Remote co-design yields actionable insights for ASR-enhanced communication tools

Why It Matters

This research demonstrates that despite geographical limitations, co-design methodologies can be successfully adapted for remote settings. This allows for broader participant diversity and richer insights into user needs for assistive technologies.

Key Finding

Remote co-design workshops with deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing participants can successfully generate design ideas for features that improve automatic speech recognition in communication applications, focusing on error correction and speaker behavior notifications.

Key Findings

• Online co-design is a viable method for researching assistive technologies with diverse user groups.
• Participants identified key areas for improvement in ASR output correction and speaker behavior notifications.
• Specific communication modalities and strategies were observed during remote collaboration.

Research Evidence

Aim: How can remote co-design methodologies be effectively employed to gather user requirements for ASR-supported communication applications from deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing user pairs?

Method: Co-design workshops

Procedure: The study involved conducting online co-design workshops with 18 deaf/hard-of-hearing and hearing participant pairs. Participants collaborated using online whiteboarding tools to investigate design dimensions related to correcting ASR errors and implementing notification systems for influencing speaker behaviors in mobile and videoconferencing applications.

Sample Size: 36 participants (18 deaf/hard-of-hearing and 18 hearing)

Context: Development of communication applications with automatic speech recognition (ASR) features

Design Principle

Accessibility features should be iteratively refined through inclusive co-design processes that accommodate diverse user needs and communication preferences.

How to Apply

When designing features for communication or collaboration tools, especially those involving speech-to-text, conduct remote co-design sessions with a mix of users who will benefit from the feature and those who will interact with them.

Limitations

The study's findings are specific to the investigated communication application types and the ASR technology available at the time. The effectiveness of online whiteboarding tools may vary depending on participant digital literacy.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: You can design new features for apps like video calls by working with people online, even if they can't be in the same room. This helps make sure the features work well for everyone, including people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Why This Matters: This research shows that you can get valuable design ideas from users without meeting them in person, which is useful for many design projects, especially those focused on accessibility.

Critical Thinking: How might the observed communication modalities and strategies in remote co-design differ from those in in-person co-design, and what implications does this have for the richness of design insights?

IA-Ready Paragraph: This research by Seita et al. (2022) highlights the efficacy of remote co-design methodologies in gathering crucial user insights for the development of communication applications. By conducting online workshops with deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing participant pairs, the study successfully elucidated design requirements for features enhancing automatic speech recognition (ASR), specifically focusing on error correction and speaker behavior notifications. This approach demonstrates a practical strategy for inclusive design research, enabling broader participant engagement and ensuring that assistive technologies are developed with direct user input, even when geographical constraints exist.

Project Tips

• Consider using online collaborative tools like Miro or FigJam for remote design sessions.
• Plan for different communication styles and ensure all participants have opportunities to contribute.
• Document the communication strategies and tools used by participants.

How to Use in IA

• Reference this study when justifying the use of remote co-design methods for user research in your design project.
• Use the findings to inform the design of features that improve communication or accessibility in your own product development.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate an understanding of how to adapt user research methods for remote contexts.
• Show how you have considered the needs of diverse user groups in your design process.

Independent Variable: ["Remote co-design methodology","Communication modalities and strategies used by participants"]

Dependent Variable: ["Design requirements for ASR-supported communication applications","Participant-generated design ideas for error correction and notification systems"]

Controlled Variables: ["Participant pairing (deaf/hard-of-hearing with hearing)","Online collaborative whiteboarding tool used","Specific design dimensions investigated (error correction, notification systems)"]

Strengths

• Novel methodology for remote co-design with DHH and hearing pairs.
• Inclusion of diverse participant groups in the co-design process.
• Focus on practical design dimensions for ASR applications.

Critical Questions

• What are the potential biases introduced by relying solely on online tools for co-design?
• How can the findings be generalized to other types of assistive technologies or user groups?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the effectiveness of different online collaboration tools for remote co-design with specific user groups.
• Develop and test a prototype of an ASR-enhanced communication feature based on the design insights from this study.

Source

Remotely Co-Designing Features for Communication Applications using Automatic Captioning with Deaf and Hearing Pairs · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · 2022 · 10.1145/3491102.3501843