The document discusses the importance of including people with disabilities in the design process. It notes that accessibility is driven by both legal requirements and business factors like market share, while design is driven by satisfaction, efficiency and technical compliance. Testing with people with disabilities provides important insights, improves products for all users, and catches accessibility issues earlier in the design process. The document provides recommendations for how to effectively test with people with disabilities, such as allowing extra time and the use of personal devices.

1. The Why, When and How
of including People with Disability in the
Design Process
UX Australia 2021
Charlii Parker
Digital Accessibility Consultant/Intopia Connect Co-ordinator
@Intopia
25 August 2021

3. What Drives Accessibility?
Access
It’s law
Market share
Social Responsibility
To provide access for all
Fear of litigation
Capturing the disability dollar
It’s the right thing to do

4. What Drives Design?
Satisfaction
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Technical
Accessibility
Satisfaction with experience
Time on task
Accuracy and completeness
WCAG Compliance
High
Low
Level
of
accessibility

5. Technical testing verifies that each function of the software
application operates in conformance with the requirement
specification.

6. Nothing
About US
Without
US

7. Outcomes
Innovation
Empathy
Insights
Usability
Drives Improvement
Builds understanding
Builds comprehension
Better products for all

9. Inception

10. Cost of fixing issues increases during the project
lifecycle

12. Personas
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/understanding-disabilities-and-
impairments-user-profiles
Claudia
Ron

13. Focus Groups

14. Designs and wireframes

15. Built Product

17. Know your user
Build a
relationship with
disability
organisations
1
Include people
with disability in
your regular test
cycle
2
Understand
disability
etiquette
3
Include a simple
and accessible
feedback
mechanism
4

18. Things to consider:
technical proficiency
software and hardware usage
(e.g. PC versus mobile)
congenital versus acquired
disability
age

19. The session
Allow more time for
usability sessions
with people
with disability
01
Allow users to
bring their own
devices if possible
02
Have an assistive
technology
specialist at the
session
03
Consider testing in
their environment
versus your office
04
Consider how
users will get to
your session
05
Pay your users for
their time and
travel
06

20. Wrap Up
• Consider accessibility early
• Don’t rely on one persons experience
• Allow users to bring their own devices
• Allow extra time for task completion
• Known usability issues are often more of a
problem for people with disabilities

21. Let’s chat
@Intopi
a
Intopia intopia.digital
hello@intopia.digita
l
Charlii Parker
Email: charlii.parker@intopia.digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlii-parker-931b1b65/