Pia's Master's Thesis – Pian diplomityö
Author: Pia Hannukainen
Title: Disabled Persons as Lead Users in Mobile User Interface Design
Date: June 30, 2005
Pages: 85 (66 + 19)
University: Helsinki University of Technology (TKK)
Department: Department of Mechanical Engineering
Professorship: Machine Design
Supervisor: Prof. Kalevi Ekman
Instructor: Dr. Pekka Ketola, Nokia
Master's Thesis – Diplomityö (1,7 MB)
Appendices – Liitteet (3,3 MB)
Diplomityölausunto (0,7 MB)

Abstract
In order to understand user needs, traditionally only current users of a productare examined. Classical research on problem solving shows, however, that current users are strongly constrained by their real-world experience, an effect called functional fixedness. Von Hippel's lead user method takes a totally different approach as it is not based on current users but lead users. Lead users face needs that will be general in a marketplace – but face them months or years before the bulk of that marketplace encounters them, and they are positioned to benefit significantly by obtaining a solution to those needs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if disabled persons could be seen as lead users in mobile user interface design. Another goal was to evaluate the suitability of the selected research methods on the examined user groups.

An able-bodied user may suffer from a "situational disability" caused by the environment. In this study the user needs of disabled and "situationally disabled" users were compared. The examined user groups were deaf, blind, and "ordinary" users, who see and hear well. The methods used were photo diary based on a theme, and contextual inquiry combined with an open-ended discussion. The "ordinary" users were examined in situational disability conditions, and disabled users in their ordinary environment, such as home.

This research shows that "ordinary" users do face difficulties when using their mobile phones in special situations, i.e. they in fact are situationally disabled. The user needs partially overlap with the needs of disabled users in ordinary situations. Both visually and hearing impaired participants showed innovative and leading edge behaviour. It was concluded that there is a strong indication that disabled persons could be seen as lead users.

Photo diary was found to be an effective and easy method for self-documentation – also when studying blind users. No other equipment is needed for documentation, as long as the photos are later reviewed in a separate discussion. No major difficulties occurred in carrying out the contextual inquiry and open-ended discussion. All applied methods were found suitable for all examined user groups.

It was recommended that disabled users would be included in mobile user interface design.