Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

SUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
Gold
Thursday, December 9, 2021 • Civic Design 2021
Share the love for this talk
SUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
Speakers: Sam Proulx
Link:

Summary

Did you know that the SUS creates biases in your research, affecting one in five people? That’s right!  People with disabilities, especially those who use assistive technology, are not considered by most of the questions in the SUS. As a designer for the public sector, this could lead to you making design decisions that don’t take into account 20 percent of the visitors to your website.

Key Insights

  • Traditional System Usability Scale questions can be confusing or irrelevant for assistive technology users.

  • Assistive technology users heavily customize their tools; default configurations in research labs misrepresent real-world experiences.

  • Screen reader users tend to report significantly lower usability scores than low vision or alternative navigation users.

  • Alternative navigation users choose tools based on specific tasks and physical condition, not one tool fits all.

  • Research methods involving simultaneous talking and screen reader output confuse participants and researchers alike.

  • Environmental and technical factors in usability labs often create unfamiliar, stressful test settings for disabled users.

  • Breaking tasks into smaller chunks improves research session clarity for screen reader users.

  • Inclusive design benefits from measuring usability specifically tailored to assistive technology contexts.

  • Lower usability scores can reflect long-term lowered expectations among experienced assistive tech users.

  • Fable’s Accessible Usability Scale is freely available online and invites iteration and adoption by product teams.

Notable Quotes

"I consider myself a very technical person, but the reason I can’t use the website isn’t because I’m not technical enough; it’s because it’s not working with my screen reader."

"Taking me into an assistive technology lab means using a screen reader that probably hasn’t been configured by anyone familiar with the technology."

"Alternative navigation users pick the tool that is right for the job, depending on their physical condition and task."

"Breaking tasks into little chunks avoids the confusion of talking while the screen reader is talking."

"The system usability scale didn’t consider people relying on assistive technology, so answers were often inaccurate or misunderstood."

"Screen reader users score significantly lower on usability, often reflecting the most complex interpretation demands."

"Things that can’t be measured don’t happen, so having a tailored usability scale matters for progress."

"Issues that are minor for general users represent broader usability barriers for assistive technology users."

"We invite others to leverage, evaluate, criticize, and modify the Accessible Usability Scale to improve measurement."

"Inclusive design is the most robust way to build great products that work for everyone."

Ask the Rosenbot
Kit Unger
Theme 2: Introduction
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Greg Petroff
Design is the Differentiator: Bringing New Design Innovations to a Very Antiquated and Very Large Industry
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Shahrzad Samadzadeh
What Is My Value? Two Takes and Some Mistakes
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Smitha Papolu
Theme 3 Discussion
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks Day 1
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Research Operations at Scale
2017 • DesignOps Summit 2017
Gold
Catherine Courage
The Enterprise UX Journey: Lessons From the Voyage & The Opportunity Ahead
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Erika Kincaid
Connecting the Dots: How to Foster Collaboration and Build a Strong Design Review Culture
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Jemma Ahmed
Theme 2 Intro
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks Day 2
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Patrizia Bertini
Pushing DesignOps’ Influence into New Global Markets
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Sarah Barrett
The "How" of Enterprise Information Architecture
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Julie Gitlin
Design as an Agent of Digital Transformation at JPMC
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Joel Branch
Humanizing AI: Filling the Gaps with Multi-faceted Research
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
James Chudley
Decarbonising User Journeys: How minimising enables us to do more with less
2025 • Climate UX Interest Group (Rosenfeld Community)
Christian Bason
Innovating With People: Unleashing the Potential of Civic Design
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold

More Videos

Verónica Urzúa

"If we create gaps, that means our space for change is what we want and need to do here in Latin America."

Verónica Urzúa Jorge Montiel

The B-side of the Research Impact

March 12, 2021

Michal Anne Rogondino

"They didn’t want us to fit in with their culture, they wanted outsiders to help them."

Michal Anne Rogondino

Saving Outer Space: The First UX Design System for Our Nation’s Satellites

January 8, 2024

Jemma Ahmed

"Embracing discomfort often leads to change."

Jemma Ahmed

Theme 2 Intro

March 10, 2022

Kara Kane

"An ecosystem of organizations working towards similar aims has really grown, especially in the US."

Kara Kane

Theme One Intro

November 16, 2022

Laine Riley Prokay

"If something was unclear or uncomfortable by just one person, that was an indication it had to be edited."

Laine Riley Prokay

How DesignOps can Drive Inclusive Career Ladders for All

September 30, 2021

Laura Gatewood

"Most of what makes up meaningful human communication is harder for us to access screen to screen."

Laura Gatewood Laine Prokay

Beyond Buzzwords: Adding Heart to Effective Slack Communication

September 23, 2024

Caitlyn Hampton

"On the listings team, accuracy and speed of update is paramount because agents rely on the data for their bottom line."

Caitlyn Hampton Monica Lee Jina Yoon

Compass 101: Growing Your Career In A Startup World

June 11, 2021

Hana Nagel

"Systems change is a wicked problem with many intertwined elements and no immediate way to know if your solution is right."

Hana Nagel

Turning Research Ripples into Waves

November 8, 2018

Alexandra Schmidt

"We’re often in the position of making a piece of technology work without a clearly defined problem first."

Alexandra Schmidt

Enterprise UX Playbook (Videoconference)

December 1, 2022