Support Adaptation and Personalization
Changes from doc: Small editorial changes
Introduction
Personalization can enable us to meet the individual user’s preferences. Some users need extra support which we can provide with minimal effort from the user via personalization. Personalization allows the user to select preferred options from a set of alternatives. Some alternatives may be provided by the content author or app developer and others may be semi automated. This can include:
- Familiar symbols and graphics that the user knows;
- Tool tips;
- Language they understand such as literal language or common terms;
- Less features and options to the optimum number for the individual user;
- Keyboard short cuts that are familiar to the user;
- Widgets for help.
Personalization also helps with the following:
- Sometimes user needs conflict;
- Learning new designs, patterns and widgets can be confusing - we want to allow users use widgets they already know;
- Extra support can be annoying to people who do not need it;
- Making content predictable is necessary for accessibility for some people but can often be considered boring design for other users;
- Ability to change levels of complexity and simplify the content is important as people skills improve or decrease over time or context.
One use-case we would like to see is providing interoperable symbol set codes for non-verbal users. Products for people who are non-vocal often use symbols to help users communicate. These symbols are in fact a language. Unfortunately, many of these symbols are both subject to copywrite and are not interoperable. That means end-users can only use one device, and can-not use apps or AT from a different company. An open set of references for symbol codes for these symbol sets however, could be interoperable. That means the end user could use an open source symbol set or buy the symbols and use them across different devices or applications. Symbols could still be proprietary but they would also be interoperable.