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This article was downloaded by: [National Chiao Tung University 國立交通大學] On: 24 April 2014, At: 22:46

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Assistive Technology: The Official Journal of RESNA

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Essential Needs and Requirements of Mobile Phones for

the Deaf

Hsiao-Ping Chiu MS a , Chien-Hsiou Liu MS ab , Ching-Lin Hsieh PhD c & Rong-Kwer Li PhD a a

Department of Industrial Engineering and Management , National Chiao Tung University , Hsinchu, Taiwan

b

Department of Occupational Therapy , Fu Jen Catholic University , Hsinchuang, Taipei, Taiwan

c

School of Occupational Therapy , College of Medicine, National Taiwan University , Taipei, Taiwan

Published online: 19 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Hsiao-Ping Chiu MS , Chien-Hsiou Liu MS , Ching-Lin Hsieh PhD & Rong-Kwer Li PhD (2010) Essential Needs

and Requirements of Mobile Phones for the Deaf, Assistive Technology: The Official Journal of RESNA, 22:3, 172-185, DOI:

10.1080/10400435.2010.483652

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Assistive Technology®, 22:172–185, 2010

Copyright © 2010 RESNA

ISSN: 1040-0435 print/1949-3614 online DOI: 10.1080/10400435.2010.483652

UATY 1040-0435 1949-3614

Assistive Technology®, Vol. 22, No. 2, Sep 2010: pp. 0–0 Assistive Technology®

Essential Needs and Requirements

of Mobile Phones for the Deaf

Mobile Phones for the Deaf H.-P. Chiu et al.

Hsiao-Ping Chiu, MS,1 Chien-Hsiou Liu, MS,1,2 Ching-Lin Hsieh, PhD,3 and Rong-Kwer Li, PhD1 1Department of Industrial

Engineering and Management, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan

2Department of Occupational

Therapy, Fu Jen Catholic University, Hsinchuang, Taipei, Taiwan

3School of Occupational

Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Address correspondence to Chien-Hsiou Liu, School of

Occupational Therapy, Fu Jen Catholic University, 510 Chung Cheng Rd., Hsinchuang, Taipei, Taiwan 24205. E-mail: jodiliu.iem94g@nctu.edu.tw

ABSTRACT Despite their necessity for deaf people in daily life, mobile phones still lack features and functions required by those individuals. While assessing the daily needs of deaf mobile phone users is an important issue for closing this gap, this issue has seldom been addressed. Therefore, we adopted a qualitative research method to extract and construct needs from deaf mobile phone users and translate them into user requirements for mobile phone development. Semistructured interviews and task observations were performed to obtain information from 12 deaf mobile phone users. Context coding was used to code the collected data into needs. The coded needs were then sorted into six categories (social, communication, consumption, entertainment, transportation, and safety) and translated subjectively into three requirements (specific feature-function, general feature-function, and common). The requirements were compared with the functions of the mobile phones of the participants, and five feature-function gaps were identified.

KEYWORDS disability, qualitative research, user needs, user requirements

INTRODUCTION

Mobile phones have become essential devices not only for people without a disability (Leung & Wei, 2000; Leysia & Marilyn, 2002), but also for those with disabilities, including deaf people. Many studies have established that individuals who are hard of hearing use mobile phones to maintain their social networks (Bakken, 2005; M. R. Power & Power, 2004). For example, D. Power, Power, and Rehling (2007) pointed out that over 90% of deaf peo-ple exchange content through a short message service (SMS) on a mobile phone. However, despite the explosive growth of mobile phones worldwide, mobile phones still lack functionality (inadequate or insufficient) for deaf peo-ple. For instance, the inability of the deaf to directly call 911 via a mobile phone demonstrates the inadequacy of mobile phone technology. Rather than calling 911 directly, the deaf must text their emergency to a special police sta-tion line or to a friend who can verbally call 911. The deaf also cannot receive important environmental sounds, such as fire alarms or doorbells. If their mobile phone could receive those important environment sounds and output the information via a non-sound channel (e.g., visual display or vibration), the daily life of the deaf could be improved considerably.

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The reason for these inadequate and insufficient designs of mobile phones was that the demands of deaf users were rarely considered during the develop-ment phase (Matthews, Carter, Pai, Fong, & Mankoff, 2006; Tóth & Németh, 2006). The result is that deaf users can have extreme difficulty using mobile phones. Consequently, the design of mobile phones to achieve the necessary acceptable level of usability for deaf people becomes an important issue.

The acceptability of any product is no longer only viewed as dependent solely on user interface features, but also on the way that a system fits into its use con-text (El-Kiki & Lawrence, 2008; Kujala, 2008). There-fore, designers must understand the needs and contexts of users as a way of informing the design pro-cess (Coble, Karat, & Kahn, 1997; Grudin, 1991). However, many designers understand much less about the needs and requirements of users than do the users themselves. The difficult part of developing systems is not building them but, rather, knowing what to build, namely focusing on users’ needs and requirements (Armour, 2000).

Most previous studies on deaf people using mobile phones have not focused on such needs and require-ments. Instead, they have been directed at how the deaf community applies mobile phones and the fea-tures currently available to them. The research meth-ods used by those previous studies were quantitative methods focusing on statistical generalizations, including frequency of and trends in use of mobile phone functions. For example, D. Power et al. (2007) found that SMS was the most common means of elec-tronic communication among the deaf, with 96% of respondents using an SMS on a mobile telephone. Fur-thermore, Ichiro and Hiroshi (2000) and Ulla-Christel, Jan, and Dick (2004) noted that SMS and mobile video communication via mobile phone have become essen-tial communication technologies and that there is a significant trend toward increasing use of these tech-nologies. Moreover, Gillard, Astbrink, and Bailey (2007) reported that over 85% of hearing- and speech-disabled individuals considered a mobile phone with a QWERTY keyboard easy to use.

Furthermore, Ornella and Stephanie (2006) pointed out that at least 70% of hearing-impaired individuals considered that since people with auditory prostheses generally cannot use their phone for auditory pur-poses, visual and vibrating alerts are very important. Additionally, Cherniavsky, Ladner, and Riskin (2008);

Kamphuis, Frowein, Rikken, and Spoor (1999); Lidestam, Danielsson, and Lonnborg (2006); and Tihanyi (2007) indicated that third-generation mobile systems support real-time video communication, but it remains rare in everyday application because video quality and cost were the main concerns for the deaf when using mobile video communication. As a result of the quantitative approach to disability research mentioned above, the social and cultural contexts of disability have not been addressed (Hartley & Muhit, 2003).

Besides quantitative research, a few qualitative stud-ies have attempted to document barriers and overall concepts related to mobile phone access for the deaf (Bakken, 2005; Cavender, Vanam, Barney, Ladner, & Riskin, 2008; Henderson-Summet, Grinter, Carroll, & Starner, 2008; Vincent, 2006). However, the informa-tion contained in these studies is incomplete; for example, they do not cover how these barriers are per-ceived, which among these barriers are most serious in terms of creating greater inequality for deaf users with-out access to mobile phones, the potential solutions for encountering these barriers, and so on.

In view of the above, no comprehensive study has examined the needs and requirements of the deaf with regard to mobile phones; thus, we assessed the needs and requirements of deaf people regarding the use of mobile phones. We extracted and constructed needs from deaf users and translated them into user require-ments. The identified requirements were then com-pared with the functions and features of the mobile phones used by the participants to identify insufficien-cies in the phones’ development and design.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

This work applies qualitative research to develop a contextual and detailed understanding of the needs of deaf mobile phone users in their daily life. Three rea-sons exist for our applying qualitative methods, as fol-lows. First, we wanted to understand the breadth of the issue, namely its range and scope, rather than the frequency of such opinions (Glaser, 1992; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Furthermore, qualitative methods can be successfully applied to collect the views of insiders (the participants being studied), thus yielding valid descriptions of how the participants perceive various phenomena (Cresswell, 2002; Patton, 1990). Second, qualitative methods are superior to quantitative methods

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for probing information regarding complex behaviors and in sensitive contexts (Smith-Jackson, Nussbaum, & Mooney, 2003). Third, qualitative methods are appropriate in situations involving low frequency of respondents or when seeking targeted perspectives (Hartley & Muhit, 2003). The low prevalence of deaf-ness in Taiwan made qualitative methods well suited for this research.

Qualitative data can be gathered by observations, interviews, focus groups, and open-ended surveys; col-lecting public and private documents and e-mails; and through audiovisual materials such as photographs and videos. Participants should be selected according to the emerging data, with a data analysis then per-formed to identify further participants for additional interviews (Yun-Hee, 2004). Accordingly, data collec-tion continues until saturacollec-tion. Rifkin and Pridmore (2001) provide a useful text regarding these data col-lection techniques.

Using qualitative methods, we performed semis-tructured interviews and task observations to extract and construct deaf mobile phone users’ needs. Figure 1 demonstrates the qualitative research methods, which comprise three phases. Phase 1 is user recruit-ment. Phase 2 is data collection, which consists of three steps: pre-interview, task observation, and post-interview. Finally, Phase 3, the data analysis, com-prises four steps: context coding, extraction of user needs, translation of user requirements, and identifi-cation of gaps in feature-function requirements. Data collection continues until saturation is achieved. Consequently, on completion of each interview, user needs were analyzed and a comparison made with the initial interviews until it was determined that fur-ther interviews were not adding to the findings. User requirements were translated from user needs and then compared with the functions of the partici-pants’ mobile phones.

FIGURE 1 Qualitative research process applied in the study.

User recruitment

Task observation

Post-interview Pre-interview

Context coding

User needs extraction

User requirements translation

Data saturation

occurs? Yes No

Gap of feature-function requirements identification User recruitment phase Data collection phase Data analysis phase

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USER NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS

User Recruitment Phase

The sample of participants comprised those invited to visit the Chinese National Association of the Deaf (CNAD) for occupational counseling between January and May 2008. Purposive sampling was employed to select deaf individuals who were active mobile phone users and who were not physically or psychologically disabled. Recruitment continued until the point of theme saturation. Twelve members of CNAD volun-teered to participate in the study and were inter-viewed. Three of these members were students, nine were employed, and all were between 18 and 45 years old. Table 1 lists participant profiles by gender, experi-ence, and mobile phone model.

We obtained ethnical approval from CNAD. Writ-ten consent was sought from all participants to ensure their rights and confidentiality. One-to-one interviews were performed following occupational counseling at CNAD. At the beginning of each interview, the inter-viewer (first author) explained the purpose of the study and informed the participant that the interview data would be kept in a secure place during the study and erased afterward, and that pseudonyms would be used to maintain participant anonymity with regard to the interview results.

Data Collection Phase

The data collection phase consisted of three steps, namely pre-interview, task observation, and post-interview. The pre-interview step was designed to gain detailed information about the contexts of users’ daily life and mobile phone use. It was conducted as a semi-structured interview. The interview questions were designed to encompass the participant’s daily activi-ties, perception of mobile phones, and patterns and

main functions of mobile phone use. Appendix A presents the interview questions.

The task-observation step attempted to observe the deaf individuals using their mobile phones in order to identify the explicit and implicit problems of using mobile phones. Since SMS via mobile is an essential communication method for the deaf community (M. R. Power et al., 2007) and video communication and Internet access are both becoming increasingly popular via mobile phones (Cherniavsky et al., 2008; Manduchi & Coughlan, 2008), participants were asked to perform three relevant tasks: sending a message to a friend for a date, making a mobile video sign language communication with a friend, and accessing the Inter-net via a mobile phone. The explicit problems observed when each participant performed the tasks were recorded.

The aims of the post-interview step were (a) to ver-ify the explicit problems recorded when performing the tasks and (b) to elicit implicit problems encoun-tered when performing the tasks. The post-interview questions (Appendix B) were designed to achieve this purpose.

Questions in both interviews contained general probes to elicit detailed information from participants. Probes, which are follow-on questions that are employed to clarify statements made by participants during the course of the interview, help researchers apply follow-up questions to new issues raised in the interview process. More explications, elaborations, and representations of experiences and phenomena relevant to mobile phone users’ needs and accessibility issues can be obtained. Table 2 shows an example of a participant’s responses to questions, subsequent probes, and responses to probes. Because the partici-pants were deaf, both interview questions from the researchers and responses from participants were writ-ten down on paper or typed on the computer.

TABLE 1 Profiles of participants’ gender, experience, and mobile phone model

Sub. Gender Experience (yrs)

Mobile phone

model Sub. Gender Experience (yrs)

Mobile phone model S1 F 2 BenQSiemens-EL71 S7 M 3 Nokia-N81 S2 F 5 Nokia-N95 S8 M 3 Nokia-N82 S3 F 10 Nokia-N73 S9 M 5 Motorola-V3 S4 F 10 Nokia-1650 S10 M 8 Nokia-N80

S5 F Over 10 Nokia-N81 S11 M 8 Nokia-3500

S6 M 3 Nokia-6151 S12 M 10 Dopod-577W

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Data Analysis Phase

The data analysis phase is the core of the process and comprises four steps: (a) context coding, (b) extraction of user needs, (c) translation of user require-ments, and (d) identification of gaps in feature-function requirements.

In the content coding process, each statement or perception was considered as an element or observa-tion for the content analysis. Addiobserva-tionally, the data were analyzed with matrices. Detailed patterns in the data emerged at this level, leading to initial

explanations of user needs. Qualitative code informa-tion was further utilized to support user needs and develop requirements.

All of the data obtained in last phase shown on the paper or computer were first coded by Nvivo7.0, a computer program for analyzing qualitative data. The researcher performed the code assignments subjec-tively. For instance, the first two answers to the first two questions presented in Figure 2 were both coded as “personal safety.” Table 3 summarizes the 20 different answers that were coded as “personal safety.” “Personal safety” was thus coded 20 times, giving it a frequency TABLE 2 Sample raw data of interview questions, subsequent probes, and responses

Sample text

Interview: How do you get help in an emergency situation?

Response: Screaming, sending messages via a mobile phone, or using video communication by mobile phone with my family or friends to ask them to come to help me.

Probe: Can you get help after you scream?

Response: Usually not. Most people do not like to take too much time to “read” our problem since we write on the paper or type on the mobile phone display.

Probe: Can you get help if you send messages via a mobile phone?

Response: Yes, but the help always comes too late for an emergency situation.

Probe: How do you hold your mobile phone if you have to use sign language to interpret an emergency

situation through video communication?

Response: This is a problem. Another problem is that photography may be strictly prohibited in many places. But the most serious problem is that I do not like people turning their gaze on to me.

Probe: Is privacy the most important issue to you?

Response: Yes, it is. I do not want people to treat me like a “weird person” or to keep a close watch on what I am sending to whom in sign language.

FIGURE 2 Example of a participant’s response and code assignment.

Code assigned in two different

responses

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of 20. Although the study involved only 12 partici-pants, the “personal safety” code had a frequency higher than 12 because each participant gave the same response for different questions or probes. However, some codes may have frequencies lower than 12, because some participants gave no response to some questions or probes because they had no opinion or lacked knowledge of the questions or probes.

User Needs Extraction

After all of the data were coded, they were then grouped subjectively based on their attributes. Six groups of codes were identified, each assigned with a unique need name: social needs, communication needs, consumption needs, entertainment needs, transportation needs, and safety needs (as shown in Table 4). Social needs originate with the need of peo-TABLE 3 Sample raw data from mobile phone interviews supporting the qualitative codes

Qualitative code Raw qualitative data

Personal safety 1. I always carry an emergency whistle with me.

2. The smoke detector in our home was rebuilt with a loud electronic horn and flashing light signal to alert me to a potential fire.

3. I confronted three gangsters on my way home after a date. 4. Gas and smoke detectors in my house have flashing light signals. 5. I had a traffic incident because I did not hear the car horn. 6. The robber got away because I could not shout for help.

7. I would send a text message to my family after arriving at my destination. 8. Taking public transportation is safe and convenient.

9. I go with my family or friends if I am going to a strange place.

10. I feel depressed that I cannot shout clearly for help when I get into trouble. 11. I carry pepper spray with me when I go outside.

12. A smoke detector should have both electronic horns and flashing lights. 13. People give me the cold shoulder when I need help.

14. I can do nothing when I am robbed.

15. The gas detector can be used as a flashlight, but is dangerous to leave on while sleeping. 16. It is always too late to send text message via mobile phone to get help.

17. I usually cannot get help immediately when in danger.

18. I cannot detect the status dynamically through the auditory channel. 19. I would send the taxi telephone number to my family when taking the taxi. 20. I used to go outside with my friends.

TABLE 4 Summary table of user needs in daily life identified from interviews (n = 12)

User needs Statements

Social needs Maintaining and expanding social networks is important. Social activities could enrich the lives of participants.

Communication needs

Participants communicated with many objects for several reasons. They adopted various communication methods. Efficient and successful communications are essential. Transportation

needs

Participants took diverse forms of transportation. Transportation information is helpful for itinerary planning.

Consumption needs

Consumption behavior includes searching, selecting, and using goods and services. Participants spend a lot of time on surveying the good or service, since they cannot ask or listen to the salesman.

Entertainment needs

Participants participated passively in several forms of entertainment. Technology changes not only entertainment instruments such as mobile phones, but also the manner of processing entertainment.

Safety needs Safety and security is a critical issue for all needs. Effective and efficient devices and services for emergency situations are fundamental.

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ple to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance (Maslow, 1954). Communication needs involve peo-ple transmitting their thoughts, ideas, and feelings to other members of their social groups via various media. Consumption, entertainment, and transporta-tion are the parts of daily activities associated with sat-isfying or supporting the life of others. Safety is positively related to all other needs and is concerned with people’s daily life. Personal safety, internet secu-rity, payment secusecu-rity, and computer security were grouped together because they had the same attribute “safety or security.” The six needs categories were supported by all of the interviewers and at least 28 ref-erences for each (Figure 3).

Since each user need category was linked closely with other need categories, they were organized as shown in Figure 4. Social needs are the most critical user needs for deaf people (and are thus in the cen-ter of the framework), because people cannot with-draw from society and live in obscurity (M. Power, 1997). Communication and transportation support-ing social needs are very important in daily life. Consumption and entertainment are common human behaviors in all societies and in all periods in his-tory when production and labor have occurred (Bauman, 1992; Wachtel, 1989). The linking rela-tionships among the categories of needs were identified by reviewing the results of the interview test. For example, the following example pre-inter-view transcript demonstrates the participant’s user needs.

I like to go to shopping with my friends (social need/entertain-ment need/consumption need) on the weekend. I always send

text messages to my friends (communication need) to make and

confirm our appointments. I usually take the public transportation

system (transportation need) to go to keep an appointment. Driving by myself is too dangerous (safety need) to me because I

cannot detect the status dynamically through the auditory channel.

The linking relationship among user needs could also have been determined post-interview, and the fol-lowing example illustrates a participant’s responses to problems in accessing the Internet via mobile phone.

I could access the Internet via my mobile phone to down-load video games (entertainment need) and share those games with

my friends (social need). Using a mobile phone to access the

Internet is very convenient, but the connect fee is too expensive (consumption need) and sometimes service is suspended for illegal downloads (safety need).

User Requirement Translation

Most individuals are unsure of what they want (Adams, 1996) and lack the professional skills to define their requirements (Kujala, 2008). Moreover, potential user requirements must be presented in a format that is easy for users to understand so that they can provide feedback. As Kyng (1995) stated, it is impossible to gather user feedback using traditional approaches such as requirement specifications. Users believe in prototypes and mock-ups, concrete forms of presenting requirement specifications that are well suited for hands-on exploration. However, prototypes are focused on interface issues, which present difficulties for

FIGURE 3 Example of users’ need code list generated from the responses.

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users. Hence, this study infers user requirements from interviews rather than directly asking participants their user requirements, and participants confirm their requirements.

A requirement is a feature (hard or soft), function, or other property of a product that fulfills user needs (Kujala, 2003). Therefore, users’ needs and points of view should be stated explicitly in requirement defini-tion as the input to the product design phase. Accord-ing to the definition of user requirements and the user needs framework shown in Figure 3, the six need cate-gories were translated into three user requirements, namely specific feature-function requirements, general feature-function requirements, and common require-ments. The specific feature-function requirements were the mobile phone features or functions that sup-port an individual need category (Table 5). For instance, GPS is a specific mobile phone feature-func-tion that supports transportafeature-func-tion and safety needs,

allowing deaf users to identify their location and plan their itinerary effectively and efficiently, and thus avoid losing their way. The general feature-function requirements are the recommended default features or functions of a mobile phone for deaf users (Table 6). Among the general feature function requirements, all of the participants emphasized the significance of visual and tactile functions. The common require-ments identified across participants are not features or functions of the mobile phone itself, but instead relate to usage (Table 7). Furthermore, needs and require-ments have the following relationship: A need requires one or more requirements to fulfill, and con-versely a requirement can fulfill several needs.

Additionally, participants are not only concerned about features and functions of mobile phones, but also about other issues including fees, privacy, and safety. For example, video communication is very con-venient for deaf people, but the connection fee for 3G FIGURE 4 Framework of deaf users’ needs in daily life.

Social

Social network information and management

Social activities information and management

Consumption

Product / Service information Consumption management Customer support system

Entertainment Entertainment information Entertainment instrument Entertainment processing Safety Computer security Internet security Payment security Personal safety Communication

Real time communication • • • • • • • • • • • • Interactive communication Communication information and management

Transportation

Transportation information and management

Barrier free transport Systemic discrimination • • • • • •

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communication via mobile phone is very expensive (Tihanyi, 2007), and privacy concerns cause anxiety while making a mobile video sign language communi-cation with others. Participants have taken necessary precautions to protect their phones against unautho-rized usage by activating the phone lock or SIM lock function.

Feature-Function Requirement

Identification Gaps

The extracted user requirements were compared with the mobile phones used by the interviewers, with the former as a base. The comparison results indicate that the designers of the phones did not understand the

deaf users’ needs or represent them as user requirements. For example, deaf users do not need to look for set-up facilities if the mobile phone holder is embedded into the device, and text-to-speech and speech-to-text sys-tems enable deaf people to communicate normally with hearing people. Table 8 shows the feature and function gaps discovered in this study. These feature-function gaps can be classified into five categories, as follows:

• Immoderation—the features or functions of the current mobile phone do not suit the user.

• Intolerability—the features or functions of the cur-rent mobile phone break down frequently.

• Incompleteness—the features or functions of the cur-rent mobile phone do not develop completely. TABLE 5 List of specific feature-function requirements

User needs Specific feature-function requirements Design justifications

Social needs “Online” social information and

activity

The device can expand social networks and activity.

Calendar/phone book An organizer such as a calendar and phone book could

help users to make arrangements for social information and activities.

Clock The clock on a mobile phone replaces a watch.

Digital camera The digital camera records images of social activities.

Communication needs

Messaging/mobile e-mail/MSN/video communication

Users can use various communication methods in different situations.

Phone book The device can easily organize personal or business

phone numbers, reducing the load on memory.

Phone record The system supports call records and management.

Transportation needs

“Online” transportation information Information such as timetables, routes, and maps is easy to obtain.

GPS/map The system helps to plan, identify, and find the itinerary.

Consumption needs

Calculator The system can calculate payments.

Online store and information The device provides various types and forms for consumption and product information.

Mobile cash The system provides convenience when paying a bill

(e.g., fare). Entertainment

needs

Built-in game/media player The system provides convenience when paying a bill

(e.g., fare).

“Online” entertainment The system provides various types and forms of

entertainment.

Entertainment manager The device can organize various types and forms of

entertainment.

Safety needs Identification The system allows possible embezzlement of mobile

phone and mobile cash.

GPS The device can identify user locality while in an

emergency situation (e.g., traffic accident).

Emergency hot key Users can obtain help effectively and efficiently.

Fire/gas/doorbell alarm The device can easily identify abnormal situations

anywhere when it is used in the house.

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• Inadequacy—the features or functions of the current mobile phone do not extend to all mobile phones.

• Redundancy—the features or functions of the cur-rent mobile phone are duplicated or unnecessary. These gaps are generally considered during the devel-opment and design phases of the mobile phone, but only in terms of normal users, not users with disabili-ties (Smith-Jackson et al., 2003). The effects of inaccu-rate capturing of user needs not only influence user satisfaction but also increase development costs and time (El-Kiki & Lawrence, 2008; Kujala, 2003).

DISCUSSION

The six daily life needs of deaf mobile phone users identified from the interviews do not differ from the needs of normal mobile phone users. This phenome-non is unsurprising since the daily life of deaf people is no different from that of those with normal hearing. The only difference is how deaf people use mobile phones to fulfill their needs.

The six needs were translated into three user require-ments (features, functions, or other properties of a product that fulfill user needs). The user requirements TABLE 6 List of general feature-function requirements

Requirements Design justifications

Touch screen The device is easier to operate than a keypad.

Handwriting recognition Input on a keypad takes more time.

QWERTY keyboard A QWERTY keyboard is the keypad layout that users have used most

often; a general mobile phone keypad makes text input complicated. Cameras and display on the same side This approach obviously would not work for filming oneself, as in a sign

language conversation.

Visual present A big screen with a big font size would prevent loss of information at the

screen margins.

Tactile present Longer and powerful vibration can be avoided, ignoring vibrating alerts,

especially while the participant is using two hands to present sign language and the whole body is shaking, and therefore the participant cannot recognize the vibrating alerts from the mobile phone in the pocket.

WiFi Information is exchanged efficiently.

Wireless network Information is obtained efficiency.

Text-to-speech A text-to-speech system can support reading aloud any text input or

written down on the mobile phone display to improve interaction with others.

Speech-to-text A speech-to-text system can support recognizing and presenting the

content of speech by other people, thus helping users interact with nondisabled people.

TABLE 7 List of common requirements

Requirements Justifications by participants

User needs comprehension Since mobile phones have become a necessity, the design and service of

these phones should match the needs of users in their daily lives. User capabilities and limitations The design and service of mobile phones should consider the capabilities

and limitations of users.

Standard and consistent design Users desire a standard and consistent design for mobile phones to avoid having to learn and memorize related forms like meaning of icon, keypad layout, and the access process.

Built-in functions Users prefer built-in functions without external components or extra

cost.

Other issues Beyond the features of mobile phones, users have strong concerns

regarding other issues, including privacy, price, and connection fee.

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demonstrate that deaf individuals have special needs that existing mobile phones do not address. The gap in feature-function requirement identification also shows that the design of off-the-shelf mobile phones does not consider the limitations and needs of deaf users, and existing requirements of mobile phones do not fulfill the requirements of such users. Existing service func-tions suffer from inadequacies and insufficiencies asso-ciated with difficulties in usage. These difficulties arise because individuals with normal hearing can use service functions provided by existing mobile phones via sound channels, while individuals who are deaf can only use service functions provided by non-sound channels (including visual, vibrating, key in, handwrit-ing, and video channels).

Since deaf individuals are excluded from service functions provided by sound channels, service func-tions in off-the-shelf mobile phones provided by sound channel only are inadequate for such individu-als. However, user requirements provided by non-sound channels are also suitable for normal users, and can sometimes prove extremely useful to normal users with situational disabilities as well (Hannukainen, 2005). Therefore, if additional efforts could be made in mobile phone design to consider the user require-ments of the deaf, deaf individuals’ use of existing mobile phones could be significantly improved, while the general public would suffer no harm.

Although the characters and sign language in Taiwan differ from those used elsewhere, the commu-nication methods used and information exchanged by the deaf via mobile phones are the same (SMS, e-mail, video communication, etc.). Additionally, the time delay involved in using SMS, video quality, and the small size of the mobile display were serious prob-lems for deaf mobile phone users. Furthermore, mobile phones considerably impact the communica-tion methods and culture of the deaf, and existing mobile phones clearly do not fulfill the needs and requirements of deaf users. However, several social issues have emerged and require further study. For example, SMS via mobile phone is an important medium for connecting with others, and can be used to keep in direct touch with both deaf and hearing communities, thus making it easier to communicate with an entire social network. Information and ideas flow more easily through this network and can give deaf users a feeling of belonging to a society or clearly defined group. Video communication via mobile phone is another medium that facilitates direct and immediate interaction with others, but deaf users are concerned about the high cost of this service as well as associated privacy issues. The government has to evaluate and modify the pricing of mobile telecom-munication systems for minority groups such as the deaf community. Improvements are also necessary in TABLE 8 Feature-function requirement gaps in current mobile phone design

Gap category Feature-function Description

Immoderation Phone size Users could not easily sense the vibration from small and light

phones.

Display size A bigger display would facilitate reading and watching the

words and pictures. A small screen forced users to scroll pages incessantly using the keypad.

Intolerability Keypad The keypad broke down frequently due to the user keying in

messages.

Incompleteness Holder Users did not need to find or prepare other devices on which

to place the mobile phone when using sign language via video communication.

Fire/gas/doorbell alarm A portable device with a vibrate function can easily detect an abnormal situation (e.g., fire) anywhere in the house.

Emergency hot key Users could set content of contact such as contact object and

phone number.

Inadequacy Text-to-speech/speech-to-text A device should enable users to interact with others, including people without disabilities, conveniently and efficiently.

Mobile cash A device should be able to pay a bill (e.g., fare) conveniently.

Handwriting recognition The input method should be simple and quick.

Redundancy Stopwatch/countdown Duplicate or unnecessary functions could be removed.

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terms of education and guidance with respect to the privacy of others.

CONCLUSION

This study applied qualitative research to extract the needs of deaf mobile phone users in daily life. Both interviews and task observation were conducted to understand and discover the explicit and implicit needs or problems encountered by deaf people when using mobile phones. The coded needs were then sorted into six categories (social, communication, con-sumption, entertainment, transportation, and safety) and each user need category was linked closely with the other categories. The six categories were translated into three user requirements subjectively (specific fea-ture-function requirements, general feafea-ture-function requirements, and common requirements). The spe-cific feature-function requirements meet different user needs and support deaf users in performing their daily activities more efficiently. The general feature-function requirements focus on increasing the usability of mobile phone functions and services. The common requirements include basic concepts and social issues related to mobile phone design. Finally, the require-ments were compared with the mobile phones used by the participants, from which five feature-function gaps were identified (immoderation, intolerability, incom-pleteness, inadequacy, and redundancy). The results revealed that current mobile phone designs do not ful-fill deaf users’ needs and requirements.

This study focused on the needs and requirements of the deaf with regard to mobile phones. However, further testing and design is necessary in relation to user requirements (Boehm, 1988; Royce, 1987; Tanimura, Kanazawa, & Sudo, 2009), and further evidence is required to assist in developing design guidelines for mobile phones for the deaf. The additional testing and design can be achieved by (a) constructing and describing conceptual designs to present and map user requirements in terms of neces-sary functions and services; (b) designing and demon-strating the design prototypes, including how to improve upon inadequate existing functions and ser-vices for the deaf; and (c) performing usability testing involving deaf individuals to clarify their perceptions of usability and ultimately to improve the functional-ity or service level of mobile phone prototypes. In addition, to accomplish a universal mobile phone

design, other groups of users including the elderly, children, and people with other disabilities should be further studied in the future.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Chinese National Association of the Deaf of Taiwan for mak-ing this research possible.

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APPENDIX A: SELECT QUESTIONS

USED IN THE MOBILE PHONE

INTERVIEWS

Question: Please describe your daily activities,

includ-ing work and rest.

Question: What transport do you take normally (foot,

self ride or drive, public transportation)?

Question: What is the most difficult aspect of taking

your normal mode of transport?

Question: What transportation information do you

need (e.g., route, timetable, ticket price)?

Question: How do you obtain the information (e.g.,

asking friends or family, inquiring on the Internet)?

Question: Does the service or function of your mobile

phone help you obtain the information?

Probe: If so, which services or functions do you use,

and how do they help you obtain the information?

Question: What is your opinion on the service and

function provided by your mobile phone?

Probe: Why do you have that opinion?

APPENDIX B: SELECT QUESTIONS

USED IN THE MOBILE PHONE

OBSERVATIONS

Sending a Message to a Friend

for a Date

Question: What text entry system would be most useful

to you (phonetic notation, Chang Jie, stroke count, Boshiamy, or others)?

Probe: Why would this text entry system be the most

useful?

Question: Can you easily input text on the keypad

lay-out of your mobile phone?

Probe: If not, why?

Question: What is your opinion on the keypad layout

of your mobile phone?

Probe: Why do you have that opinion?

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Making Mobile Video Sign Language

Communications With a Friend

Question: How often do you use video

communica-tion via your mobile phone (never, occasionally, frequently)?

Probe for “never” response: Why do you avoid using

video communication by a mobile phone?

Probe for other response: How do you place your mobile

phone while sending sign language?

Question: What is your opinion on the service and design

of your mobile phone for video communication?

Probe: Why do you have that opinion?

Accessing the Internet via a Mobile

Phone

Question: How often do you access the Internet via

your mobile phone (never, fewer, frequently)?

Probe for “never” response: Why do you avoid accessing

the Internet via your mobile phone?

Probe for other response: When and why do you access

the Internet via your mobile phone?

Question: What is your opinion on the service and

design of your mobile phone for accessing the Internet?

Probe: Why do you have that opinion?

數據

FIGURE 1 Qualitative research process applied in the study.
TABLE 1 Profiles of participants’ gender, experience, and mobile phone model
FIGURE 2 Example of a participant’s response and code assignment.
TABLE 4 Summary table of user needs in daily life identified from interviews (n = 12)
+3

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