Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
There’s a lot to consider if you’re going to do accessibility research effectively and respectfully. Using examples from previous user research and accessibility studies she’s conducted throughout her career, Rebecca shares lessons learned and guidance to consider when planning and executing remote usability testing with participants with disabilities, including the four specific disability categories: visual, motor, hearing and cognitive.
Key Insights
-
•
Over one billion people worldwide have long-term disabilities, making digital accessibility critical.
-
•
Accessibility research must consider a wide range of disabilities including hidden ones like mental health and learning difficulties.
-
•
Pre-research calls increase participant comfort by tailoring communication and understanding assistive technology use.
-
•
Recruitment for accessibility studies takes longer and requires specificity about disability types and assistive technologies.
-
•
External recruitment vendors like AbilityNet, Fable, and Barrier Break specialize in recruiting participants with disabilities.
-
•
Many people with disabilities are motivated to participate if the product is relevant to their daily lives and the research aims to improve accessibility.
-
•
Remote usability tools often lack full accessibility and scheduling tools are particularly deficient for participants with disabilities.
-
•
Screen readers vary greatly in speed and customization; experienced users like Ben can read technical documents at 700 words per minute.
-
•
Communication adjustments such as live captioning and sign language interpreters require extra coordination in remote sessions.
-
•
Inclusive research involves focusing on product issues and accommodations rather than probing participants about their disabilities.
Notable Quotes
"Digital accessibility means making your online products usable by everyone regardless of how they access them."
"One in five people in the UK have a disability; it's about 1 in four in the US and 1 in 5 in Australia."
"People with disabilities are more willing to participate in studies if it's to make a product they use more accessible."
"If your product isn’t accessible to assistive technology, participants might blame themselves instead of the product."
"Hidden disabilities like mental health and ADHD often cause people not to disclose their needs, so anonymity is key."
"Using recruitment vendors requires very detailed and specific descriptions of accessibility needs for success."
"There’s no fully accessible scheduling tool for recruiting participants with access needs; much manual effort is involved."
"When communicating with sign language interpreters remotely, remember to address the participant directly, not the interpreter."
"Some participants prefer tasks to be direct and focused, without lengthy scenario explanations."
"Inclusive research means framing questions about how the product could be improved, not about the user’s disability."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"As more software is being built for specific personas, precise participant targeting becomes more important over time."
Kate Towsey Basel Fakhoury Oren Friedman Graham GardnerParticipant Recruitment and Management Tools
March 12, 2026
"Knowledge creation, distribution, application, and evaluation form a reusable circular process, not a linear one."
Alëna IouguinaDesigning Systems at Scale
November 7, 2018
"If you don’t have the time and organizational support, don’t do it because you only set a precedent of failure."
Sofia QuinteroBeyond Tools: The Messy Business of Implementing Research Repositories
March 10, 2022
"Always approach from a place of kindness and think about the experience you want people to have as the water that keeps trees bendable."
Bria Alexander Laura Gatewood Corey Long Daniel Orbach Laine Prokay Deanna SmithThe Big Question about Resilience: A panel discussion
September 23, 2024
"Innovation isn’t just a buzzword in design ops; it’s at the core of how we shape the future of the design practice."
Jon FukudaTheme 3 Intro
September 25, 2024
"Users were initially excited but six months later expressed frustration and uncertainty about the tool’s usefulness."
Jennifer KongJourneying toward AI-assisted documentation in healthcare
June 5, 2024
"People don’t talk about their real fears in stakeholder meetings, and that hurts research credibility."
Shipra KayanMake your research synthesis speedy and more collaborative using a canvas
January 24, 2025
"Your priorities don’t tell you what to do — your judgment makes the decisions."
Harry Max Jim MeyerPrioritization for Leaders (2nd of 3 seminars)
June 27, 2024
"Human tasks will become more complex and multi-dimensional as simple tasks get automated."
Janaki KumarInnovate with Purpose
June 14, 2018
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What human oversight processes are necessary to ensure the accuracy and relevance of AI-enhanced research repositories?
What does the acquisition of User Interviews by UserTesting mean for participants and research ops teams?
How does the process of closing the interpretive loop maintain research rigor in quantitative ethnography?