User Testing

User Testing with people with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities

As with all Accessibility work it’s important to include users in the testing and evaluation of designs, including the design Patterns described in this guide. However, there are several additional considerations when working with people with cognitive impairments. For example:

• Ensure that the participation forms are easy to understand and complete. Send them to the participant in advance, and allow plenty of time for the participant to ask questions and fill in forms;

• Allow the participant to bring a carer, family member or friend to attend with them. If your tester has a guardian you should get informed consent from both the tester and their guardian;

• It helps to provide easy methods of assessing user experience or mood. For example, rather than asking for the participant to verbalize, try asking them to select from a set of 5 “smiley face” graphics from happy, through neutral, to sad.

• Ensure the person does not feel like they are at fault for making mistakes. While this is always important during usability testing, this scenario is even more likely for people with cognitive impairments.

User Testing Suggestions

Look at the User Stories in the Objectives and Patterns and they should suggest suitable tests to ensure the stories are made possible.

More general test ideas include:

• Make sure your user testing includes individuals with a range of cognitive disabilities.
• Do not just ask questions, but ask the user to do an action that demonstrates usability.
• Was the experience pleasant? How is their mood changed? Watch out for mood deterioration.
• Ask the users if they would find this easy (or possible) to do if under stress or tired;
• Ask the user if the activity was easy or if anything was hard;
• Ask the user how the interaction could be easier.
• Check if they understand any process enough to complete it with confidence.
• Watch if they can achieve the activities without asking for help or otherwise sharing private information?
• Does the user make errors trying to achieve the activities? If so, can they recover.