Testing accessibility
Guide dog app
Period:
May 2023
Work method:
Teamwork with Gøril Eriksen and Rune Tyvold
My roles:
Researcher
Analyst
Facilitator
Content writer
Prototype creator
Problem solver
The brief
We made a sign-up form for a local guide dog association where we had to focus on individuals with sight limitations. This sign-up form is part of an app and will be used by volunteers to register as foster homes for guide dogs or individuals with sight limitations who need foster homes for their guide dogs.
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This project contains sketches, low-fidelity wireframes, a prototype and documentation about our user test
—as descriptions of how we implemented best practices and guidelines regarding forms on mobile devices
and accessibility.
This is Grethe
She is a 69-year-old vigorous lady who loves spending time with her grandchildren and travels worldwide. Previously, she worked as a teacher, but now she is retired and have more time to pursue things that give her joy and happiness.
Unfortunately, a year ago, the doctors discovered that Grethe had developed glaucoma. This disease can cause vision loss and blindness, damaging the nerve in the back of the eye called the optic nerve. She has gone untreated for too long, and her vision has already been significantly impaired. Because of her eye disease, she has been assigned a guide dog that will help her be active in everyday life and keep her company while her husband works in the daytime.
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Having her guide dog with her during travels abroad can be difficult; sometimes, she needs someone to take care of the dog. Previously, she had to cancel her plans because no one could watch over her dog while she was away.
Motivations
Spending time with family and friends.
Worldwide travels.
Goals
Flexibility in her life to travel.
Train her guide dog to help her more.
Needs
Someone to look after her dog while she is away.
Easy access to book a foster home for the dog when needed.
Frustrations
Adapt to live with sight limitations.
High-stress level because it is difficult to find people to watch her guide dog.
I would very much like to live life to the fullest even though my sight is gradually getting worse.
How can we help Grethe book a foster home for her guide dog?
Start with guidelines before sketching
Consistency and proximity are essential when developing designs for mobile devices for people with sight limitations. As a team, we needed to have some common agreements about accessibility guidelines before sketching.
01 Simple
Group information and input fields in a logical order. If possible crunch down the process in several steps to avoid cognitive overload.
02 Straighforward
Group information and input fields in a logical order. If possible crunch down the process in several steps to avoid cognitive overload.
03 Consistency
Group information and input fields in a logical order. If possible crunch down the process in several steps to avoid cognitive overload.
From first sketches to a prototype
We did several rounds of iterations with both paper sketches and digital wireframes. We wanted to see if the elements had optimal size and contrast. Would a screen reader or magnifier work? The prototype was built with focus states to mimic how a screen reader would work with the app. This caused more tapping but gave a more realistic feel based on our experience with a native screen reader.
Usability testing
During the test, we used the concurrent think-out-aloud (CTA) and the retrospective probing (RP) to hear what the participants were thinking throughout the test and receive the information we needed to see how they interacted with the product with low vision.
We chose to conduct two tests. One at 100% zoom to see how the elements worked, and one at 300% to ensure the form was functional when enlarged.
Analysing results
We used Figjam to create an affinity mapping to conclude action points, and we did this to obtain the most important observations. We used the Moscow technique to select the design changes to determine what we should iterate on and what was most important.
Design iteration
In general, the improvements considered language, proximity and flow. We made improvements based on the feedback we received from the participants and created a new prototype for future testing.
01
01
Change the app's name to avoid confusing the users (straightforward language).
02
03
02
Size up the checkboxes and make the tapping area include the checkbox text to make it more effortless to tap this area (navigation/flow).
04
04
Changing the width of the dates summary to make it easier for people using magnifiers to read the summary (navigation/flow).
03
Changing the placement of buttons nearer other elements (principle of proximity).
What next?
Accessibility, in general, is one crucial area a UX designer must have knowledge about.
There are different types of impairment we must acknowledge, and those should not be a limit to the use of technology or products. We should all strive to design for most people!
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Regarding the guide dog app, we should continue to execute usability tests focusing on accessibility and iterate our way up to a high-fidelity prototype. The improvements implemented already will make the solution even better, but the look and feel of the app should be the next thing to develop.