User characteristics

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which of these is a user characteristic?

A A user's age and how much experience they have with apps

B The colour of the company logo

2. A primary school student is the main user of a reading app. Which design choice fits their age?

A Short sentences, large buttons and simple words

B Long paragraphs and technical jargon

3. Which user characteristic does this describe: 'The user is colour blind and cannot tell red from green'?

A Technical experience

B Disability

4. True or false: Technical experience is a user characteristic that affects how much help an interface needs to give.

A True

B False

5. A tradie uses a quoting app on a building site in bright sunlight, wearing gloves. Which sub-theme of user characteristics is this?

A Age

B Device and environment

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Age: 68, retired		AContext: outdoors, bright sun, phone screen
2Uses a screen reader (vision impairment)		BUser characteristics are facts about the users, not the designer's own preferences
3Technical experience is a user characteristic: a first-time user needs clear guidance and plain steps		CA user characteristic about age that may mean larger text and simpler steps are needed
4Device and environment is a user characteristic: a user in bright sunlight on a small phone needs high contrast and big buttons		DAssuming all users share the same characteristics. Users differ in age, ability, experience and context.
5User characteristics: the colour theme the designer likes best		EA disability characteristic that means the interface must work with audio tools and have alt text
6All users are Year 11 students, so every user has the same needs		FExperience: first-time user, never used an app

Definitions

user characteristics

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

userAge = 8 if userAge _ 10: simpleWords = True

____________ = True if screenReader: addAltText()

experience = "beginner" if experience __ "beginner": showTutorial()

______ = "phone" if device == "phone": layout = "single"

noisy = True if _____: showCaptions()

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A if age < 8

B use_big_icons = True

C use_simple_words = True

Question 2

A if vision == "low":

B font_size = 24

C screen_reader == True

Question 3

A experience = "beginner"

B if experience == "beginner":

C show_tutorial = True

D show_help = False

Question 4

A device = "phone"

B if device == "phone":

C button_size = "tiny"

Question 5

A place = "outdoors"

B if place == "outdoors":

C screen_contrast = "low"

Answer Key

User characteristics

Section A: Quick Questions

A — A user's age and how much experience they have with apps

A — Short sentences, large buttons and simple words

B — Disability

A — True

B — Device and environment

Section B: Match the Pairs

Age: 68, retired → A user characteristic about age that may mean larger text and simpler steps are needed

Uses a screen reader (vision impairment) → A disability characteristic that means the interface must work with audio tools and have alt text

Technical experience is a user characteristic: a first-time user needs clear guidance and plain steps → Experience: first-time user, never used an app

Device and environment is a user characteristic: a user in bright sunlight on a small phone needs high contrast and big buttons → Context: outdoors, bright sun, phone screen

User characteristics: the colour theme the designer likes best → User characteristics are facts about the users, not the designer's own preferences

All users are Year 11 students, so every user has the same needs → Assuming all users share the same characteristics. Users differ in age, ability, experience and context.

Section C: Definitions

user characteristics — Facts about users, like age, abilities, experience, language and where they use a device, that affect how they use an interface and what it needs to do.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

userAge = 8
if userAge < 10:
    simpleWords = True

screenReader = True
if screenReader:
    addAltText()

experience = "beginner"
if experience == "beginner":
    showTutorial()

device = "phone"
if device == "phone":
    layout = "single"

noisy = True
if noisy:
    showCaptions()

Section E: Spot the Error

A — The if line is missing its colon. It should be 'if age < 8:'. Age is a user characteristic, so young users get big icons and simple words.

C — This line uses == (compare) when it should use = (assign). It should be 'screen_reader = True'. Low vision is a disability characteristic, so a screen reader should be switched on.

D — Beginners have little technical experience, so they need help to be shown. It should be 'show_help = True'.

C — Phone users tap with a finger on a small screen, so buttons should be large. 'tiny' buttons would be hard to press. It should be 'button_size = "large"'.

C — Sunlight causes glare on a screen, so the environment calls for high contrast. Low contrast would be harder to read. It should be 'screen_contrast = "high"'.