Análise da usabilidade de plataformas de e-participação do poder legislativo por cidadãos idosos

Abstract

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Public Administration allows greater efficiency and quality of government services provided to citizens and helps to promote the approximation of society and its governments. Through e-participation channels, citizens can follow the progress of projects and give their opinion on decision-making processes. However, the increase in the use of ICTs may lead to the exclusion of a portion of society that is less familiar with online tools. The elderly are a group that demands government services and actions, but they are generally less frequent users of technologies and need specific design adjustments to better interact with the digital systems interface. The phenomenon of accelerated ageing in the world can increase the population that demands these adjustments. In view of these facts, the present study sought to analyze the usability and acceptance of e-participation systems of the Brazilian Federal Legislative Power by elderly citizens. For the analysis, usability tests were carried out with 20 participants aged over 60 years, on the Senate e-Cidadania and Chamber of Deputies e-Democracia platforms. In addition, a questionnaire based on theories of acceptance and use of technologies and a post-test interview were applied. The study was conducted using design Between-subject, that is, ten participants took the test on each platform. The sessions were recorded in video, audio and screen capture for further data analysis, which was divided into three stages: classification of problems found in usability tests; tabulation of questionnaire responses by descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of the interviews with codification of the main reported points. The results showed that problems related to Information Architecture were the most frequent in e-Cidadania, in this platform important information is below the field of view, in relation to the top of the pages, requiring the user to use the scroll bar. In e-Democracia, the horizontally arranged menu also confused participants, but the Interactivity category was the most frequent on the platform. The lack of features like the search box and links for the homepage on secondary pages were frequent problems. In addition to the difficulties encountered, in general, the participants showed interest in contributing to the Legislative’s e-participation platforms and considered that these systems provide representativeness and empowerment to the citizen. However, they stressed that a more accessible language and a simpler organization of the pages could facilitate the use and boost the adoption of these platforms by the elderly. As a technical contribution, a technical report was prepared pointing out the main recommendations for adaptation in the portals, aiming at a better navigation of elderly citizens. This report was sent to the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. If the suggestions presented in this report are implemented, it is expected that the navigation of the elderly citizen on the platform will be more pleasant, and as a consequence, that the participation of this group will be more frequent.