Human Factors Research On The Navigation Design Of Mobile App For The Elderly

The navigation system of smartphone app is a guiding mechanism for users to search information on the app interface,which helps users find the path to reach the target information.In the face of the aging population and the growing number of elderly mobile Internet users,the design of smartphone app navigation for elderly users needs to explore the reasonable collocation of navigation information architecture and navigation mode,on the basis of the balance between the breadth and depth of navigation information architecture.Focus group and experiment were adopted to investigate the performance and cognitive load of the participants searching under different collocations of navigation structures.The research consists of three parts: Research 1 is aimed at determining the types of navigation design elements and the preference degree of elderly users for each type through focus group,additionally exploring the potential demand of elderly users for navigation structure.Research 2 is aimed at finding out the turning point of the performance from good to bad in single-layer compared with double-layer through experiment,so as to determine the maximum breadth of single-layer.The mixed experiment-5(the breadth of information architecture: 4,5,6,7,8)×2(the depth of information architecture: single-layer,double-layer)was adopted.The depth is the within participate variable and the breadth is the between participate variable.The dependent variable is the reaction time.Research 3 is aimed at exploring the reasonable collocation of the depth and breadth of navigation information architecture,as well as the reasonable collocation of navigation information architecture and navigation mode through experiment,when the number of the items in single-layer doesn't exceed 5?6 and the total number of the items in the bottom layer is 16.The mixed experiment-3(navigation information architecture: 4×4,2×2×4,2×2×2×2)×3(navigation mode: square navigation,tabbed navigation,side navigation)was adopted,navigation mode is the within participate variable and navigation information architecture is the between participate variable.The dependent variables are reaction time,optimal path rate and cognitive load.The results showed:(1)The main effect of depth is obvious,the reaction time of the participants in double-layer is obviously longer than that in single-layer.The interaction effect of single-layer and double-layer is obvious.If the breadth is 4,5 or 6,the navigation performance of single-layer is obviously better than that of double-layer.If the breadth is 7 or 8,the navigation performance of the two structures has no obvious difference;(2)In terms of the reaction time,the main effect of navigation information architecture is obvious.The reaction time of the participants under 2×2×2×2 structure is obviously longer than that under 4×4 structure and 2×2×4 structure.The main effect of navigation mode is obvious.The reaction time of square navigation is obviously shorter than that of side navigation,which is shorter than that of tabbed navigation to some extent;(3)In terms of the optimal path rate,the main effect of navigation information architecture is obvious.The optimal path rate of the participants under 2×2×2×2 structure is obviously lower than that under 4×4 structure and 2×2×4 structure.The main effect of navigation mode is obvious.The optimal path rate of square navigation and tabbed navigation is both obviously better than that of side navigation.The interaction effect of navigation information architecture and navigation mode is obvious.Under 2×2×2×2 structure,the optimal path rate of the three navigation modes is obviously different;(4)There is no obvious difference in cognitive load under the three kinds of navigation information architectures and the three kinds of navigation modes.There is also no obvious interaction effect between the two variables.Conclusions:(1)The needs of elderly users for navigation design are mainly reflected in two aspects:(1)The requirements of navigation information architecture: being familiar with X-type classification and preferring to use it;hoping that the classification standards are identical and consistent with cognition;hoping that the hierarchy is clear and the target information is not hidden too deep;(2)The requirements of navigation mode: the most preference for square navigation,followed by tabbed navigation,the lowest preference for side navigation;better to combine different navigation modes;(2)The number of the items in single-layer of navigation information architecture should not exceed 5?6;if the total number of the items in the bottom layer is 16,the depth is no more than 3 layers;(3)When elderly users use square navigation,the reaction time is shorter and the path is better;when using side navigation,the reaction time is longer and the path is worse;the performance of tabbed navigation is centered.