Computer Usability: Interactive Challenges Faced by Less

Experienced Computer Users in South Africa

Guy Toko

and Ernest Mnkandla

College of Business and Economics, Department of Applied Information Systems, University of Johannesburg,

Johannesburg, South Africa

Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

Keywords: Usability, Computer Usability, Less Experienced Users, Average Users, Interactive Challenges, Computing

in South Africa, Users.

Abstract: The growing use of applications and access to the internet has increased the number of average computer

users in South Africa, as people are using applications like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and

more. The goal of the study is to identify the challenges that most South African people face when they are

interacting with computer applications, web applications, and mobile applications. The reason for conducting

the study is that lately in South Africa we have seen an increase in South Africans who have access to

computer systems, such as the use of smartphones, tablets or iPads, game consoles, and laptops. Most of the

people who are using these devices or have access to them still face challenges as to how to use these devices

or to use some of the applications that come with these devices. The paper will begin by introducing the topic.

The paper will be followed by a literature review section, which will include four topics relating to the topic

that helped the researcher to build a foundation for the research topic and to get ideas on how to do the

research. The paper will then be followed by the research methodology, and the findings of, and discussions

flowing from the study will then follow.

1 INTRODUCTION

The number of web and mobile applications has

grown exponentially due to massive internet use. The

massive growth of internet use has increased the

number of internet users, including novice and

experienced users, who interact with different types

of applications, both online and offline. Nowadays,

applications are designed to accommodate a wide

range of user groups, from young people to older

people. Applications are now intended for everyone;

applications need to be designed in such a way that

they will meet all the needs of different users, and

users should be able to use these applications easily,

without facing any problems. The more users interact

with applications, the more problems users face due

to applications being poorly designed. Studies show

that there has been a large increase in application

problems when users interact with applications.

A study was conducted in Taiwan, at the National

Taipei University of Technology, by Sheau-Farn Max

Liang, Yi-Chung Kuo, and Shu-Chin Chen, where

they had to identify usability problems in a smart TV

music service (Liang, and all 2013a). Thirty-one

usability problems were identified by different user

groups in a smart TV music service system (Liang,

and all 2013b). Most application designers fail to

design applications that accommodate the targeted

users, because they design applications without

keeping application users in mind, which leads to

users facing a lot of problems when using the

applications. For example, applications for a primary

school child are designed with a lot of bright colours,

big fonts, big icons, and so on; on the other hand, the

same application cannot be used by an elderly person

to perform his or her daily operations.

The design of primary school children's

applications can be too much for an elderly person in

terms of colour, font, and layout. For example, the

colours used in the application can be too bright or

too many for an older person, and this can cause

usability problems which can frustrate the users. In

South Africa, most applications are designed without

having users in mind, such as, for example, the South

African government’s applications, websites, and

systems. Most of the South African government’s

applications are designed poorly, and most people in

Toko, G. and Mnkandla, E.

Computer Usability: Interactive Challenges Faced by Less Experienced Computer Users in South Africa.

DOI: 10.5220/0009351302610269

In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2020) - Volume 2, pages 261-269

ISBN: 978-989-758-417-6

261

South Africa face difficulties in using both its

educational and its informational applications.

Millions of people in South Africa have internet

access, and they are interacting with millions of

applications every day online.

The growing use of applications and the growth in

access to the internet has increased the number of

average computer users in South Africa, as people are

using applications like WhatsApp, Facebook,

Twitter, Instagram, and more. The plain truth is that

different computer users require different things from

the different computer systems and applications they

use, and it is the job of the designer to meet the

different needs of users to make sure that they are

happy and fully satisfied.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Understanding Computer Usability

Usability is defined as how well a user or client can

use the product to accomplish their goals. In human-

computer interaction, the word is often used in

relation to systems and software applications, and

how well a user can use a software application or

system to accomplish their goals or tasks (Hinrichs

and Carpendale, 2011). Examples of this include the

usability of a product like a car dashboard, or a

smartphone’s software or applications. Usability can

be measured using different factors for different

products. For example, one can use the following

factors to measure an application`s usability: ease-of-

use; how easy it is to navigate information in an

application; response time when a button is clicked,

or an application`s response time; absence or

minimisation of errors; visual consistency;

efficiency; and effectiveness. There are more factors

that can be used to check an application`s usability;

those mentioned above are just a few of the possible

factors.

In human-computer interaction, the word

usability is used to differentiate a good design from a

bad design (Diah and al, 2010). Jacob Neilsen defined

usability as “one of the qualities that evaluate how

easy it is for users to use interfaces, allowing users to

perform tasks and meet their goals in clear,

transparent, agile, and useful way”. Jacob Neilsen

came up with five components that define the

usability of a system or software application. The five

components are as follows: learnability, efficiency,

memorability, errors, and satisfaction of the

application or computer system.

Today`s learning outcomes depend significantly

on online platforms and the usability of websites, and

this has encouraged designers to consider the

designing of websites, especially educational

websites (Vosilius and Lapin, 2015). Usability is a

core component of a commercially successful website

because the way a user interacts with the website has

an impact on user satisfaction. Common usability

problems of most websites, especially informational

websites, are poor or confusing navigation,

redundancy of content, and inconvenient search

(Ballard, 2015). When designing educational

websites that are to be viewed on tablets, there are

many elements that need to be considered, because

there is no consistent method focused on developing

educational websites for tablets or mobile devices

(Hinrichs and Carpendale, 2011b).

McCloskey, Loranger, and Nielsen published 111

website usability guidelines for designers to follow

when designing teenage websites. Bailey and Seals

conducted a study to evaluate one of the websites that

provide health information to teenagers by using the

McCloskey guidelines. The aim of the research was

to validate the web interface usability of a health

information website against McCloskey design

guidelines. After the experiment, the results showed

that the website`s content was well organised and

easy to use. Under the satisfaction section, the users

were satisfied enough, and they would recommend

the website to someone else (Doucet, 2015). For the

aesthetic appeal section, teenagers rated the website

lowest because they were having difficulties with

website colours. In the engagement section, teenagers

rated the site lowest in terms of it being fun to use, as

the group felt that the website was not engaging with

teenagers because it didn`t include teen elements such

as teen images, games, and quizzes.

This research was important because it showed

that it is important to take the different age groups of

users into consideration when designing applications

and systems. The research showed that, if the design

guidelines are properly followed during the design

stage, it is easy for users from different age groups to

use the application or the system (Bailey and Seals,

2016).

2.2 Understanding Computer

Interactivity

Human-computer interaction is divided into two

parts, one part being an academic discipline, and the

other part being design discipline. The academic

discipline focuses on how humans interact with

computer systems, and the design discipline focuses

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on how computer systems should be designed for

people to allow them to interact with computer

systems successfully (Waddell and all, 2016a). A

human-computer system is made up of the two core

components: the user interface core and the functional

core. The user interface is the part of the computer

system which users use to interact with the computer

system, and which accepts or captures user inputs

(Kraleva, 2017). The user inputs are then processed

to produce outputs or results for users via the user

interface, using a functional core part of the computer

system (Waddell and all, 2016b).

In the earliest years of computer systems, few

people had access to computers because the only form

of computer interaction was through the submission

of commands to the computer system (Sinha, 2010).

Computer systems were used by professionals like

academics, scientists and computer programmers, or

anyone who had knowledge about how to write

computer commands (Myers, 2002). Computers have

become part of our lives because the world we live in

is flooded with computers, from home to the

workplace (Waddell and all, 2016c). Computers have

changed the way we do things, and they have

advanced as time went. The way computers used to

look and operate in the 1970s is different from how

computers look and operate nowadays. Since people

started using computers in the 1970s, they have raised

questions about computer interfaces and how they

interact with computer systems.

In simple terms, computer interactivity occurs

when a computer responds to user inputs or actions

(Bostan, 2015a). Waddell, Zhang, and Sunda

described human-computer interaction as a

“multidisciplinary topic concerned with the

evaluation, design, and implementation of interactive

computing systems for human use and with the study

of major phenomena surrounding them” (Waddell

and all, 2016c).

An example of computer interactivity is when a

person plays computer games or video games; this

form of interactivity requires a gamer to continue

interacting with the game. Another example is when

a person interacts with the web browser to fill in a

form so as to register for an email account, with the

browser providing output to the user. What makes a

computer unique is the fact that computers are

interactive. Consider the example of a person playing

a computer game, where the person is consumed by

the game in a way that the player sees himself or

herself inside the game because the communication

between the player and the game is highly responsive.

In gaming, watching someone else playing a

computer game is not as interesting as when you are

playing the game, the reason for this being that there

is a lack of interactivity in this scenario, and this

shows how important it is for computer systems to be

interactive (Bostan, 2015b).

2.3 Computing Usability Challenges

and Principles

Many systems and application designers develop

systems without having users in mind, and, not

getting any feedback from users on what they want,

they only focus on what is documented on their

requirements document. One thing that all system

designers have in mind is that users don’t have any

technical knowledge of how systems are designed and

developed. Users know exactly what they want, as

much they don`t have any solid technical knowledge

on how systems are developed. The problem with

designing systems is that users are different, and they

all have different design requirements, which makes

it difficult for designers to design interfaces that will

accommodate all users at once. Since users have

different requirements, it is impossible for designers

to develop interfaces that are usable for the first time.

After the first interface design, designers are likely to

continue updating the interface based on user

requirements.

The usability problem is defined as a set of factors

that block users from meeting their goals or

completing their tasks when using a system or an

application, where this is caused by poor user

interface design factors and factors of the usage

context (Manakhov and Ivanov, 2016). The number

of computer and internet users has grown

exponentially, and this includes novice, average, and

super-experienced users. Given the growing number

of computer and internet users, applications should be

easy to use and learn to use, but users face problems

every time when interacting with most applications

(Alarcon and al, 2014). Alarcon, Medina, and

Villarroel conducted quantitative research to ensure

the quality of web applications. The research

analysed the usability and communicability problems

of the transactional web application of an online store

called “Ripley” to determine the application’s quality,

since the website is used by people who live in Chile.

Alarcon, Medina, and Villarroel used a heuristic

evaluation testing method to test the usability of the

application. The researchers found 18 usability

problems. Alarcon, Medina, and Villarroel's research

showed how they successfully used different methods

to find the usability and communicability problems of

the application, and this was significant because the

research showed how each problem was identified

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using each method. Medina and Villarroel's research

was limited, as they chose to analyse one

transactional web application to identify usability

problems. It may be more illustrative to broaden the

scope of the study by analysing more than five

different applications to identify the common

usability problems found in most applications. There

are many elements that separate a good interface

design from a bad interface design. A good design can

make communication between users and computer

systems more effective and easy, and help users avoid

making too many mistakes (Gong, 2009).

Gong Chao defined test methods and design

principles in human-computer interface design to

guide designers as to how they should develop their

interfaces to meet user needs. Gong Chao’s design

principles are important because they give designers

standard guidance on how their interfaces should

look. The Gong Chao design principles agree with

Schneiderman’s eight golden rules of interface

design. The principles specify the same rules that

designers should follow when designing interfaces.

The Gong Chao design principles are slightly

different from the Schneiderman interface design

rules because there are some design principles that

Gong Chao uses that are not used by Schneiderman.

For example, the following design principles, the

principle of humanity that describes that the interface

should be human-oriented, and the interface design

should not hurt users.

2.4 The Importance of Computing

Usability

Whenever a user buys any device or gadget, apart

from price, the user`s focus is on the gadget interface

and how easy it is to use the gadget, before he or she

purchases the gadget. Users are more focused on the

usability of the device or gadget. Human-computer

interaction has been part of the computing field for

more than 25 years, and it has been growing ever

since its original development. Khanum and Trivedi

conducted a study to identify which usability

evaluation methods can be used to analyse their roles

in the development of technology. The research

focused on the usability evaluation methods that are

successfully tested on. The research conducted by

Khanum and Trivedi was influential because the

study showed that the usability evaluation method

used for adults cannot be used with children, which

gives researchers a platform to try new methods to

evaluate usability for the average computer user.

is helps the researcher to note that, when doing

research for different computer users, there are

different methods used. The researcher needs to take

note not to follow the same method used for different

users. Usability helps average users who don’t have

writing and reading skills to know how to use an

application or system without having to read a

manual. A bad design can have a negative impact on

the user`s health if the use of an inappropriate font

and colour can damage the user`s eyesight or cause

eyesight problems. Different user groups can be part

of the technology design process, allowing users to

play with applications or devices and provide

comments. Different users can be testers, and they

can use the prototypes and provide suggestions to

improve the product by simply expressing their

opinions.

3 METHODOLOGY

Research methodology helps the person who is going

to read the research paper to critique the whole paper

regarding its validity and reliability [16]. The

methodology helps the author to answer two critical

questions: How was the data collected? And how was

the data analysed to come up with results? A research

methodology is an approach used to identify, choose,

process, and analyse information gathered about the

research topic (Soiferman, 2010).

3.1 Research Methodology

The research methodology that was used to gather

and analyse data for the research topic is a

quantitative research methodology. A quantitative

methodology is an approach that deals with numeric

data; the approach is used to measure the quantity of

the research topic by producing numeric data that can

be used for analytical and statistical purposes. A

quantitative research methodology depends on

standards, laws, rules, or generalisation (Slevitch,

2011). The methodology was used to collect data

from average computer users in different areas around

Johannesburg. The methodology was used to gather

data about how users navigate through different

applications and systems when they are interacting

with them. The research methodology helped the

researcher to focus on pointed, closed-ended

questions that test specific variables which derive

from the hypotheses or research questions.

3.2 Research Questions

Universal usability and ease of access and control are

some of the guidelines that should be implemented

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when any computing system is developed. However,

due to circumstances, some users may not have the

same level of computer understanding, which would

therefore limit some users and even prevent them

from using the system. This study is about the

evaluation of average users in computing interactions,

and the identification of challenges they are facing, in

order to comprehend poor user experience in some

communities in South Africa.

 What are the computing usability challenges that

have been identified when it comes to less

experienced or average computer users?

Sub-Questions

 What is the purpose of computing interactivity?

 How can computing interactivity be evaluated?

 How can the computing usability challenges of

less experienced or average computer users be

addressed?

3.3 Data Collection Strategy

A questionnaire was used for this research to collect

data from specified areas around the city of

Johannesburg. The questionnaire is a data collection

technique or research instrument that is used to

collect data or information from one or more

respondents, and consists of a set of questions that can

be closed-ended questions or open-ended questions

(Archarya, 2010). Questionnaires are one of the most

inexpensive methods for collecting quantitative data

from many people. The questionnaire allows

individuals to remain anonymous and this allows

participants to answer truthfully. The structured

questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data.

The method is used to collect very specific

information, helps to verify the previous hypothesis,

and validates previously accumulated data.

3.4 Data Analysis Technique

The data analysis technique that is used for this study

is a descriptive data statistic. Descriptive analysis is

an analytic technique used to help describe and

summarise the data collected from respondents into

meaningful information ( Rindfleich, 2008). The type

of descriptive analysis used was a measure of central

tendency, which alludes to the possibility that there is

one number that best summarises the whole set of

measurements (Johnson, 2010). Descriptive analysis

was used because the method produces results with

rich data that is collected in large amounts. The

method helped the researcher to describe or present

the raw data found into meaningful information that

people will be able to understand.

3.5 Population and Location

The research focused on adults between the ages of

18 and 55. The study focused on people who live in

the areas of Soweto, Yeoville, Randburg, and

Bellevue in the city of Johannesburg. The reason for

doing the research around the specified areas is that

most of the people who stay around these areas of

Johannesburg are exposed to computer devices, and it

was easy for the researcher to gather data from these

people compared to other areas and provinces.

4 ANALYSIS

There were 87 respondents in the survey, but only 75

provided valid responses. 63% were male

respondents and 52% were female respondents, and

they were all average computer users in South Africa.

81% were respondents between the ages of 18 and 23,

followed by 17% who were between the ages of 24

and 29. Only a few respondents were between the

ages of 30 and 45. 41% of the respondents indicated

that they live in a township, and 60% of respondents

indicated that they stay in the suburbs.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS

Figure 1: Different types of computer systems and devices.

0% 50% 100% 150%

Laptop

DesktopComputer

Tablet/iPad

Smartphone

GameConsole

DifferentTypesofComputer

Systems/devices

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265

As the figure above shows, the respondents were

asked to select the different types of computer

systems or devices they have access to; this could be

at home, school, work or any place they have access

to computer systems or devices. The figure shows that

99% of respondents have access to laptops in their

lives, followed by 95% of respondents who have

access to smartphones, 48% who have access to

desktop computers, 33% who have access to tablets

or iPads, and lastly, only 9% of respondents who have

access to game consoles. Based on the percentages of

different types of computer systems or devices that

people have access to, the results showed that most

people who stay in the townships and suburbs of

South Africa are used to using computer systems, and

that they have access to different types of computer

systems.

After the respondents had finished identifying the

different computer systems they have access to at

home, school, work or any other place, they were then

asked how comfortable they are with using computer

systems. The respondents were given different ranges

of values to choose from, the values ranging from 1

to 5, with 1 indicating strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3

neutral, 4 agree, and 5 strongly agree. 60% of the

respondents indicated that they strongly agreed that

they were comfortable with using computer systems,

followed by 40% of respondents who agreed that they

were comfortable using computer systems, while

11% of respondents were undecided on how often

they use computer systems, and 3% of respondents

disagreed with the statement that they were

comfortable using computer systems. This data

indicates that most average computer users in South

Africa are comfortable with using computer systems

on a daily basis.

Figure 2 below shows the results of questions that

the users were asked in the questionnaire. The

respondents were asked if they had ever used any

South African government systems before. This was

to find out what experiences they have had when

interacting with South African government systems,

because most people tend to use one of these systems

when performing different activities such as applying

for something, searching for information, making

payments, and more. The respondents were asked if

they have used any South African government system,

application or website before. 67% of the respondents

had used a South African government system,

application or website, and 32% had never used any of

the government systems before. Figure 2 above shows

the statements posed, and the responses given as

percentages, of the top five challenges that average

computer users in South Africa face when they

interact with South African government systems and

applications. The following sections explain the

percentages of the five challenges in the Figure 2.

4.1 I Can Find Information Quickly

The respondents were asked how easy is it for them

to find information quickly in any of the South

African government systems, applications or

websites they had in mind when responding to this

statement. 33% of the respondents found it extremely

difficult to find information and navigate through the

South African government systems, followed by 33%

who agreed that finding information in these systems

was easy for them. 10% of the respondents were not

sure whether they faced problems in finding

information or not. Based on the data we have

gathered about finding information in the South

African government systems, we can assume that

50% of people face problems in finding information

in some of these systems, and the other 50% find it

easy to find such information.

Question

Number

The questions

Strongly

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly

Agree

I can find information quickly on the system, application

or website.

33% 24% 10% 33% 15%

2 I need to learn before I use the application.

10% 14% 38% 19% 33%

3 The application provides feedback when an error occurs.

57% 29% 10% 10% 10%

The applications provide guidance or help to solve the

error.

43% 24% 19% 19% 10%

5 Actions in an application can easily be reversible.

33% 33% 19% 24% 5%

Figure 2: The Results of questions from the users.

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4.2 I Need to Learn before I Use the

Application

The respondents were asked if they need to learn

before using any of the South African government

systems, applications or websites. 33% of the

respondents strongly agreed that they needed to learn

how to operate some of these systems. 19% agreed

that they needed to learn before using some of the

South African government systems, followed by 38%

of respondents who were not sure if they needed to

learn before using some of the systems or not. 14% of

the respondents, plus a further 10% with particularly

strong views on this point, said they didn’t need to

learn how to operate the systems before using them.

4.3 The Application Provides Feedback

When an Error Occurs

The respondents were asked if some of the South

African systems, applications or websites provided

feedback when an error occured. 57% strongly

disagreed that the government systems they had

previously used provided them with feedback when

an error occurred, followed by 29% who also agreed

that the systems didn’t provide feedback when an

error occured. 10% of the respondents were neutral as

to whether or not some of the South African

government systems they had used before had

provided them with feedback when an error occurred.

10% of the respondents agreed, and a further 10%

strongly agreed, that some of the government systems

they had used before had provided them with some

feedback when an error occurred. Most people

indicated that most of the South African government

systems did not notify users about errors, or provide

feedback about the errors when they occured.

4.4 The Applications Provide Guidance

or Help to Solve the Error

The respondents were asked if some of the South

African government systems, applications or

websites provided guidance or help to solve errors

that occured. 43% of the respondents strongly

disagreed, followed by 24% who disagreed that this

was the case, while 19% of respondents were not sure

if some of the South African government systems

provided help or guidance as to how to solve an error

that had occurred. 19% of the respondents also

strongly agreed that some of the systems had

provided them with help or guidance as to how to

solve an error that had occurred, followed by 10%

who simply agreed that this was the case. This shows

that most of the South African government systems

that people have used don’t provide help or guidance

to computer users on how to solve errors when they

occur, because there is a big percentage difference

between the number of people who used the

government systems or applications and were helped,

and the number of people who did not receive any

help from the government systems.

4.5 Actions in an Application or

System Can Easily be Reversible

The respondents were asked if actions in some of the

South African government systems, applications or

websites could easily be reversed when they made an

error. 33% of the respondents strongly disagreed,

followed by another 33% who disagreed, and 19%

who were not sure if actions were reversible when an

error occured. 24% of the respondents agreed that

some of the South African government systems

allowed actions to be reversed when an error occured,

followed by 5% who strongly agreed that this was the

case.Discussion

The purpose of this study is to identify the

challenges faced by average or less experienced

computer users in South Africa when they are

interacting with computer systems, applications, and

websites. Average computer users are defined as

computer users who are not first-time computer users

and also users who are not super-experienced

computer users. They are users who use computer

systems in their daily lives, or perhaps only

occasionally, but they are not experienced, computer

users. Based on the responses we received, we found

out that most respondents have access to different

computer systems or devices such as laptops,

smartphones, tablets or iPads, desktop computers,

and game consoles. The laptop was the main device

that most average computer users have access to, with

99% of users having access to a laptop in their lives,

followed by smartphones, which 95% of people have

access to. The device that is least used is the game

console, which only 9% of users have access to.

Based on the results of the study, most

respondents find it difficult to use some South

African government systems, applications, and

websites. Most of the respondents indicated that they

strongly agreed that they needed additional help in

order to operate some of the computer systems,

applications, and websites they had previously used.

Some respondents indicated or showed that before

they operated some systems, applications or websites,

they needed to learn how to use the system or

application before they started using it. A high

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267

number of respondents indicated that some of these

systems, applications, and websites don`t provide

feedback when an error occurs, or they are not

notified that there is an error that has occurred, and

this forces them to figure out a solution to the error

for themselves. Another issue indicated by users was

that most of these systems, applications or websites

did not provide them with help or guidance as to how

to solve the errors that occurred.

Lastly, a high number of users indicated that

actions on some of the systems, applications, and

websites could not be easily reversed so as to return

to their original state, for example, by undoing some

of these actions. Based on the results gathered and

analysed, this research showed that most average

computer users in South Africa face problems that are

mainly experienced by first-time computer users, and

that these users show characteristics of first-time

computer users. The study showed the difficulties that

most average computer users face when operating

some of the South African government systems. The

following elements of a system or application design

were found to be the most common elements that

contribute to poor system or application design

among South African government systems and

applications. The elements that were identified

included the following: poor navigation, too much

content (information all over the place), difficulties in

finding information, difficulties in learning and using

the application or system, difficulties in solving

errors, actions not being easily reversible, and the

applications and systems not providing guidelines or

tips on how to perform some activities or tasks.

5 STUDY LIMITATIONS

The literature review is the most critical part of the

study or research, because the literature review will

help the researcher to determine the work or scope of

what has been done before, and it will help the

researcher to build a foundation for the research so as

to meet the research goals. For this study, the

researcher faced difficulties in finding articles dealing

with computer usability, or any articles dealing with

human-computer interaction related to the South

African study. Accessing and finding average

computer users residing in the specified areas was a

problem because most people in these areas are super-

experienced with regard to computer systems or

devices due to them having easy access to computer

systems. The data collected and analysed was small.

If a small amount of data is collected, the results

generated will be less accurate compared to having a

large sample size. Quantitative methodology is more

concerned with dealing with a large sample size

compared to qualitative methodology.

6 CONCLUSION

Through the introduction of smartphones, the

internet, and the use of social media applications in

South Africa, we have seen an increase in the number

of users of computer systems and devices, and that

these users face difficulties when they are interacting

with computer systems, devices and applications that

have been poorly designed. There has never been a

study that addresses the challenges that average

computer users in South Africa face when they are

interacting with computer applications, web

applications, and mobile applications. The goal of the

study was to identify the challenges that most average

computer users in South Africa face when they are

interacting with computer applications, web

applications, and mobile applications. The research

methodology that was used to gather and analyse data

for the research topic is a quantitative research

methodology.

The methodology was used to gather data about

how users navigate through different applications and

systems when they are interacting with computer

applications, web applications, and mobile

applications. The questionnaire was used as a data

collection instrument for this research, drawing from

specified areas around the city of Johannesburg. The

study showed that most average computer users in

South Africa face problems that are mostly

experienced by first-time computer users, and the

users showed characteristics of first-time computer

users when interacting with computer systems and

applications. There were five challenges that were

identified, which most average computer users in

South Africa face when they are interacting with

computer systems.

The top five challenges faced by average

computer users in South Africa are the following:

difficulties in finding information on the computer

system or in the application, a need to learn more

about applications and computer systems, an absence

of feedback when an error occurs, no guidelines

provided to solve errors, and actions cannot be

undone once performed.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

For this work I would like to thank Mr J Nazeer for

conducting the research, my supervisor Dr G Toko for

his support and cooperation in the development of the

work, and the Department of Applied Information

Systems at the University of Johannesburg for

making sure this research work was a success.

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