Exploring the digital native assessment scale as an indicator for building more effective user experiences

Building exceptional user experiences means designing for users of all digital skill level. An increased emphasis on personalization and, with it, adaptive interfaces exacerbates the necessity for digital inclusivity. However, how can designers ensure that they are meeting the needs of those with high and low skillsets? The research reported here employed semi-structured interviews to explore whether the Digital Native Assessment Scale (DNAS) can be used as a tool to classify users and act as a surrogate for predicting their digital profiles. Sixteen participants answered questions about their everyday technology behaviours, as well as their attitudes towards technology. Nine themes emerged through thematic analysis, however only one of these themes was associated with an even, dichotomous split between high scorers on the DNAS and low scorers on the DNAS. Therefore, the DNAS only clearly indicated digital behaviour in a limited number of issues and cannot be relied upon as a proxy for the participant characteristics to be supported in interface design.