Different types of people with different abilities and characteristics will need to take part in research and usability testing.
Older people and people with disabilities
Older people and people with disabilities may use products and services differently. They often use additional software or hardware, use different interaction methods, and have adaptive strategies and other technology setups to support their needs.
People with visual impairments (particularly those who are blind) are often the focus of usability testing as they experience the most challenges in digital platforms and journeys. However, as there are many different types and severity of access needs, it’s essential to include people with different abilities and skills, as the design may require other solutions to improve access.
Try to include people with the following disabilities:
Remember that not everyone fits into a neat category, and some people may have more than one disability.
Target users
Based on budget, time and resources, recruit people with access needs based on your target users and where it will have the highest impact. Use the following as a guide to incorporate people with access needs into usability testing:
- At least 3-5 people for each category of disability.
- A mix of beginner to experienced users.
- A variety of ages from 16-65.
- People with diverse backgrounds.
It’s important also to include people who:
- Have limited digital skills.
- Have poor literacy skills.
- May need extra help and support using the product/service.
Recruitment
When doing research and usability testing, you’ll need to recruit older people, people with disabilities and people using assistive technologies to participate.
You may be able to find people internally to help you, such as the Enable Network (Nationwide’s colleague disability network). Be careful using colleagues for testing public services as their internal knowledge may cause them to use the service differently and bias your results.
For external support, you may need to pay:
- A recruitment agency (such as People for Research) to help you recruit participants with access needs.
- Expenses to help participants participate in research and testing, including a guide, taxis, or someone to help with communication, like a sign language interpreter.
Vision disabilities
Vision disabilities cover a broad range and severity of conditions, from blindness and low vision to mild visual impairments such as colour blindness.
You should include up to 4 participants with different visual impairments:
- Someone who uses a screen reader.
- Someone who uses magnification software.
- Someone with low vision – this can include wearing glasses or using browser-based tools to resize text or adjust contrast.
Try to find participants who:
- Use different operating systems, e.g. Windows or Mac, iOS and Android.
- Use additional software, e.g. JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, ZoomText).
Assistive technologies behave differently on different devices and systems, so including a variety in testing helps identify a broader range of issues.
Hearing disabilities
Hearing disabilities include deafness or difficulty hearing. People with hearing disabilities (particularly those who use sign language) may not understand written information well.
You should include up to 2 participants with hearing disabilities:
- Someone who is Deaf – may use Sign Language.
- Someone who is hard-of-hearing – may use a hearing aid or lip read.
- Someone who is Deafblind – may use a Braille display.
Physical disabilities
Physical disabilities range from the inability to use your arm due to injury, difficulty using both hands or little to no control of your arms or legs.
People with physical disabilities may use both hardware and software to assist them.
You should include up to 3 participants with physical disabilities:
- Someone who uses a keyboard only.
- Someone who uses an adaptive switch, e.g. Sip & Puff device, joystick or compact button switch.
- Someone who uses speech recognition, e.g. Dragon Naturally Speaking, Voice Control, Voice Access.
Cognitive disabilities
Cognitive disabilities are the most common type of disability. There are many different types and variations of cognitive disability.
You should include up to 3 participants with cognitive disabilities:
- Someone with limited comprehension.
- Someone with limited problem-solving skills.
- Someone who has difficulty focusing on tasks, e.g. anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Someone who has difficulty reading, e.g. Dyslexia.
- Someone with short-term memory loss.