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Computer technology has permeated almost every sphere of daily living, bringing about many advantages and challenges for its users. This becomes particularly apparent for older people’s use of public access systems like ticket vending machines (TVM), which should be „walk-up and use systems“ but often pose challenging problems for them. Are they too old to use IT? Based on the notion that usability is not a product characteristic, but rather an interaction characteristic of product and user, this thesis aims to (a) improve the usability of a ticket vending machine (TVM) following two different approaches (teach or design) and to compare the resulting three TVM designs (original, video, wizard) regarding the usability criteria effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction, and to (b) estimate the impact of age and age-correlated user characteristics on the successful use of these functionally equivalent TVM designs with a special focus on computer literacy. In a two (age group: young, old) by three (experimental condition: control, video, wizard) factorial quasi experimental research design, 62 older (M=68 years) and 62 younger (M=25 years) participants solved the same eleven tasks in three different groups: The control group used a simulated TVM of the BVG (public transportation in Berlin, Germany), the video group watched a brief instructional video integrated into the same TVM before using it and the wizard group used a redesigned wizard interface instead. Measured user characteristics include computer literacy, control beliefs regarding technology, attitude towards TVM, computer anxiety and fluid intelligence. Results indicate that video and wizard substantially improved the TVM usability, increasing effectiveness for the older groups from 52% to 80% and 88% respectively, reaching the performance level of the younger group using the original TVM. Using the wizard, age differences in effectiveness and satisfaction were eliminated. However, efficiency (time) differences remained between age groups. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that user characteristics had a strong effect on effectiveness of BVG-TVM use, explaining 62% of the variance, but a weaker effect (36%) in the video condition and almost no effect (5%) in the wizard condition, indicating universal usability. The results suggest that the integration of minimal video instruction or a task oriented wizard design can make public access systems truly universally usable with reasonable effort and that not chronological age itself predicts successful TVM use, but age related user characteristics, which can and should be measured and designed for.

User characteristics and the effectiveness of inclusive design for older users of public access systems