1.    What benefits would you expect from creating an Ease-of-Use Rating System for everyday products?

List of benefits, can you think of others?

• Products might be better at meeting everybody’s needs

• Greater flexibility for using technology

• People would need less specialized assistive technology

• People would need less assistance

• People would not have to carry around specialized assistive technology as often

• Allows for easier comparison of products

• People would be more satisfied with their products

• Greater user independence

• Better match between the product and specific user

• The ability to market to clients with different abilities

• Encourage attitudes more accepting of differences

• Other

2.    What are the most important criteria or components for creating an Ease-of-Use Rating System for everyday products?

List of important criteria or components, can you think of others?

The rating system needs to:

• benefit all users of all abilities;
• be clear, easily understood, and objective;
• rate issues that affect the usability of the product;
• be quick and inexpensive to conduct;
• be able to be applied to a wide range of products;
• be well accepted after allowing for a learning curve; and
• not be associated with any type of stigma to a product or user.
• Other

The rating system label should:

• be designed to be on the outside of product packaging;
• be the format and size of a nutrition food facts label;
• have less than 12 items on it (a nutrition food facts label has 10 to 30 values on it); and
• have non-serif font with dark color on a light background.
• Other

3. What do you think are the most important products for everyday living activities for people with cognitive disabilities or impairments?

Please mark the most important products with "N" for "Work on improvement Now",
"L" for "Work on improvements Later" or "N/A" for No improvements needed.
List any changes or modifications that would make this product easier to use

Communication:

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Phones – cell]

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Phones – corded/wall land line

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Phones – cordless land line

Other (explain):

Entertainment:

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Digital cameras

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   DVD players

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Handheld video games

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Listening devices (head sets, ear buds)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Music players (stereo)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Portable music players (mp3 player, iPod)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Televisions

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   TV-based video games (Xbox, Wii)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Video cameras

Other (explain):

Household Products:

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Calculators 

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Dishwasher

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Fire/CO detectors

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Fire extinguishers

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Ovens and stoves - Conventional

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Ovens - Microwave

Other (explain):

Please mark the most important products with "N" for "Work on improvement Now",
"L" for "Work on improvements Later" or "N/A" for No improvements needed.
List any changes or modifications that would make this product easier to use

Self Care:

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Clothing

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Shoes

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Toothbrush

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Brush/comb

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Razor

Other (explain):

Transportation:

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Reading bus schedules

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Reading bus routes

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Getting on/off bus

Other (explain):

Time Reminders:

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Alarm clocks

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Calendars/schedules

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Prompters

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Stand-alone memory aids

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Watches

Other (explain):

4.    Computers are being used for many purposes. Which of the following applications of computers are most important for people with cognitive disabilities or impairments?

Please mark the most important applications with "N" for "Work on improvement Now",
"L" for "Work on improvements Later" or "N/A" for No improvements needed.
List any changes or modifications that would make this application easier to use

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Calendaring and scheduling systems

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Computer games

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Email programs

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Music player programs

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Photo management systems

[ Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Screen reader programs

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Social networking programs

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Speech recognition systems

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Video player programs

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Web browsers

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Websites that provide entertainment

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Websites that provide information

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Websites that provide products or services

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Word processing programs

Other (explain):

5.    Which of the following computer hardware components are especially important for the ease of use for people with cognitive disabilities or impairments?

Please mark the most important software applications with "N" for "Work on improvement Now", "L" for "Work on improvements Later" or "N/A" for No improvements needed.
List any changes or modifications that would make this software application easier to use

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Setting up the computer hardware (connecting display, keyboard, etc.)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Connecting to the Internet

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Visibility of information on the screen

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Using physical controls (keyboard, mouse)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Working without using the mouse

Other (explain):

6.    Which of the following computer software applications are especially important for the ease of use for people with cognitive disabilities or impairments?

Please mark the most important hardware components with "N" for "Work on improvement Now", "L" for "Work on improvements Later" or "N/A" for No improvements needed.
List any changes or modifications that would make this hardware component easier to use

  Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Setup (downloading, installing, setting user preferences)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Understanding information presented

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Figuring out how to do things

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Errors and error recovery (undo & redo)

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Standard key-combination conventions

Select Now Later No Improvements Not Applicable   Contextual Help (Help Screens).

[Other (explain):

7.    What are the most important criteria to include in an Ease-of-Use Rating System for people with Mobility, Sensory, Visual, Hearing, or Cognitive Impairments?

List of important criteria, can you think of others?

Other (explain):

Note that not all ratings will apply to all products, i.e. button size will not apply to a product without a button.

9.    How can you ensure the rating system and guidelines for everyday products and website interface are effective, practical and affordable?

Our primary goal for this project is to target products and website interfaces that will have the most benefit to people with cognitive disabilities and to develop guidelines for standardization accordingly. There are many ways to be involved in this project, depending on your time and interests. We would welcome your participation in whichever aspects of the project are of interest to you.

Please indicate whether or not you would like to be involved in future phases of this research by checking either “Yes” or “No” for each of the major project activities.

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