In Novem­ber 2012 Rais­ing Acces­si­bil­ity con­ducted a low vision usabil­ity study for a new iPhone app with users who expe­ri­ence low vision. Rais­ing Accessibility’s pur­pose was to test assump­tions about usage of Apple devices and iden­tify essen­tial futures that all devel­op­ers should con­sider when design­ing apps. This pre­sen­ta­tion out­lines five take­aways from our low vision usabil­ity study. It details rec­om­men­da­tions for mobile devel­op­ers look­ing to cre­ate bar­rier free apps.

1. Mobile App Design and Functionality
for Low Vision Users
Penetrating International Markets
and New Demographics

2. PodCamp Toronto
Saturday, February 23, 2013
4:00 pm
RCC 359A

3. Raising Accessibility
Startup committed to breaking down barriers through technological solutions.
In November 2012 conducted a usability study observing how people who
experience visual impairment use mobile devices and interact with apps.
Partnered with Devlin Digital and Good Wally, two pillars in the accessibility
community.
Close connection with the Toronto Accessibility & Inclusive Design Meetup Group.

4. Sean Power
Project Lead on the Raising Accessibility low vision usability study.
Management Consultant for small- and medium-sized businesses with Bansal
Power.
Sits on the Board of Directors and on the Accessibility Committee for a charity in
Oshawa.
Hosted a panel discussion on disabilities in development with an international
development charity.

5. Raising Accessibility Vision
Design and develop technology that re-thinks human communication.
Develop a set of tools that solve condition-specific problems for people with
disabilities.
Make assistive technology an obsolete term.

6. Questions Answered
From which countries will your new users come in 2013 and on.
Among which demographics will your app become popular in 2013 and on.
How many of these new users experience a physical impairment.
Design and functionality recommendations for serving these disabled users.

7. Smartphone Adoption USA
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/smartphones-account-for-half-of-all-mobile-phones-dominate-new-phone-purchases-in-the-us/

8. Mobile Share of Global Web Traffic
http://impactofinformationsystemsonsociety.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/how-it-innovation-is-transforming-africa/mobile-share-of-web-traffic/

9. Reasons for Growth, Domestic and Int’l
Increased access to mobile broadband.
Price reduction for devices.
Increasingly robust app ecosystem.

10. Global Interest in Apps for Mobile

11. Regional Interest in Apps for Mobile

12. Questions Answered
From which countries will your new users come in 2013 and on.
Among which demographics will your app become popular in 2013 and on.
How many of these new users experience a physical impairment.
Design and functionality recommendations for serving these disabled users.

13. Smartphone Adoption by Demographic
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-2012/Findings.aspx

14. Population Pyramid USA 2010
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/excellent-moving-graphic-showing-us-population-pyramid-1950-to-2010/

15. Questions Answered
From which countries will your new users come in 2013 and on.
Among which demographics will your app become popular in 2013 and on.
How many of these new users experience a physical impairment.
Design and functionality recommendations for serving these disabled users.

16. Physical Disability in Int’l Markets
Some challenges in measuring disability prevalence:
Countries define disability differently.
e.g. Canada/USA prevalence at 15%, India at 2% despite weaker health
system.
Census/reporting data often incomplete.
Global Burden of Disease Survey estimates 15% of world’s population
experiences disability.
World Health Organization’s World Health Survey estimates 10%.

17. Incomplete Data on Disability Prevalence
www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/chapter2.pdf

18. Impact Solution Can Make in Int’l Markets
Physical disabilities impact lives differently:
In North America, children with poor eye vision get glasses and stay in school.
In Brazil, many children with poor eye vision drop out due to lack of access to
assistive devices.

19. Impact Solution Can Make in Int’l Markets

20. Rising Middle Class in Int’l Markets
www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/chapter2.pdf

21. Disability Among Seniors

22. Global Disability Prevalence, 45+ Years
www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/chapter2.pdf

23. Low Income Countries: High Disability
Prevalence; High Interest in Mobile Apps

24. By Country, By Age
www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/chapter2.pdf

25. Questions Answered
From which countries will your new users come in 2013 and on.
Among which demographics will your app become popular in 2013 and on.
How many of these new users experience a physical impairment.
Design and functionality recommendations for serving these disabled users.

26. The Low Vision Usability Study
Insert image of mocks of app.
Play audio of question and answer.

27. Methods Summary
Eight subjects, eight unique types of blindness.
Four tests managing controlled conditions.
Two variables: speed and accuracy during use.
Good Wally, accessibility consulting firm led by George Zamfir.
Devlin Digital Accessibility Lab.
Observe challenges, issues, surprises, or “duh” moments.

28. Recommendation 1
Make the most of audible and haptic (vibrating) alerts.
THREE OUT OF EIGHT LOW VISION SUBJECTS
WHO USED THE LOOP APP SUGGESTED THAT
AUDIBLE ALERTS WOULD BE ESPECIALLY
BENEFICIAL AND IMPROVE THEIR USER
EXPERIENCE (Power, 2013).

29. Recommendation 2
Use custom multi-touch gestures to improve navigation.
DURING OUR STUDY, SUBJECTS SOMETIMES
UNKNOWINGLY HELD THE PHONE UPSIDE
DOWN. ADJUSTING THE APP’S INTERFACE
ACCORDING TO THE PHONE’S POSITION
IMPROVES THE USER EXPERIENCE FOR
PEOPLE WITH LOW VISION (Power, 2013).

30. Recommendation 3
Use high contrast, large buttons.
CONSIDER ADDING THE ABILITY TO CHANGE
THE CONTRAST AND COLOUR OF BUTTONS IN
THE SETTINGS MENU. EVERYBODY’S EYES
WORK DIFFERENTLY (Power, 2013).

31. Recommendation 4
Think twice about how your app uses the camera.
SUBJECTS IN OUR FOCUS GROUP FOUND IT
DIFFICULT TO FIND THE OBJECT THEY HOPED
TO TARGET IN THE VIEWFINDER (Power,
2013).

32. Recommendation 5
Consider how spatial awareness might impact how users interact with your app.
SUBJECTS USING LOOP WERE UNSURE
WHERE TO HOLD THE DEVICE RELATIVE TO
THEIR FACE AND TO THE OBJECT BEING
VIEWED. MOST ENDED UP EXPERIMENTING
WITH DISTANCE UNTIL THEY FOUND AN
OPTIMAL LENGTH (Power, 2013).

33. Questions Answered
From which countries will your new users come in 2013 and on.
Among which demographics will your app become popular in 2013 and on.
How many of these new users experience a physical impairment.
Design and functionality recommendations for serving these disabled users.

34. Download the Whitepaper
http://www.raisingaccessibility.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Mobile-App-Design-and-Functionality-for-Low-Vision-Users.pdf
Sean Power @seanmpower
George Batalinski @gbatalinski
Raising Accessibility @RaiseAccess facebook.com/RaisingAccessibility
http://raisingaccessibility.com