Designing Accessible Research Workflows
Summary
What makes us human in human centered design? How can we optimize our workflows to respect our participants? Phil will talk through his experiences of creating inclusive research workflows which respect participants rights and agency and how they've managed to operationalize and scale them for hundreds of researchers around the world.
Key Insights
-
•
One in five research participants will have an accessibility need, highlighting the critical importance of accessible design research.
-
•
Accessibility extends beyond disabilities to situational impairments, such as using a phone in bright sunlight.
-
•
Most accessibility improvements require a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach rather than a single expert.
-
•
Waiting for perfect accessibility is less effective than starting somewhere and iterating regularly.
-
•
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 focus on four key principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
-
•
Automated tools like Google Lighthouse can speed up accessibility audits, though human testing remains essential.
-
•
Non-technical accessibility barriers, such as literacy levels and comprehension of legal language, significantly impact informed consent.
-
•
Nearly 45% of UK adults read at level one or below, limiting their ability to understand complex research consent forms.
-
•
ConsentKit’s modular approach to consent content allowed faster sign-off times and empowered less-experienced researchers.
-
•
Regular dedicated time blocks like 'Fix It Fridays' create sustainable momentum for accessibility improvements.
Notable Quotes
"One in five of those people will have an accessibility need of some kind."
"Accessibility really is a moving target; starting somewhere and iterating is better than waiting for perfection."
"Systems and tools who didn't consider accessibility upfront exclude many people and isolate them from the wider world."
"Not all accessibility needs are obvious – even someone with vision changes related to aging develops needs over time."
"The web content accessibility guidelines emphasize thinking about different ways people interact with our content."
"Automated testing tools saved us several days of manual testing and helped prioritize work more effectively."
"Nearly half of adults in the UK read at a literacy level that makes understanding complex documents very challenging."
"Language in consent forms doesn’t have to be complicated; plain language and user-centered design can make it accessible."
"We reduced the time to approve consent forms from two weeks to minutes through modular content and legal collaboration."
"Fix It Fridays are a dedicated time for the team to fix accessibility issues and make steady progress."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"I didn’t invest enough in slow and steady relationship building early on, and that led to major shifts."
Scott Jensen Sarah Delaney Carmen LiuShort Take #2: UX/Product Lessons from Your Industry Peers
December 6, 2022
"It’s sure to end the conference on a high note."
Sarah BrooksTheme Three Intro
November 18, 2022
"Whatever you were a year ago, whatever you believe design ops looks like today, don't let those be moment prisons for you."
Jon FukudaTheme One Intro
October 2, 2023
"Please be sure to make sure you change your conference itinerary to your local time zone."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
March 29, 2023
"Our brains are wired for efficiency and use heuristics, so they prefer daydreaming over hard conversations."
Joshua GravesWe Need To Talk: Navigating Conversations with Your Boss (Part 1 of 3)
April 14, 2025
"We had to allow people to grieve first before we could make a plan for healing."
Kyria Stephens Marlon KernerPower to Heal: Civic Design in the Aftermath of Tragedy
November 17, 2022
"At IBM, projects felt like following a recipe, but at Compass, I can promote my ideas and see how they work, which is very satisfying."
Caitlyn Hampton Monica Lee Jina YoonCompass 101: Growing Your Career In A Startup World
June 11, 2021
"Our job as design teams is to teach others what we do, not to feel insecure about sharing."
Louis RosenfeldDiscussion: What Operations can teach DesignOps
November 6, 2017
"UX skills are like secret superpowers you bring to any job, even if it’s a small company or non-tech field."
Rachel GarbExit Interview #7: Facing a blank slate in retirement when constraints are all you’ve ever known
August 5, 2026
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
Is there a plan to integrate third-party UX content or futures thinking into Rosenverse?
What practical advice does Kritika give for working with AI as a collaborator in unfamiliar design areas?
How might cultural figures like Taylor Swift influence future movements demanding fair treatment of creators in AI?'