what does it take to get from barrier-free to delightful experiences?

What does it take to get...From Barrier-Free to Delightful Experiences

Whitney QuesenberyWQusability and Center for Civic Design@civicdesign | @whitneyq | @webforeveryone

We create the future.Disability can produce a radical new direction in mainstream design -Graham Pullen

Accessible. But usable? Used?

UX and usability = independence

Push the boundaries

Usability Accessibility Accommodation Assistance

Thanks to David Baquis, Access Board, for this taxonomy

Disability The outcome of the interaction between a person and barriers.

International Classification of Functioning (ICF)

UsabilityThe effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which the intended users can use a product to meet their goals

ISO 9241-11

AccessiblityThe usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities.

ISO 9241-20

Universal usability: creates delight

Designing for delight begins with a balance of small pleasures and consideration.

http://www.thedelightfulexperience.com/

User experience:a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service. ISO-9241

People want feel as if they are being paid attention to and that their needs were anticipated.

http://www.thedelightfulexperience.com/

Think of an experience that you found delightful.

What we expectLow expectations

High expectations

Wha

t we

get

Bad

expe

rienc

eGo

od

expe

rienc

e

Low expectationsBad experience

Expectations met

Low expectationsGood experience

Pleasant surprise

High expectationsBad experience

Uh-Oh

High expectationsGood experience

Expectations met

Focus on the impact on people

Type of problem What it means

Slammed doors(critical)

Barriers that stop someone from using an app or feature successfully – or at all

Frustrating(serious)

Problems that slow someone down, or force them into work-arounds

Annoying(moderate)

Things that make the experience less pleasant (maybe even enough to leave)

Noisy(minor)

Minor issues that damage credibility but are unlikely to cause problems

What does it take...

...to make accessible UX

It takes...

... working to strong principles

1. People first: designing for differences2. Clear purpose: well designed goals3. Solid structure: built to standards4. Easy interaction: everything works5. Helpful wayfinding: guides users6. Clean presentation: supports meaning7. Plain language: creates conversation8. Accessible media: supports all senses9. Universal usability: creates delight

It takes....

... applying UX tools to

design for everyoneDesignthinkingforeducators.com

http://Designthinkingforeducators.com/

colorsafe.co

It takes....

...designing tools for

every UX perspective

civicdesign.org/fieldguides

It takes....

....cheering even small steps

It takes...

...a team

To make something as simple as a heading...• A UX researcher identifies user needs.• An information architect suggests keywords.• A content strategist plans the tone.• A content author writes the text.• A web producer tags it as a heading.• A visual designer decides on its

appearance.• A web specialist creates the style.• And the tech team makes sure the servers

are running.

I feel like technology is finally catching up with what I truly need.

Glenda Watson Hyatt DoItMyselfBlog.com

Principles for Accessible UX

1. People first2. Clear purpose3. Solid structure4. Easy interaction5. Helpful wayfinding6. Clean presentation7. Plain language8. Accessible media9. Universal usability

Clear purpose: well-defined goalsHow can an experience be as delightful on every single device?How can we use the native features of a device to make the world more accessible?

Solid structure: Built to standardsWouldn't it be delightful if our tools and frameworks were more accessible "out of the box"?

A big hat tip to @AccessibleJoe and all the folks working on making Wordpress and 25% of the sites in the world accessible

Easy interaction: Everything worksIt's delightful when with the things people need to be accessible are "just there" when and where they need them.

Helpful wayfinding: guides usersCan new, delightful features be "born accessible"?

Clean presentation: Supports meaning

If we make people read things, perhaps we should make the easier to read.

Citizenship should not be a design challenge

How can we make all the legal, regulatory, and instructional material easier to understand, so we can all participate in civic life?

Plain language: creates a conversationCan we support people who don't read well, or just want an easy way to learn, mixing text and images.

Sandra Fisher Martins - www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP2y0vU7EG8

Accessible media: supports all sensesCan we make it visual and acessible? Sure!

Synchronized audio+textHow can we make feaures like captions (or synchronized text) useful for everyone in surprising and delightful ways?

Graham Pullen, author of Design Meets Disability

Sadly, this screen has changed, and now it's a single video of the speaker with the slides and transcript in separate files.

Can we make complex pages simpler?

OpenIDEO.com

Accessible UX needs diversityPeople with different interaction styles make user research more valuable.

Recruit "people" not "disabilities" Aptitude

motivation, emotion, risk tolerance, persistence, optimism, tolerance for frustration

Attitudecurrent knowledge, ability to make inferences or innovate solutions, expertise, habits

Abilityneeds and preferences for interaction and display, digital and reading literacy

http://www.slideshare.net/danachisnell/character-creator



Expand your recruiting reach Be explicit about

being inclusive Use snowball

methods Go where the

people are

Aim for a rich viewTake time to ask how they work now

Get them to show you the sites they use (or even find delightful).

Explore what features are valuable, what barriers tolerable (or not)

Go back over interactions to see why and how they worked well (or not-so-well).

Be open to different ways of using the web

Are your research sessions flexible enough to adapt to a range of interaction styles?

Are you open to variations in how they complete tasks?

Are you flexible about the length of time for each session?

Can you adapt the session to react to unexpected barriers?

Be prepared. Don't panic.Sharing a web address or task instructions

Set up bookmarks Have easy-to-type page with links Send a text message

Getting past accessibility barriers Decide in advance how (and when) you will

assist with problems. Be prepared by knowing the site well. Know when you will abandon a task or ask

them to persist.

It takes....

.... managing the many layers Pace layering concept from Stewart Brand, The Clock of the

Long Now

It takes....

.... managing the many layers Pace layering concept applied to changes in digital

technology

Be an ^ superhero:Create a new perspective

Photo: blog.metmuseum.com: Alexander McQueen legs, designed for Aimee Mullinshttp://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/tag/no-13/Aimee Mullins: My 12 pairs of legs: http://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_prosthetic_aesthetics.html

accessible UX

http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/tag/no-13/

Whitney [email protected]@whitneyq

A Web for Everyonerosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-for-everyone@awebforeveryone

Center for Civic [email protected]@civicdesgin