Accessibility

In this video, our user researchers discuss how they make sessions accessible.

Accessibility is a fundamental requirement for modern society, but people often have different understandings of what the term means. Simply put, accessibility means removing barriers to access.

Some people may think of accessibility in terms of physical access, like ramps for wheelchair users, or braille added to signs in public spaces. People often also use the word accessible to mean “online” – for example, thinking that putting a government service online makes it easier for people to access, because you could do so from home.

All of these are relevant examples. A ramp allows wheelchair users physical access to buildings; braille allows some visually impaired people access to information; and online services mean people do not need to travel to an office or fill in physical forms and post them in order to use those services.

However, accessibility means more than putting things online or addressing one type of disability or impairment.

Accessibility means removing all barriers for anyone who is trying to access information or use a service. It means making online website designs and content clear and simple enough so that most people can access it without needing to adapt it, and those that need to adapt it can do so easily. It also means providing offline/alternative support for those who cannot access online information.

Everyone has the right to be treated equally and fairly, so we need to do the work to ensure that this happens when it comes to government services. Prioritising accessibility shows respect for people’s time, needs, and lived experience. It makes people feel valued and supported, and empowers everyone to live their life independently.

Accessibility in user research

As we learned in the previous steps, it is important to be inclusive in user research, which means that you should always include disabled people and people with other impairments or health conditions in your user research.

This is because government services need to work for everyone, and you will not understand the diverse range of needs that people have unless they are included in user research.

Disabilities and impairments can affect people’s vision, hearing, mobility (motor skills), voice (speech), or understanding (cognition).

When conducting user research, it is essential to include people with different types of disability and impairment so that you can understand their diverse needs, as well as how they interact with technology. There are many different types of assistive technology that allow people to use technology, and it is vital for digital services to be designed to be compatible with these.

We will not cover these in detail here, but if you would like to know more, remember that Government Campus UK has a course here on FutureLearn – Accessibility in Government: Getting Started.

Early versions of services frequently have compatibility issues with different software and technologies, so it is important for these to be picked up during user research and testing, so that they can be fixed before a service goes live.

As well as testing for accessibility issues, you also need to ensure that your research sessions are accessible themselves. Be aware of who your participants are and what their needs are and only ask them to participate in research sessions that you have ensured they will be able to participate.

As a user researcher, you are not expected to know absolutely everything, but you should always advocate for inclusion and you should have a general understanding of different types of disability and impairment, and different assistive technologies that people use.

If you are ever unsure, you should work with accessibility specialists to design your user research plan, or even ask the participants themselves – the individual is the expert in their own condition, so just ask!

However, while it is essential to include disabled people or people with known impairments or health conditions, there is another aspect of accessibility that you must consider during user research. Both disabled and non-disabled people often face additional and unexpected difficulties when trying to access government services, which are called temporary or situational.

A temporary barrier to access is an impairment, such as an injury or illness that temporarily affects someone’s ability to live like they normally would.

For example, a permanent impairment to hearing might be somebody who is permanently deaf or hard of hearing. A temporary impairment might be an ear infection that causes hearing loss, which is likely to get better over a period of time.

A situational barrier occurs when a person’s immediate surroundings or environment – the ‘situation’ they are in – affects their ability to access something.

For example, someone trying to make an important phone call on a busy train might struggle to hear the person they are talking to, or they might not be able to speak clearly enough to be heard by an automated voice recognition system.

As user researchers, you are not expected to ‘test’ for every sort of possible situation, but you can gain a lot of insight into how and when people use services simply by asking them.

For example, asking people when they most often access government services, or if they can think of anything that disrupts them from using them when they do can reveal a lot of information about situational impairments. People frequently conduct important tasks during their commute in busy or noisy environments, or try to squeeze in some time between evening tasks, such as household chores or childcare.

If you are able to gain these insights during your user research, as well as all the vital information about the needs of your disabled users, then the service can be built to meet all these diverse needs, which means that it will work better for everyone.

This is one of the best advantages of accessibly designed services. No matter your personal circumstances, accessibility means services are generally easier to use, so they make life simpler and more convenient for everyone.