Towards Supporting Mobile Device Users Facing Severely Constraining Situational Impairments

Abstract

A subset of “Situationally Induced Impairments and Disabilities” (SIID), termed “Severely Constraining Situational Impairments” (SCSI), was explored at the user task and motivational level, to better understand the challenges faced by users attempting to perform tasks using a mobile device. Through structured interviews, participants were found to deploy workarounds in attempting to complete mobile I/O transactions, even if that workaround might place them in considerable danger. The motivations underlying user decisions were also explored resulting in a set of rich scenarios which will be used in the final participatory design stage of the study to discover ways that technology can be designed to overcome SCSIs.