From 14 to 15 November 2015, the second Deaf IT conference took place. This time, it was held in Nuremberg. Before I delve into my opening presentation, I will first give an insight into this event and the impressions I took away from it.
Deaf IT
Deaf IT is an attempt, through a conference and its accompanying programme, to foster networking and the exchange of experience within the sign language using IT community (Deaf, hard of hearing, and CI users) in German speaking countries.
I travelled to Deaf IT in Nuremberg for the first time with three friends, without any expectations, curious about what awaited me. In retrospect, I can only say that this event has a special appeal, and for me, it was actually a good example of a modern approach to target audiences, which I already mentioned in my last article.
Multilingualism
I wrote that target audiences should not be viewed as static and homogeneous groups, but rather as pure interest groups, despite their differing human and social natures. The conference language was primarily sign language, yet there were also hard of hearing individuals who gave their talks orally. To provide equal access for everyone, compared to the first event in Munich in 2014 (sign language only), there were essentially three linguistic perception channels: sign language, written language, and spoken language, all translated as simultaneously as possible.
Added Value through Diverse Topics
Although interests were very similar, the breadth of topics was unusually diverse. This structure is interesting because, on the one hand, relatively few people are present per location, yet they are widely networked geographically. Added to this are the professional differences, which lent a unique charm to the programme. Here, the influence of social and human nature became apparent, which automatically compels diversity or creative solutions.
The seeming disadvantage turns out to be an advantage in reality, as it broadens one's horizons and provides inspiration from other areas. This includes connections that were previously only theoretically known, and then became practically comprehensible to me.
Industry 4.0
Here, the presentation by Dr. Irmhild Rogalla, scientific director of the Institute for Practical Interdisciplinarity in Berlin, is worth mentioning. She provided a well structured insight into the topic of "Industry 4.0". Previously, I only knew about this topic in connection with the "softening" of net neutrality through the decision of the EU Parliament. This made it clearer to me why it was one of the striking arguments in that debate. At the same time, I realised that we generally need a more diverse perspective in the network debate to ensure the truly sustainable development of the internet. However, this is a different topic, which actually has nothing to do with the Deaf IT conference and this presentation, but it did inspire me. With this, I merely wish to illustrate the added value that such a diversity of topics can deliver.
Earliest Adopters
Even practical approaches were not overlooked at the conference. Kilian Knörzer demonstrated live applications for Virtual or Augmented Reality in his hacking session, made the Internet of Things tangible via smartphone, and showcased possibilities for gesture control via Leap Motion, a motion controller. This is always impressive to observe, although it has actually been a quite familiar picture for decades that deaf people often belong to the earliest adopters of new technology because they quickly recognise its practical benefits in their daily lives. One only needs to recall the mid 1990s, when suddenly every deaf person had a mobile phone and outsiders wondered what they would do with a mobile phone. They had just discovered SMS at that time.
Startup Experiences
Fabian Spillner, Senior Software Engineer at gutefrage.net GmbH in Munich, spoke about practical experience. He provided insight into modern workflows and the technologies and methods used to develop successful web products, clearly outlining both the advantages and disadvantages. Among other things, he gave practical tips on which web hosting providers are suitable for specific scales. He also addressed the data protection issues with American hosting providers and presented a German alternative (strato.de).
SharePoint and Open Source
There were two presentations on SharePoint, a business web application platform by Microsoft. Vicent Rothländer from CGI in Frankfurt/Main showed that Office 365, SharePoint Online, is a tool for cloud collaboration and can be extended with self developed or purchased add ins. It was amusing to note that open source software is also used (e.g., Yeoman, Node.js). It was very clear to me how much Microsoft's business model has changed. DI (FH) Florian Katzmayr from IMC FH Krems introduced us to the three layer architecture in C# .NET as applied to MS SharePoint. He explained the rationale behind this architecture and then demonstrated it practically.
Linked FM Systems
Phonak was one of the sponsors of this event and was represented in the programme with its own presentation on FM technologies and devices for the hard of hearing in work and everyday professional life. What initially sounded like a somewhat off topic for the conference nevertheless proved to be relevant. Even with FM devices, the plug and play principle has made inroads, and there are dedicated smartphone apps for them.
Game Development with Unity3D
Game development was the concluding topic of the first day. An overview was given of how games can be built modularly by using existing assets, which can be freely used or purchased from the Asset Store. At the end of this presentation, an interesting discussion arose about how game development could be used for sign language learning programmes and what the workflows might look like in a project involving various partners. In principle, this is self evident, but here the focus was specifically on ensuring quality, especially with regard to 3D technologies.
SiMAX Sign Language Avatar
The last presentation on Sunday was about the SiMAX sign language avatar from SignTime GmbH in Vienna. Claudia Schweinzer showed us how the project originated, how this avatar is technologically structured, what the workflows look like in the implementation of such avatar videos, and what possible applications exist. She tirelessly emphasised that it is still under development. In principle, it is a self contained software environment with a huge database, where texts can be entered like in a translation programme, and then the video output is meaningfully compiled and put together by an instructor.
For me personally, there are technologically different approaches to sign language avatars that should be distinguished. One of these is similar to film production, where a real signing person is fitted with markers and their complete movement execution, including facial expressions, is transferred to a 3D figure (motion capture). The qualitative differences between SiMAX and motion capture technology are currently still very significant (fluidity of movement, expressiveness of facial expressions, and linguistic correctness), yet there are legitimate applications (e.g., real time information in sign language in case of disaster).
User Experience as Digital Surfing
Now I come to my opening talk on User Experience as digital surfing, which I will elaborate on here. I have always been fascinated by surfing, ever since I first saw it as a 12 year old in the film "Northshore" and most recently in "Chasing Mavericks" about the life of surfing legend Jay Moriarity. I have never actually been surfing myself. At most, I could roughly empathise with the experience once when I stiffened my body on Venice Beach in Santa Monica, California, and let a wave wash me ashore.
UX als digitales Wellenreiten from Zensations Web & Communications
SURFING TO MASTERY
I believe that anyone who seriously begins surfing waves is driven by a certain fascination. The film "Chasing Mavericks" clearly shows how a child becomes a professional surfer and ultimately a legend. One tries to learn to stand on a board in the water, repeatedly falling in. These attempts are made until a balance is found and an immense joy is felt. At the same time, new possibilities and challenges are explored. Over time, the boundaries are pushed further and further, making one more daring. In this way, one ultimately achieves mastery.
SURFING AS NATURAL LEARNING
This example of surfing is a very good metaphor for natural learning. This is how we all learn our passions in life and what we are good at. This is how the careers of designers and web and software developers begin. In the same way, children learn to walk, or users learn to use software on computers and smartphones, or how to navigate and use websites and applications.
THE SEA AS A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT
There is a second metaphor that fits very well: the sea. It presents itself in many different ways; it can be calm, or it can produce enormous waves due to the weather. In any case, it is a very dynamic environment, much like life with all its ups and downs, or the internet with its dynamic development.
THE SEARCH FOR BALANCE
In natural learning as a user, we strive for a balance from which habits fluidly emerge. At the same time, we seek new stimuli and place ever higher demands on the User Experience in an increasingly dynamic digital environment.
UX HELL: TICKET MACHINE
Now, let's take a deliberate detour to ticket machines, such as those found at railway stations. If you engage with them and are familiar with them, you quickly realise how unintuitive they suddenly feel, almost like a contradiction. A User Experience that unnecessarily provokes errors and makes the user perform the operation multiple times until they finally have their tickets in hand. I deliberately exaggerated by calling it a "nerve racking and time consuming frustration machine" or even a "User Experience (UX) hell", because it simply feels anything but balanced and straightforward.
UX AND ACCESSIBILITY
The extreme example of User Experience mentioned earlier shows what truly matters. Just like in surfing, it is about a discernible, balanced equilibrium. Good UX is balanced and has good usability. This means nothing more than instinctively knowing where to press or click. There is a balanced relationship between the device and the user. And for good usability, accessibility is an essential component that cannot simply be dismissed. Anyone who does so does not understand what it truly is and has never seriously engaged with it.
Because a good User Experience is nothing other than a balance for all users; it is functional and appealing for everyone. Those who do not heed this will proverbially fail in style.
GOOD UX AS AN ETERNAL CHALLENGE
Subsequently, I took a practical approach in my talk and asked the audience if they were familiar with iTunes on desktop and had ever watched a film with subtitles. After all, Apple is known among operating systems for a functional, good User Experience and accessibility. Nevertheless, I tried to demonstrate to the audience that even Apple does not always succeed in ensuring good UX; it remains and is a constant challenge. After some people raised their hands, I asked them how they find films with subtitles in iTunes. One person raised their hand, and I invited them on stage to show how they managed it. The answer was quite typical for a developer, namely explaining the technical possibilities and clicking through every film until one with subtitles was found.
I then explained that this would be one way, but it is also cumbersome and time consuming. Thereupon, I showed another option by typing the term "Untertitel" (subtitles) into the search. I then received an initial list with new options in the sidebar. There, I selected the "Films" option and was shown the complete list of films with subtitles.
But that was by no means all. I recounted that I recently found a film that was not on this list, yet still had subtitles. I found it in the same way as the person from the audience, namely rather by chance. It is conceivable that this film is not in the search index. Nevertheless, it was a good example to raise awareness of what accessibility fundamentally is and why it is part of usability, thereby helping to improve the overall User Experience.
IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT BALANCE
During the concluding questions from the audience, one person asked how one can simultaneously ensure a good User Experience for different target groups. A truly well posed question. My answer was a universal one. If one understands the core of accessibility and knows the diverse nature of people in their various expressions, then one also knows what needs to be done. It is always about creating a balance, and that differs from project to project.
Links: http://www.deafit.org/ http://de.slideshare.net/Zensations/ux-als-digitales-wellenreiten
