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Frequently Asked Questions about User Validation:
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Should one try to define accurately populations of end users with special needs and identify appropriate user validation methods for various development stages ?(a1)
Can communication between end users (especially disabled and elderly) and developers be made more effective ? (a2)
Unless you are able to define the elderly and disabled user populations and appropriate measures to be used for user validation with them you remain in a pre-numerate stage. Although characteristics of these user populations vary considerably so that standards and benchmarks applicable to one user group may not apply to another, one should always attempt to define the user group and its characteristics. Appropriate, validated methods should be selected and benchmark information should be used even if this information is not explicitly aimed at the user groups you are interested in.
A usability expert should not try to become a mediator between end users and developers who often have incompatible world views. Instead, the usability expert may attempt to help the developers to see the world from the point of view of the end user by the using prototyping methods which involve end users early in the project lifecycle. With respect to disabled and elderly users the use of empathic modelling techniques are useful. Developers could also be provided with videorecordings of disabled and elderly users who have been using a prototype.