A cognitive ergonomic approach for user code design from PIN-code to face

Abstract: The overall goal the research upon which this thesis is based concerns the development of personal security coding that is superior to today's systems that use digit-based codes. In exploring alternate coding strategies, emphasis has been on identification of methods/systems that are more user-friendly. Within populations such as the elderly and disabled, there are groups that experience considerable difficulty when using today's personal identification systems. Speed of movement and rapidity of recall are some of the challenges faced by these two groups that the line of research reported in the thesis seeks to address. Four studies and a narrative summary are contained in the thesis. The four studies report on the following: Study I. The aim of the study was to gather empirical data on the use of code focusing among disabled persons. It was conducted during the exploratory phase of a larger research program dealing with security and memory aspects on codes used in different contexts. Study II. The study purpose is to compare how well people remember two types of codes: picture codes and number codes. Study III. The main objective of this study was to test whether the residential experience in an other-race country effects face recognition performance. Study IV. In this paper the processes of usability evaluation of codes that are based on portraits of human faces is described.