Abstract
Silver Surfers show constant growth rates in the usage of the Internet and touristic Internet services. Our motivation is to enlarge the possibilities of investigation into the needs of the Generation 50plus in order to foster innovation in this field. This paper reviews specific user behaviour of senior people while being tested in a Usability Lab. The methodology of “Thinking Aloud” and “Retrospective Review” are compared with each other in terms of acceptance, utility and specific outcomes. In order to optimize web based booking platforms, Silver Surfers — who show constant growth rates in the usage of the Internet and touristic Internet services — should be tested in an adequate way. To be able to optimize web based booking platforms in the future, recommendations for Usability Test Settings are formulated.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bailey, S., Barrett, S. & Guilford, S. (2005). Older users’ interaction with websites. Workshop on HCI and the Older Population. Napier, Edinburgh, UK.
Bangor, A., Kortum, P.T. & Miller, J.T. (2008). An Empirical Evaluation of the System Usability Scale. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 24(6): 574–594.
Bernsteiner, R., Mirski, P. & Schlögl, S. (2006). Wikis, weblogs and discussion forums as instrument of management in small companies of the IT-Sector. Proceedings of KMO 2006, Maribor, 13–14 June, 56–62.
Bowers, V.A. & Snyder, H.L. (1990): Concurrent vs. Retrospective Verbal Protocol for Comparing Window Usability. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society’s 34 th Annual Meeting, 1270–1274.
Brooke, J. (1996). SUS — A quick and dirty usability scale. In Jordan, P.W. (Ed.), Usability evaluation in industry (pp. 189–194). London: Taylor & Francis.
Buhalis, D. & Law, R. (2008). Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet — The state of eTourism research. Tourism Management 29(4): 609–623.
Carter, R. & Beadard, F. (2001). eBusiness for eTourism: Practical guidelines for destinations and businesses. Madrid: World Tourism Organisation.
Cleaver, J. (1999). Surfing for seniors. Marketing News 33(15): 1–7.
Coyne, K.P. & Nielsen, J. (2005). Web usability for senior citizens: Design Guidelines Based on Usability Studies with People Age 65 and Older. San Francisco: Nielsen Norman Group.
Dickinson, A., Arnott, J. & Prior, S. (2007). Methods for human-computer interaction research with older people. Behaviour & Information Technology 26(4): 343–352.
Eger, N., Ball, L.J., Stevens, R. & Dodd, J. (2007). Cueing Retrospective Verbal Reports in Usability Testing Through Eye-Movement Replay. People and Computers 21: 129–137.
European Interactive Advertising Association (2007). Silver Surfer Report. Retrieved September 19, 2009, from http://www.switzerbank.eom/Portals/0/nl03silversurfers.pdf
Frommann, M. (2005). Die Methode “Lautes Denken”. Retrieved September 14, 2009, from http://www.eteaching.org/didaktik/qualitaet/usability/Lautes%20Denken_e-teaching_org.pdf.
Gediga, G. & Hamborg, K.C. (2002). Ergonomische Evaluation von Software: Methoden und Modelle im Software-Entwicklungsprozess. Zeitschrift für Psychologie 210(1): 40–57.
Gervey, B. & Lin, J. (2000). The age factor: How Internet use varies from teens to seniors. Advertising Age 71(14): 22–31.
Graeupl, A. (2006). ’silver Surfers’ and their online information search behaviour. In Hitz, M., Sigala, M. & Murphy, J. (Eds.), Proceeding of the International Conference on Information and Communications Technologies in Tourism (pp. 236–247). Vienna: Springer.
Guan, Z., Lee, S., Cuddihy, E. & Ramey, J. (2006). The Validity of the Stimulated Retrospective Think-Aloud Method as Measured by Eye Tracking. CHI 2006 Proceedings, 1253–1262.
Harms, I. & Schweibenz, W. (2000). Testing Web Usability. Information Management & Consulting 15(3): 61–66.
Ivory, M. & Hearst, M. (2001): The State of the Art in Automating Usability Evaluation of User Interfaces. ACM Computing Surveys 33(4): 470–516.
Jaspers, M.W.M., Steen, T., van Bos & Geenen, M. (2004). The think aloud method: a guide to user interface design. International Journal of Medical Informatics 73: 781–795.
Jordan, P.W. (1996). Usability evaluation in industry. London: Taylor & Francis.
Krug, S. & Dubau, J. (2006). Don’t make me think. Bonn: mitp.
Loges, W. & Joo-Young, J. (2002). Exploring the digital divide: Internet connectedness and age. Communication Research 28(4): 536–562.
Maguire, M. (2001). Methods to support human-centered design. International Journal of Human Computer Studies 55: 587–634.
Mills, J. E. & Law, R. (2005). Handbook of consumer behaviour, tourism, and the Internet. Binghamton: Haworth Hospitality.
Mintel International Group (2000). Holidays by Lifestage. Retrieved August 25, 2010, from http://reports.mintel.com/sinatra/reports/index/letter=2/display/id=515&anchor=a515.
Mirski, P., Groth, A. & Schlögl, S. (2006). Relevanz und Benutzbarkeit von Weblogs für wissenschaftliches Arbeiten. Proceedings of FNMA 2006, Dornbirn, 8–9 June, 34–50.
Morrison, A.M., Jing, S., O’Leary, J.T. & Lipping, A.C. (2001). Predicting usage of the Internet for travel bookings: An exploratory study. Information Technology & Tourism 4(1): 15–30.
Nielsen, J. (2000). Why You Only Need to Test With 5 Users. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html.
Nielsen, J. (2005). Summary of Usability Inspection Methods. Retrieved September 30, 2009, from http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/inspection_summary.html.
Nielsen, J. (2008). Usability ROI Decllining, But Still Strong. Retrieved September 15, 2009, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/roi.html.
Ohnemus, K.R. & Biers, D.W. (1993). Retrospective vs. concurrent thinking out loud in usability testing. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society’s 37 th Annual Meeting, 1127–1131.
Olphert, C.W., Damodaran, L. & May, J. (2005). Towards digital inclusion: Engaging older people in the ‘digital world’. Proceedings of the Accessible Design in the Digital World Conference (ADDW2005).
Pompe, H.G. (2007). Marktmacht 50plus: Wie Sie Best Ager als Kunden gewinnen und begeistern. Wiesbaden: GWV Fachverlage.
Selwyn, N. (2004). The information age: A qualitative study on older adults’ use of information and communications technology. Journal of Aging Studies 18(4): 369–384.
Schulte, B. (2005). Zielgruppen für barrierefreies Internet. Information Wissenschaft & Praxis 56:405–412.
Stoessel, S. (2002). Methoden des Testings im Usability Engineering. In Beier, M. & von Gizycki, V. (Eds.), Usability. Nutzerfreundliches Web-Design (pp. 75–96). Berlin: Springer.
Szmigin, I. & Carrigan, M. (2000). The older consumer as innovator: Does cognitive age hold the key? Journal of Marketing Management 16: 505–527.
Todman, J. & Drysdale, E. (2004). Effects of qualitative differences in initial and subsequent computer experience on computer anxiety. Computers in Human Behavior 20: 581–590.
Trocchia, P.J. & Janda, S. (2000). A phenomenological investigation of Internet usage among older individuals. Journal of Consumer Marketing 17(7): 605–616.
van Eimeren, B. & Frees, B. (2008). Internetverbreitung: Größter Zuwachs bei Silver-Surfern. Media Perspektiven 7: 330–344.
Vuori, S. & Holmlund-Rytkönen, M. (2005). 55+ people as Internet users. Marketing Intelligence & Planning 23(1): 58–76.
Wicks, D.A. (2003). Building Bridges for seniors: Older adults and the Digital Divide. In: Peekhaus, W.C. & Spiteri, L.F. (Eds.), Bridging the Digital Divide: Equalizing Access to Information and Communication Technologies (pp. 186–196). Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Zeiger, J. (2008). GABEK III: Organisationen und ihre Wissensnetze. Innsbruck: Studienverlag.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag/Wien
About this paper
Cite this paper
Zangerl, T., Gattringer, C., Groth, A., Mirski, P. (2011). Silver Surfers & eTourism: Web Usability and Testing Methods for the Generation 50plus. In: Law, R., Fuchs, M., Ricci, F. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2011. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0503-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0503-0_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-0502-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-0503-0