Home // ACHI 2026, The Nineteenth International Conference on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions // View article
Authors:
Julia Manikowska
Julia Samp
Piotr Lukasiak
Keywords: usability testing; function discoverability; web accessibility; user interface design
Abstract:
Ageing populations increasingly rely on digital services, yet older adults often face usability and accessibility barriers, especially when interfaces depend on hidden actions, icon-only controls, and visually demanding layouts. This study assessed whether four different application prototypes (Shopping List, Messenger, Login/Registration, Shop) and alternative User Interface (UI) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) variants support function discoverability and perceptual accessibility for adults aged 60+. Overall task difficulty was moderate (mean M = 2.22, median Me = 2, standard deviation SD = 1.09), but only 48.3% of task attempts were completed without moderator help. Messenger was the most challenging module (M = 2.73; 29.7% independent), with “add member to group” performing worst (M = 3.12; 16.2% independent). Shop was the easiest (M = 1.82; 64.0% independent). Participants aged 60+ were less independent and slower than those < 60 (p < 0.001). Barriers clustered around discoverability, navigation, icon semantics, form feedback, contrast, and target size. Design improvements should prioritise explicitly labelled actions, stronger feedback, higher contrast, and larger interactive targets; visual styling alone was insufficient without structural interaction changes.
Pages: 129 to 135
Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2026
Publication date: May 24, 2026
Published in: conference
ISSN: 2308-4138
ISBN: 978-1-68558-383-5
Location: Venice, Italy
Dates: from May 24, 2026 to May 28, 2026