PFR’s Project Manager Owain Johns, an expert in recruiting people with accessibility needs for UX and usability research, shares four tips to help you plan your next testing session in a new blog part of our digital accessibility campaign #MakeTheWebAccessible.

It’s promising to see that so many of our clients are asking us to recruit participants with accessibility needs for testing. Whereas this wasn’t such a common area of testing in the not so recent past there now seems to be a strong emphasis on making sure absolutely everyone is able to access websites, products and services.

Even at People for Research we have gone to great lengths to make sure our new website, which was launched earlier this year, is user friendly and accessible for people with accessibility needs; there have been some teething problems, but with the help of our members we have made sure the site can be used with accessibility software, particularly screen readers.

While being asked to source a larger number of accessibility participants is quite new for us, I’m sure it’s the same for our clients conducting the research. And, from our recent experience, we have picked up on a few things I would like to share from our point of view, things you should consider when testing with people that have accessibility needs.

Sourcing participants with accessibility needs for UX and usability testing to be planned and thought about carefully.

👉 Getting to and from testing

There’s a chance that if you want to test with people who have accessibility issues they may require assistance getting to the testing venue. If they’re older or have mobility problems, booking a taxi to pick them up and take back home would be a nice gesture, so make sure you factor in such costs when budgeting your project.

👉 Having the correct software

If you want to test with people who have different accessibility needs, you must ensure you tell us which software you are likely to be using. Potential participants will have experience of using different types of software, and if you are testing with visually impaired participants and only have access to JAWS, for example, we would need to know this to make sure participants are comfortable using this software. If it’s new to them, it may have a negative impact on your testing.

👉 Using familiar devices

If you don’t have the correct software, but would still like to test with someone that uses it, it may be easier asking participants if they can bring their own computer to the session. By doing this it allows them to use a machine they are comfortable using, and if you are still able to monitor or record how they access what you are testing this is probably the best way of doing it.

We have had experience of recruiting participants that used Dragon Dictation software but the UX team couldn’t get a license to install it so participants were asked to bring their own machines with them, which they were happy to do.

👉 Last-minute changes

As with all user testing there is always the issue of participants dropping out at the last minute, or simply not showing up. You should be aware that the likelihood and risk of this happening is potentially a lot higher with accessibility testing. Please factor this in when you are thinking about the numbers of people that you need to test with. Sometimes there will be people with particular impairments that can’t make it, whether it’s related to their impairment, something comes up at the last minute or they simply have no way of getting there without assistance.

Sourcing participants with accessibility needs to be planned and thought about carefully, but with more and more organisations wanting to test the suitability of their products with people that have various impairments we are steadily becoming more experienced in recruiting them as a company.

If you or your company ever wanted to discuss such requirements, just pick up the phone and we’d be delighted to discuss them with you.

Owain Johns, Head of Projects

If you would like to find out more about our in-house participant recruitment service for user testing or market research get in touch on 0117 921 0008 or info@peopleforresearch.co.uk.

At People for Research, we recruit participants for UX and usability testing and market research. We work with award winning UX agencies across the UK and partner up with a number of end clients who are leading the way with in-house user experience and insight.