Summary
Practicing meaningful inclusion in your research and design work requires learning from a wide range of users, including people with disabilities. Still, applying your existing UX principles and methodologies towards accessibility research can feel daunting for practitioners who rarely get to work with assistive technology users and people with disabilities. Join Kavana Ramesh, a UX Researcher at Fable with hundreds of hours of accessibility research, as she shares a reflective framework for how to build confidence in your team.
Key Insights
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Inclusive design originally targeting users with disabilities often drives innovations embraced by all users, such as captions and dark mode.
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Over 50% of Americans and 85% of UK Netflix users watch content with subtitles, demonstrating broad appeal of accessibility features.
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Fear and lack of experience with assistive technology create barriers for many UX researchers starting inclusive research.
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Practitioners benefit from watching videos and observing real sessions with assistive technology users to reduce apprehension.
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Users of assistive technology should be empowered as experts in research sessions to balance power dynamics.
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Assistive technology acts like an additional participant during research sessions requiring researchers to navigate multiple audio and interaction streams.
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There are three main categories of assistive technology to consider: screen readers, screen magnifiers, and alternative navigation tools.
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Research metrics may need adaptation; time-based measurements are less meaningful than tracking blockers or pain points for users with disabilities.
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Accommodations and adaptations during research sessions should be flexible, focusing on equity rather than strict equality.
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Direct demonstrations, like Tim’s use of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, reveal subtle interaction challenges and workarounds crucial for inclusive design.
Notable Quotes
"Captions were initially designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but over 50% of Americans also watch content with subtitles."
"Inclusive design leads to innovation by engaging with the outliers and building empathy toward problems experienced by assistive technology users."
"Trying something new can feel very daunting, especially when we’re rarely exposed to people with disabilities in our day-to-day work."
"Just being transparent when you fear that you lack knowledge and reminding users you’re there to learn helps empower their voice."
"Assistive technology is like another person in the room during a research session, and you have to understand that presence too."
"Practice with different assistive technology users and their unique setups is essential — confidence comes with exposure over time."
"When your preferred navigation method fails, the experience is like an elevator being broken and having to take the stairs — it’s tedious, slow, and frustrating."
"Offering accommodations during sessions creates an equitable space, even if it means adapting protocols on the fly."
"Accessibility barriers exist not just in the real world but also extensively in the tech space for people using assistive technology."
"Everyone benefits from thinking about accessibility and inclusion at any point in time in research or design work."
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