Accessibility Review for FICO Dashboard Prototype
Context
One of the key initiatives for improving Discover’s mobile experience was ensuring its accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities. Accessibility is not just a compliance requirement but a critical aspect of delivering an inclusive user experience.
To contribute to this goal, I conducted an accessibility prototype review to identify barriers and provide actionable recommendations for enhancing the Discover’s mobile FICO Dashboard’s usability for diverse users. The review focused on assessing the prototype's adherence to accessibility standards, ensuring it met the needs of users with varying abilities.
The objective of the review was to identify gaps in accessibility and support the FICO team in creating a more inclusive dashboard experience. My final deliverable included a detailed report outlining prioritized recommendations and examples of accessible design improvements.
Tools: Fable
Method Used: Interview & Accessibility Prototype Review
Participants: 4 Participants who use Assistive Technologies
Timeline: 1 Month
Accessibility Prototype Review
What is an accessibility prototype review?
A Prototype Review is a session where you meet with assitive technology users and walk them through an interactive prototype. Testers provide feedback to help shape your user experience, pre-code.
Conducting a prototype review can help with the following:
Validate your design choices with an assistive technology user.
Gather feedback early in the product development life cycle.
Reduce development time down the line by addressing accessibility issues early.
Learn more about users’ needs to annotate your designs for accessibility.
Benefits of Accessibility
To generate buy-in for the accessibility review since it was going take time and resources to run the interviews, I emphasized 3 aspects of improved accessibility on design:
Overcome Barriers to Access
Accessible content lowers or overcomes the barriers to access for all users
71% of web users with a disability will simply leave a website that is not accessible
Increase Customer Base on Overall Customer Experience
1-in-4 adults in the United States live with a disability
Ensuring content is accessible allows users to more easily use your products and services and find information in general
Basic Usability for Everyone (Not Just Users with Disabilities)
Many improvements aimed at accommodating the needs of users with disabilities improve overall usability for many different types of users.
For example, providing sufficient contrast benefits people using the web on a mobile device in bright sunlight or a dark room
Results
Four participants were recruited for project. The sessions started off with interviews to learn more about their assistive technology and previous experience in the financial space. Then, prototype reviews were conducted—areas of improvement were uncovered for each participants and summaries of each participant session were delivered.
Impact
Recommendations were provided to each participant. By grounding the feedback in participants’ personal challenges, the team could better understand the day-to-day impact of accessibility barriers and prioritize fixes that would make the most meaningful difference.
Along with improving the design for accessibility, recapping the recommendations for each participant generated empathy for Discover’s users with disabilities, and allowed the product team to hear from participants directly and consider accessible issues in the design.
“It means a lot to know that my experiences are being taken seriously. So often accessibility is an afterthought, but here I feel like my voice can actually help make things better for others like me.”
— Screen Magnification Participant