A guide on, how to integrate Accessibility with User Centered Design Lifecycle.

1. Accessibility and UCD
Shyamala Prayaga

2. What is Accessibility?
 Accessibility defines, making the interface usable for
everyone irrespective of age, ability and situation

3. How experts define accessibility?
 Accessibility is about designing user interfaces so that
more people can use your product effectively in more
situations.

4. How do I define disability?
 Functional Limitations
 Situational Limitations

5. Functional Limitation comprises
 Visual
 Auditory
 Physical
 Speech
 Cognitive
 Neurological

6. Functional Limitation

7. Situational Limitation comprises
 Using the Web on a mobile phone when your eyes are
busy (such as driving)
 in bright sunlight
 in a dark room
 when your hands are busy
 in a noisy environment (where you can't hear well)
 in an emergency (when you may not be thinking clearly)

8. Situational Limitation

9. How disabled people use interfaces?
 Using assistive technologies, which are software and
hardware that people with disabilities use to improve
interaction with products

10. Examples
 Screen readers that read aloud what's
on the computer screen for people
who cannot see or read text
 Voice-input software and switches for
people who cannot use a keyboard or
mouse

11. Examples
 Alternative Keyboards, are
programmable keyboard with a variety of
overlays designed for individuals with
limited fine motor control.
 Mouse Alternatives like trackball are
pointer alternatives that replace the
mouse on a Macintosh or PC. Some
individuals with fine-motor-control
limitations and/or range-of-motion
limitations find a track ball or track pad
easier to use than a standard mouse.

12. What is User Centered Design?
 Also called UCD is an approach to interactive system
development that focuses specifically on making systems
usable. It is a multidisciplinary activity

13. Phases of UCD
 Analysis
 Design
 Evaluation

14. The Analysis Phase
 Vision, goals, objectives
 User analysis
 Task analysis
 Information architecture analysis
 Workflow analysis

15. The Design Phase
 Conceptual/mental model, metaphors, design concepts
 Navigation design
 Storyboards, wireframes
 Detailed design
 Paper or other low-fidelity prototypes
 Medium-fidelity prototypes, for example, online mockups
 Functional, high-fidelity prototypes

16. The Evaluation Phase
 Design walkthroughs, cognitive walkthroughs
 Heuristic evaluations
 Guidelines reviews
 Usability testing: low fidelity through high fidelity; informal
through formal

17. UCD at a glance

18. Incorporating Accessibility in UCD
UCD is a process for
designing usable
products
Accessibility can be
approached as a
subset of usability

19. How does accessibility fits into UCD?
 Business and usability goals include meeting accessibility
requirements
 Understanding user characteristics includes users with
various disabilities
 Environmental aspects for a mobile device include
hands-free operation
 Workflow scenarios include use of an assistive technology
 Usability testing includes participants with disabilities

20. Benefits
 Increased Usability
 Increased Market Share and Audience Reach
 Improved Efficiency
 High ROI (Return on Investment)
 Demonstrate Social Responsibility

21. Accessibility + Analysis Phase = How?
 Including Accessibility Considerations for User Group
Profiles
 Including Accessibility Considerations in Personas
 Including Accessibility Considerations in Scenarios

22. What are User Group Profiles ?
 User group profiles describe the characteristics of product
users, that is, the people who use a product.
 Demographics
 Job responsibilities and tasks
 Frequency of use (for example, daily, a couple times per
week, once per month, once per year)
 Hardware (for example, laptop or desktop, processor
speed, monitor resolution)
 Environment (for example, shared office, private office, shared
public terminal, home)
 Software (for example, operating system, browser version)
 Computer experience
 Task knowledge (i.e., how well do they understand the task that
they are doing, as opposed to understanding the application
itself)

23. Including Accessibility Considerations
for User Group Profiles
 Demographics: statistics on age-related disabilities
 Frequency of use: information about loss of short-term
memory, which would impact the memory load required
by the design
 Hardware: information about fine motor control issues
that can make using a mouse difficult, and make
pressing small buttons difficult
 Software: information on visual impairments and that
some may have large fonts set in their operating system
or software (for example web browser), and may use
screen magnification software or screen readers.

24. What are Personas?
 Personas are hypothetical archetypes of actual users.
 A persona includes specific
characteristics, demographics, and experience levels
from a user profile, for example, a specific hardware and
software configuration.
 Additional information in personas are personal details
such as behaviors, attitudes, motivations, and goals.

25. Including Accessibility Considerations
in Personas
 Personas that include accessibility considerations
includes a description of the limiting condition (disability
or situational limitation) and the adaptive strategies for
using the product, such as:
 Nature of limitation (for example, blind, unable to use
mouse, operating in noisy environment)
 Special tools or assistive technology used (for example, uses
a magnifying glass to read text smaller than 16 point, uses
screen reader software, stops machinery to hear mobile
phone)
 Experience and skills with the relevant tools or assistive
technologies
 Frequency of use of relevant tools or assistive technologies

26. What are Scenarios?
 Scenarios are individual, fictional accounts of workflow
data
 A scenario is a description of a persona using a product
to achieve a goal
 Scenarios are usually narratives that tell a story describing
one or more tasks in a specific environmental situation

27. Including Accessibility Considerations
in Scenarios
 Scenarios that include accessibility provide details on
how a persona in limiting conditions interacts with the
product using an assistive technology

28. Accessibility + Design Phase = How?
 When developing the conceptual/mental
model, metaphors, design concepts, and navigation
design, ensure that the range of functional limitations is
considered
 Integrate accessibility in your high fidelity prototypes as
per standards and guidelines such as WCAG, American
Disability Acts, etc

29. Accessibility + Evaluation Phase =
How?
 Consider accessibility for heuristic evaluation
 Incorporate accessibility into design walkthroughs
 Conduct usability testing with participants with disabilities

30. What is Heuristic Evaluation?
 In a heuristic evaluation, specialists judge whether each
design element conforms to established usability
principles

31. Consider accessibility for heuristic
evaluation
 To conduct a heuristic evaluation for
accessibility, accessibility specialists judge whether
design elements conform to accessibility principles
 Guidance on heuristic evaluation for accessibility is
mentioned in below standards
 Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act, Subpart C:
Requirements for Accessibility and Usability
 Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Subpart C -- Functional
Performance Criteria

32. Design Walkthroughs?
 The purpose of a design walkthrough is to find potential
usability problems by envisioning the user's route through
an early concept or prototype

33. Incorporate accessibility into design
walkthroughs
 Focus on specific accessibility issues during regular
walkthroughs
 Conduct walkthroughs specifically for accessibility

34. Usability Testing?
 Usability testing provides quantitative and qualitative
data from real users performing real tasks with a product

35. Conduct usability testing with
participants with disabilities
 Usability professionals can evaluate some aspects of
accessibility by using standard usability testing
protocols, with a few modifications for including
participants with disabilities

36. Questions?