Biometric Interactions:
Usability, Accessibility and Inclusive Design Review
Biometrics? What is that?
Biometrics are the unique visible features that are assigned to each person. These distinctive features can be utilized to verify an individual on mobile applications and other interface devices. Biometric authentications can be seen in fingerprints, facial patterns, and voice. Companies such as Apple have incorporated these methods of authorization into their products. “FaceID”, “TouchID”, and Siri are prominent components on the newer models of their mobile and computer devices. The main purpose of these components is to bypass inputting a password which could speed up the process as well as offer an alternative authorization method.
Like all things, these features have limitations, I will be testing facial recognition (FaceID) on my iPhone X and the fingerprint scanner on my Macbook Pro touch bar. The tasks I will conduct will be:
- Unlocking phone and computer
- Logging into app accounts
When a biometric authorization fails several times, the device will prompt the user to input the device’s password in order to proceed. While testing out these tasks on a daily basis, I found that the facial recognition success rate depends on various circumstances. The main factors of failure are poor lighting, angles, and obstruction of an individual’s facial features. I found that most of the time these obstacles are easy to correct after the first failure. They tend to happen when I would quickly try to unlock my phone and app accounts.
Heuristic Analysis
#1: Visibility of system status
These features do not display great visibility while processing facial or fingerprint analysis. When unlocking my phone with facial recognition it only displayed a lock icon and if it failed to read my facial features, it prompts me to rescan. The fingerprint scanner on the touch bar on my MacBook Pro gives an arrow pointing to the scanner.
#2: Match between system and the real world
The icons and animations are relatively common visuals so many users can understand the meaning without having to go look up anything. The directions for setting up these biometric identifiers are straightforward and communicate a clear path.
#3: User control and freedom
These features allow for good user control and freedom. It allows users a few times to correct scanning errors before prompting them to enter the device's passcode manually. Settings allow for various customizable options with each device.
#4: Consistency and standards
A lot of Apple’s devices and interfaces are consistent throughout. Biometric authorization design can vary depending on the application, but regardless a lot of the work is done behind the scenes. Users don't really see a ton of interaction besides a quick animation during the scan.
#5: Error prevention
The technology is moderately new so of course errors occasionally happen, but the technology is improving with time. I think Apple could provide more information regarding an error. For example, when it displays “face not recognized” provide possible reasons below for failure. Was it the lighting, the angle, or was there something blocking the camera view? I think showing why the failure occurred could help prevent future scan failures.
#6: Recognition rather than recall
I don't think there is much need for a user to recall any information. The devices run the biometric authorization automatically and immediately after set up. The only “hard” part would be to find where the setup is in settings. All the user would have to do is show the face clearly to the front-facing camera and press a clean finger to the touch bar scanner.
#7: Flexibility and efficiency of use
I think there are pros and cons to biometric authentication as well as traditional authentication methods. faceID allows for a quick and touchless experience but can easily fail with outside environmental factors. FingerprintID can offer another quick experience to unlock a device but has its limitations like improper placement / the wrong finger.
#8: Aesthetic and minimalist design
The Apple devices are known for their minimalist designs and their biometric authentication is no different. Every method is clean and straightforward and highly modern. None of the features clutter the screen, they provide the proper amount of information in a visually appealing way.
#9: Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Again, I think providing more guidance after a failure will allow users to overcome future errors. Adding reasons for a specific recognition error rather than just saying “error”, will help users reverse their errors.
#10: Help and documentation
The setup of these biometric features provides a decent amount of information regarding the functionality. However, using the internet or Apple’s website would prove to be useful if a user needs additional help.
Accessibility Review
Accessibility is a measurement of a user’s ability to use products/services, the extent to and ease with which they can meet their goals. Designing with accessibility in mind enables people with a range of abilities and disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to the web
Accessibility design is inclusive of everyone. Maximizing the efficiency to reach all ability levels leads to products that anyone can use and enjoy, whatever the context. Accessibility design only widens the user pool and helps all users.
Apple’s biometric authentication methods seem to accommodate all levels of individuals. However, in the wake of Covid and mask-wearing, facial recognition has become useless due to it obstructing half of the user's face. Apple is currently working on ways to improve facial recognition with mask-wearing.
Inclusivity Analysis
Making sure accessibility is available to all backgrounds and users is key with inclusive design. It is a process-based method that attempts to include everyone when designing features. I think Apple’s biometric authentications try to include a wide variety of options for a diverse pool of users. They use clear and effective phrases and logos to communicate information. A lot of these features are quick functions that work behind the senses to make for a seamless experience.
Conclusion
After reviewing Apple’s biometric authentication on the iPhone and Macbook Pro, I believe they are here to stay. Over time they will become more accurate and advanced as cameras and audio recognition systems become more advanced. I believe these features will become more and more prominent in future technologies and I think we should get accustomed to them now before we are left behind.
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