Accessibility Testing with Blind People
Image credit: Thirdman
We were faced with a unique situation where a client wanted to run an Online Survey for Blind people. The instructions read, ‘Please complete this survey if you have a complete loss of vision.’ This was not the best approach for a couple of reasons:
Less than 1% of the world’s population is blind, which makes it challenging to find a high number of blind people who are signed up to a standard consumer market research panel or community. It is therefore advisable to work with a specialist agency or charity that has access to blind participants (or participants with other accessibility needs). You can use a project manager or researcher as your point of liaison between you and the agency.
A survey or quantitative methodology isn’t user-friendly for people who can’t anticipate being asked to participate.
Solution: By using a different methodology such as qualitative interviews with small groups of blind participants (3-5 people), you can get detailed insights.
Types of methodologies: You could conduct research with blind people, either in-person or online through videoconference. Interview one person at a time to give them your complete attention.
An in-person session in a specialist venue, will allow you to observe their body language and steer the research in the direction that you need.
If conducting online interviews, you will want to ensure that the research and recruitment teams have prepared them well in advance, ensuring they are technically equipped to participate in the research—this may include familiarity with screen readers, product compatibility, and technical checks to ensure that the participants’ devices are ready to go.
You may wish to spread your interviews over 2-3 days and account for last-minute cancellations or no-shows (they are likely to happen, after all, you’re dealing with people)
Create a comfortable environment:
As screen readers can take longer to navigate, build in an extra 45-60 minutes per interview. The moderator should know some basic screen reader commands and have some knowledge of steering the interview in the appropriate direction. The moderator would be required to make them comfortable during the interview process, using empathy and patience.
Participants must be guided to share their screens, test if their mic, cameras, and speakers work, and provide insights. The moderator must be able to steer the research in the right direction, in a manner that encourages participation from the people being interviewed.
Observe how the participant completes the task in their natural environment; avoid interrupting, but you may guide the participant gently if there’s prolonged silence. Confirm that the participant has a stable internet connection, and the surroundings are quiet.
During the interview:
Start out by introducing yourself, explaining the purpose and end goal of the research.
Cover any privacy concerns that the participant might have. Focus on 4-5 key tasks that you wish to achieve by the end of the research. Too many tasks will increase participant and moderator fatigue.
Give clear and concise task instructions, e.g., ‘Find product X’ or ‘Where on this website would you find Product X?’
At the end of the session, ask the participant if they think you forgot to ask them anything or cover certain topics.
After the session:
Make sure to thank the participant for their contribution and time.
Make sure to compensate them fairly. If you’re using a specialist agency, they will arrange compensation.
Ask debrief questions such as ‘What worked well?’, ‘What was challenging for you?’, or ‘Any suggestions?’
Be open to feedback that participants give on improving the research.