Most people talk about UX with no mention of inclusive design. And, many talk about UX with no mention of user engagement. Both are problematic.
If design decisions aren’t inclusive of the diverse needs of the people interacting with it, then how can a diverse range of people have a great experience?
If design decisions are made without engaging with the people who will use it, then how likely will the design match their expectations?
What is a great user experience?
Ask 5 people that question, you will get 5 answers and they will likely focus on only one aspect of the experience. One person will say, “Make it easy to use.” Usability is essential, but does it still use unethical design patterns? Another will say, “Make it accessible.” Accessibility is vital, but does the design still ignore other social identities?
Social identities include our race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, class, religion, disability and sexual orientation. Many studies have examined stereotype and social identity threat, confirming that we experience anxiety, worry and decreased performance when our social identities are devalued by others.
Users
The term “users” should only be used for adding scope, not for “othering” like they/we are some strange species. Users are simply the people who interact with our designs. It has been widely documented by psychologists and neuroscientists that people need to feel understood, respected and valued1, so the same is true of our users.
Experience
An experience with a product starts as soon as we consider it for our needs, that is, before we actually use it. So, the copy and imagery used to market the product starts the users’ experience.
Great User Experience
A great user experience provides ease of access and efficiency of use, honors diversity and does no harm, such that we feel understood, respected and valued.
Great experiences require more than accessibility and usability. Many studies have confirmed that we experience anxiety, worry and decreased performance when our social identities (race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, class, religion, disability or sexual orientation) are devalued by others.2
How do we create great user experiences?
Design for inclusion. We must ensure the design is accessible, usable, equitable and ethical. This cannot be achieved by guessing and relying on our biased assumptions. We must include the people who will use the product throughout the entire design process from concept through maintenance (O&M).
Inclusive design is a framework for meeting diverse needs and expectations by collaborating with the people the design will serve, having diverse representation within teams, and focusing on the design’s impact on their experience.
As a framework, inclusive design is not a step-by-step process, but rather it provides a structure for tackling the key components for designing great, inclusive user experiences.
Designing for Inclusion
I’ll discuss each component of the inclusive design framework.
Meet diverse needs and expectations
Accessibility, usability, equity, and ethics are the inclusive design qualities that people need and expect:
Accessible design minimizes barriers so that content and features can be accessed and used regardless of one's permanent, situational or temporary disabilities in the areas of: hearing, motor, vision, speech, and cognition.
Usable design ensures goals can be achieved effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily by accounting for ability and limitations in the areas of: perception, memory, attention, learning, language, and reasoning.
Equitable design respects diversity and is void of bias against any social identities to include: race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, class, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
Ethical design does no harm by being transparent, honest and protects individual rights, safety and privacy.
Each of these quality measures have their own set of guidelines, principles or standards. Here are a few resources to learn more:
- Accessibility – https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-principles/
- Usability - https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
- Equity by Design - https://www.newamerica.org/oti/reports/equity-by-design/
- Digital Design Ethics - https://www.digitaldesignethics.com/
Taking the time to address each of these qualities of the design, ensures we account for the most impactful aspects of the users’ experience.
Collaborate with the people a design serves
A critical factor of inclusive design is not relying on our assumptions for making design decisions as our assumptions are limited to our personal experiences and unconscious biases.
There are a variety of methods for getting to know and collaborate with our users. This list is not comprehensive but offers some of the most common methods:
- Contextual interviews allow us to learn an individual's goals, motivations, processes and pain points through open-ended questions and observation.
- Diary studies are used to collect information about user needs and behavior by having people record their activities and experiences in a journal over a period of time.
- Accessibility testing ensures designs meet accessibility standards that account for various abilities and limitations.
- Usability testing provides an opportunity to observe and listen while participants interact with a design to complete realistic tasks.
- Participatory design (or co-design) is an approach to design where people who will use the product have an active role in the design process.
Inclusive design requires that we challenge our assumptions, learn from diverse lived experiences, and make design decisions with the people the design will serve.
Have diverse representation within teams
The value of having a diverse design team cannot be overstated. We each bring our limited experiences to our work. So, a team of people with vastly different lived experiences can “learn from each other and voice divergent opinions.”3
The result is diversity of thought, which increases opportunities to recognize which segments of our audience we might be excluding from the design process and identify what adverse experiences we may be neglecting to mitigate. “Innovation depends on people from various backgrounds working together and capitalizing on their differences.”4
Systems tend to exhibit the same prejudices and misperceptions held by their human programmers.
- Willie Jones (IEEE Spectrum)
Focus on impact
The success of a product is tied directly to the design’s impact on the users’ experiences.
For example, putting the accessibility work in the backlog to address post-launch means some people will not be able to complete their tasks. Or, failing to take the time to ensure language and imagery respect and welcome a diverse audience means some people will feel ignored or offended.
Designing for inclusion is essential and the impacts it has on the experience can be mapped to UX design metrics:
- When people experience an accessible design, it improves success rates.
- When people experience a usable design, it improves time on task and minimizes error rates.
- When people experience an equitable design, it improves overall satisfaction.
- When people experience an ethical design, it improves trust.
The impact of our designs can range from great to harmful and every design decision has the potential to include or exclude the people whose experiences we are designing.
Worldwide, 44% of consumers feel they are not fully represented by the people they see in ads.
- YouGov, 2021
Final Thoughts
Each and every user/person we engage and collaborate with brings a wealth of insight about the impact of our designs; insight that our teams would not otherwise have gained.
To design great user experiences, we have to know how people experience our designs. To know how people are experiencing our designs, they have to be included in the process.
As designers of experiences, we must do our due diligence to ensure people do not feel alienated, misrepresented nor underrepresented by the products, services and spaces we design. It is our responsibility to add value to people's lives and do no harm.
References
[1] Ting-Toomey, S. (2005). Identity negotiation theory: Crossing cultural boundaries. Theorizing about intercultural communication, 211-233.
[2] Derks, B., Inzlicht, M., & Kang, S. (2008). The neuroscience of stigma and stereotype threat. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 11(2), 163-181.
[3] Post, C., De Lia, E., DiTomaso, N., Tirpak, T. M., & Borwankar, R. (2009). Capitalizing on thought diversity for innovation. Research-Technology Management, 52(6), 14-25.
[4] Herring, C. (2009). Does diversity pay?: Race, gender, and the business case for diversity. American sociological review, 74(2), 208-224.
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Note: An abbreviated version was originally published on Instagram Inclusive Design – a UX Design Framework (May 24, 2021)
Thanks for reading. If you know anyone who would find this useful, please share. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact me.
