Building bridges into accessibility research
Ayala Gordon & Sara Cunha
Associate Director for Digital User Experience & Senior User Researcher
University of Southampton
How do you build a bridge that can be used by everyone and anyone?
The World Health Organisation reports that 1 billion people worldwide live with some form of disability, which makes up about 15% of the global population. Unfortunately, disabled users are often overlooked in mainstream research, leading to their needs being overlooked as well.
At the University of Southampton, we are working towards a cultural shift to change this. We believe that accessibility is a crucial part of UX, and our research should be as diverse as the people who inhabit our planet.
When it comes to the topic of inclusive design, you often learn about the 'why' but no one tells you about the 'how'. Accessibility is a key aspect of inclusive design. A great user experience means that people will choose to use your product and brand over others. In fact, it may position your brand or product as the only viable option that comprehensively meets their access needs.
In this talk Sara and Ayala will cover some tips, steps and lessons learnt when it comes to setting up accessibility research and practice.
Key takeaways
Principles for setting up accessibility research in a large, complex and ‘traditional’ organisation
Consideration for ethics, data protection and best practice
How to bring about the cultural change needed to make it happen
About your speaker
Ayala Gordon (She/her) is Associate Director for Digital User Experience and headed the OneWeb digital transformation programme at the University of Southampton.
Jargon aside, Ayala is responsible for the countless conversations, collaborations and compromises that are helping the University reimagine and redesign its services in a user-centric way. Ayala believes that making life easier for users makes life easier for everyone. The key to successful audience engagement lies in understanding their needs and meeting these in the way they expect. Beyond user-centered design and digital transformation, Ayala’s passions include reading, long walks, watching her data, and putting up with whoever has control of the family music channel!