Accessibility as a focus for people-first design

David Sloan

UX in the City: Manchester

5th May 2017

A story…

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ultrafez/4143657721

In UX, we seem to be struggling with the effect our work has on people

Silicon Valley’s biggest failing is not

poor marketing of its products, or

follow-through on promises, but, rather,

the distinct lack of empathy for those

whose lives are disturbed by its

technological wizardry.Om Malik, Silicon Valley has an Empathy Vacuum http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/silicon-valley-has-an-empathy-vacuum?intcid=mod-latest

…we often hear, “We’re designing for the

90%, not the 10%.” That’s classic edge-

case thinking: a shorter way of saying,

“That’s a difficult use case that I don’t

want to think about.” That’s why we think

the concept of stress cases is so

valuable.

Eric Meyer and Sarah Wachter-Boettcher, Design for Real Life

If we have an ethical obligation to be more compassionate in our designs…

…then we have a professional obligation to develop knowledge and skills to surface edge-or stress-case scenarios and design to accommodate them

Inclusive UX as an approach to putting people first

Photo: Flickr user Caroline Davis 2020

https://medium.com/digital-experience-design/how-to-apply-

a-design-thinking-hcd-ux-or-any-creative-process-from-

scratch-b8786efbf812

Dan Nessler, How to apply a design thinking, HCD, UX or any creative process from scratch

Usability issues detected by disabled people often affect other user groups

I can’t make sense of

this table, and I need to

compare accounts.

I guess I’ll just have to

make my own

comparison table.

Talking to disabled people can uncover evidence of the negative impact of business-focused (or unintentional) design decisions

I missed the express

train announcement

because it was only

on the loudspeaker.

I’ll have to take the

slow train back 10

stops.

The Velvet Rope—Henny Swan on Accessible UX Designhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZExvZEjvtk

Involving disabled people in UX activity

I encourage you to fail in interacting with

people with disabilities because you will learn a

bunch. You will learn what not to say and what

people care about.

You’ll learn about where the obstacles are—

both the designed, physical barriers and the

constructed emotional ones that exist within

yourself.Wendy Chisholm, sp1ral.com/2014/04/

Photo: Flickr user @nearnearfuture

Designing an inclusive research activity

Recruitment

whohowwhywhen

Photo: Wikipedia Folla_in_piazza_del_campo.jpg

Accommodating participants

CommunicationLanguage

Accessible location

DeviceResearch stimuliEnvironment

Sharing the results

Sharing results in an impactful way

Personas and scenariosJourney mapsVideo vignettesTriaged issue listA business case for further work

By concentrating solely on the bulge at the

center of the bell curve we are more likely to

confirm what we already know than learn

something new and surprising.

Tim Brown, Change By Design

Bell Curve

UNLESS someone like you

cares a whole awful lot,

Nothing is going to get better.

It’s not.

Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Thank you!

@sloandr