. In this way, it can be said that a mobile application and specifically
the design of its interfaces should be governed by guidelines that establish the best
relationship between the child and the device, in such a way that these fulfill the func-
tion of supporting their rehabilitation [8] [9]. However, different technological tools
have been perfected over time for support or rehabilitation, to which the patient, the
therapist, or any personnel in the health area must adapt by adjusted instinct; That is
why software construction must promote solutions that are usable, adaptable, and with
understandable criteria linked to previously validated and current guidelines to the re-
quirements that arise [10]. According to the different results in experimental tests in the
professional therapist area [11], usability is a key practice in the specific development
of tools for rehabilitation, in a greater focus when talking about patients at an infant age
[12], This is due to the fact that the understanding of a software structure of adult users
is totally different from a restricted audience such as children, in this way priority must
be given and good interaction characteristics provided to the end-user, understanding
the terms and characteristics of disabled children [13]. Likewise, there is a lack of re-
search on usability elements for the development of mobile applications, specifically in
the area of technological rehabilitation for people with cognitive learning disabilities
[9] [14]. So, it is pertinent to ask: How to support the design of mobile application
interfaces in the rehabilitation of verbal comprehension ability and working memory
in children with cognitive disabilities in the age of 6 to 8 years? Since it is convenient
to contribute to a better quality of experience that children have when using this type
of application in their rehabilitation.
2 Justification
In the last decade, there has been an increase in people with diagnoses alluding to learn-
ing problems [15], wherein the design of applications that deal with their rehabilitation,
generic usability elements have been used, defined for other technological processes
and other contexts, making their adaptation forced and inadequate, compromising their
essence [7]. On the other hand, the importance of verbal understanding is due to the
fact that the human being is a social being in which the processes to transmit and as-
similate experiences are imperative for their survival [16], for this, verbal communica-
tion plays a fundamental role, as one of the peculiarities that distinguishes people from
3
the rest of living nature [7]. Similarly, working memory is responsible for storing and
temporarily managing all the information that is in use to carry out a specific task, in
addition to regulating and using previously acquired information to perform complex
cognitive tasks and develop intellectual abilities, such as reasoning and reading com-
prehension [16]. In addition, it is necessary to determine that the most suitable age for
the use of technological tools for rehabilitation is between 6 to 8 years because, at this
age, the user is in a condition to understand and adapt more easily to mobile environ-
ments, whether they are playful or learning [17], where the potential impact of technol-
ogy is elevated by the ease with which they use technology from their first contacts
[18]. However, usable software is mainly aimed at an adult audience, and when it is
necessary to design mobile applications for children, most design guidelines and prac-
tices are used in the same way as for adults, these being inadequate, having taken into
account that the context and the target audience require their own elements that help
satisfy specific needs. Using proper design guidelines is vital for the software product
to meet usability needs and meet development expectations [19]. Currently, there are
some general guidelines that include usability elements, but there is little information
available indicating how and when to apply them in specific contexts [20]. Therefore,
defining guidelines appropriate to the context can help improve usability aspects in the
general design of these applications [15].
3 Related works
Usability guidelines
In [21] usability guidelines are proposed for the design of interactive mobile appli-
cations for learning mathematics in children from 6 to 7 years old. Likewise, in [22]
guidelines are presented for the development of interactive educational tools for psy-
chomotor development in children from 3 to 5 years of age, which were validated
through an experimental prototype. Similarly, in [23] the design guidelines for tangible
mobile applications are proposed considering the cognitive capacity of the elderly. For
his part in [24] The design of a guide for the development of applications focused on
the teaching-learning process on cognitive flexibility is proposed for boys and girls di-
agnosed with grade 1 autism spectrum disorder. In [25] a study of the principles and
requirements of user interface design using mobile devices as an instrument for mobile
learning purposes is described.
Applications to support disabilities
In [26] a virtual reality application is defined that seeks that people with brain dam-
age work to remedy or alleviate the cognitive deficits that arise after a neurological
condition. In this same sense in [27] presents a web application to treat people with
mild cognitive disorder present in most of the elderly, based on HTML5. In [28] a mo-
bile application based on verbal imitation therapy is defined for children with autism
between 4 and 8 years old, stimulating communication in verbal imitation therapy and
in [29] educational software for the treatment of children with dyslexia is presented,
4
applying the MPIu+a for the design of User Interfaces, which work on a tablet to facil-
itate interactivity.
Some of the previous works have different perspectives related to usability guide-
lines used in different areas of health, showing necessary elements to consider accord-
ing to their specific contexts, in addition to some tools focused on supporting different
disabilities. However, none offers a set of guidelines that is specifically for the design
of interactive mobile application interfaces in the rehabilitation of children with cogni-
tive disabilities, which allows enhancing working memory and verbal comprehension,
this being the greatest contribution of this work research.
4 Objectives
General objective
To specify usability guidelines for the design of interactive mobile application inter-
faces in the rehabilitation of children between 6 and 8 years old with cognitive disabil-
ities, specifically enhancing the working memory and verbal comprehension.
Specific objectives
• To characterize, according to the literature, the existing usability guidelines that sat-
isfy the design needs of this type of interfaces
• To build usability guidelines according to the context
• To validate the usefulness of the guidelines in the design of a software prototype to
the context
5 Methodology
This work will be carried out following the bifurcation multi-cycle action research
methodology[30] from which three cycles will be considered: conceptual, methodolog-
ical, and evaluation. The cycles and their respective activities are briefly described be-
low:
• Conceptual cycle: The planning and execution of the systematic mapping of the lit-
erature will be carried out to identify the characteristics of the end-users of the ap-
plications for the rehabilitation of children with cognitive disabilities in addition to
characterizing the different sets of rules, guidelines, or existing components for the
usable design of interactive mobile applications. Determining which of these guide-
lines are appropriate to the characteristics of the users in the context of the project.
• Methodological cycle: The structure and base format of the guidelines will be de-
fined, where each of its components will be incorporated incrementally. They will
be collected from the literature; they will adapt or define guidelines to incorporate
them as part of the final proposal.
• Evaluation cycle: An evaluation mechanism will be chosen with which the useful-
ness of the proposed guidelines will be validated through the design of a software
5
prototype. The evaluation mechanism will be planned, designed, executed, and, con-
sidering the analysis of the results obtained, elements to improve will be established.
6 Conclusions
This paper presents the initial advance of the research that has allowed to establish a
proposal that seeks to identify and characterize a set of usability guidelines that should
be considered when designing an interactive mobile application, to help enhance reha-
bilitation processes in the learning of children with cognitive disabilities between 6 and
8 years old, specifically strengthening working memory and verbal comprehension. In
addition, is identified with the review of the literature carried out so far, the importance
of having the end-user of the applications, in this case, children, as a basis for the defi-
nition of guidelines to guarantee usability when developing software products for this
context. According to the related works analyzed so far, there are different perspectives
in the literature on usability guidelines, but none is focused on the design of interactive
mobile application interfaces in the rehabilitation of children between 6 and 8 years old
with cognitive disabilities. Therefore, this is intended to be the greatest contribution of
this work, seeking that in the development of this type of applications it is possible to
support the what and how to apply usability elements in this context and as a conse-
quence, children have a better experience when using them.
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