Usability Evaluation of an Accessible Collaborative Writing Prototype for Blind Users

Collaborative writing technology is utilized in the workplace to co-author documents. Unfortunately, this technology is not accessible or usable for persons who are blind. As a result, persons who are blind cannot participate in collaborative writing that is critical in business and in collegiate environments. In order to improve the accessibility and usability of collaborative writing technology, a Microsoft Word add-in prototype was designed, developed, and tested using an iterative design approach involving two rounds of one usability study. Eleven participants, who are blind with no residual vision, participated in the usability studies and provided feedback and suggested improvements based on their experience while interacting with the Word add-in prototype. The prototype was modified based on the suggested improvements from the participants after each round of the usability study. Before the second round of the usability study, the dependence on the Word ribbon menu was replaced by the utilization of Windows message boxes for presenting, accepting, and rejecting document revisions and comments. The participants of both rounds of the usability study "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that the Word add-in prototype interface was clear and understandable, easy to use, improved their performance, and enabled the tasks to be completed without any problems. Also, the participants were satisfied with the time that it took to complete the study tasks, and they would utilize the Word add-in interface in the future on a regular basis.