Summary: Conduct accessibility user research and follow best practices like starting early and including users of all ages and abilities. This will help you get better user feedback and account for people with different needs.
Why accessible research
To make something that meets your user's needs, you have to understand them. The wide range of human ability means that users will have a variety of needs to be considered. There's no substitute for actual user feedback, so make sure to consider an inclusive set of users.
Guidelines for accessible research
Start early
Research can happen throughout product development, and it's best to consider accessibility early on. Run accessibility research any time you're doing research with non-accessibility users and before launching a product. Utilize early-stage research methods such as heuristic evaluation or competitive analysis early on to identify ways to improve your product for people with varying needs before beginning user-facing research methods.
Be sure to give yourself extra time to recruit for accessibility studies, as it may take additional time to recruit participants with disabilities. In addition, build in time during study sessions for participants who may have difficulty traveling to the research location or using tools remotely.
Rely on Accessibility UX research best practices
Accessibility Research Best Practices and Accessibility 101 in the Google UXR handbook will help you:
- Plan accessibility research
- Conduct internal research with Googlers
- Conduct accessibility sessions
- Turn accessibility insights into recommendations
Find more resources in the Resources for accessibility research document from the Products for All Accessibility team.
Recruit participants with disabilities
The Accessibility Trusted Testers program maintains a panel of hundreds of external accessibility users from the U.S. and Canada. You can find participants more quickly through this program at go/a11y-tt, or get additional support for accessibility research at go/UX-gaps.
You can also work with UX Infrastructure (UXI) to get help with finding participants. The UXI team is available to support Googlers build products that put users first. Visit go/uxi.
Include questions about assistive technologies in your survey
Surveys can help measure satisfaction and gain insight about the top issues that users with accessibility needs face. Consider including 1-2 optional legal-approved optional questions about assistive technology to segment respondents for accessibility needs. Make sure these questions are optional, as accessibility is considered Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (SPII).
You can also check out go/a11ysurveys for more best-practices and tips. Some tools, such as Qualtrics, have accessibility testing built into the platform (e.g., Qualtrics Survey Accessibility. Consider testing with accessibility users and assistive technology experts before launching your survey.
More resources
Roundup with some of the accessible UX research resources mentioned above, plus some more:
A11y UXR handbook
Accessibility section of the UXR handbook (go/a11yhandbook) with best practices, qualitative and quantitative research tips, and considerations per disability type
A11y Screener UXR Guidance
Document that gives UXRs things to consider when creating study screeners or using the accessibility screener template
Making Accessibility Easy
Deck by the Products for All Accessibility UXR team with examples of research and other tips
UX Pitfalls with Accessibility Considerations
Deck with UX pitfalls from the perspective of assistive technology users and people with disabilities
Cognitive Research Best Practices
Guidance for research with people who have cognitive disabilities
Unlocking A11Y Product Impact
Deck detailing a recommended UXR model that measures key building blocks of impact: Importance, Usefulness, and Improvement