Training in Use of the System

Initial training or on-site assistance should be provided to help new users understand the terminal and learn how to use it. When the user becomes lost in the process, it is essential that they are provided with intelligible instructions as to what to do next. Ideally, this help should be provided in more than one modality (e.g. Visual and audible instructions) and be relevant to the actions they have taken (i.e. An intelligent help facility). The ability to request the assistance of a human can be advantageous for many people with an intellectual impairment; this could take the form of a video connection to a service centre.

Rationale

Some users will find the terminal difficult to use at first but will be perfectly able to use it after some initial training or assistance. This may be true for users with any perceptual, cognitive or learning impairment. It may also be true for older users who rarely use public access terminals and find them intimidating simply because they are not familiar with them. However, many terminals are used in a place where support and help is not readily available or convenient. For example, if someone is using a bank cash dispenser for the first time, asking for assistance from other members of the public may compromise their security.

How you could check for this

Test the effectiveness of the training and training materials provided by conducting test runs with selected user groups.

During testing, the following key checks should be made:

• Assistance is available for first-time users;
• There is an intelligent help facility;
• Video help is available.