Usability Research and User Feedback are Keys to Accessible Product Planning at Microsoft

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 3, 2006 — I strive to represent the "customer voice" for accessibility at Microsoft. My focus is on conducting research with computer users and providing the results to program managers, developers, and testers who work to make Microsoft products more accessible. I conduct focus groups and usability studies, analyze the data we receive, and recommend feature changes and improvements to product groups based on what the research shows our users need for greater accessibility.

Through my research and interaction with computer users, I help to identify problems that people are encountering with the accessible technology (AT) in Microsoft products, and then communicate that information to product groups. The challenge is to translate computer users' experiences into a compelling story, so product groups can act on the information and make product decisions with accessibility in mind. It's fun to see how people with different needs and abilities use our products, and then to think through how we can make our products more accessible and easier to use.

Getting feedback from computer users is invaluable in helping developers take basic designs and make them more accessible to individuals with a wide range of abilities. There is no way to approximate the experience of computer users with disabilities—we have to hear from them directly.

If I want to understand how someone who is blind uses a computer, for example, you might think I could just turn off my monitor and use a screen reader. But that won't really duplicate the experience of a person who is blind. My monitor may be dark, but I still have a mental picture of the user interface because I have seen it so many times. People who are blind create their own mental map to help guide them, so they navigate differently than a sighted person who is still relying on visual images. Our user research helps us to identify the disconnects in our understanding of what computer users with various abilities experience, and to figure out how to make Microsoft products more usable for people with different impairments who are using different AT features.

Windows Vista is a great example of a Microsoft product that was made more accessible through research and computer user feedback. Two years ago, I took the Windows Vista prototype to New York City for a focus group that included 30 people with disabilities and some without disabilities, so that we could get the full spectrum of how people using Windows Vista would react to the new user interface. I incorporated the group's feedback, worked with development and testing teams for implementation, and then did usability studies with the new working prototypes. I also work with the Windows Vista Technical Beta newsgroups to get feedback from people previewing Windows Vista. One live chat included 300 people, some with disabilities, some who build AT products, and others who are using accessible technology for the first time.

The feedback we received on Windows Vista was invaluable. For example, discoverability has been one of our biggest challenges. But with the new Ease of Access Center in Windows Vista, special features and settings that enhance accessibility are now easier to find, along with related AT products that can be added to a Windows computer.

Accessibility means different things to different people. During focus groups, we look at settings that fit people's different needs in the areas of dexterity, cognition, vision, speech, and hearing. We also ask a variety of questions, because we have learned that not everyone will say "I have a hearing impairment," but they will say "I sometimes have trouble hearing conversations in a crowded room." With that kind of feedback, we can recommend AT features and settings that can help every user be as productive as possible.

One challenge in working with AT is that there are so many pieces to the puzzle. In addition to the technology itself, there are many other important issues. Are industry guidelines prescriptive enough to keep up with today's technology? Are Web site creators aware of AT guidelines and do they follow them? Do users know about all of the available accessibility features and settings and how to use them?

For Microsoft and the accessibility group within Microsoft, our part of solving the puzzle is to make sure all of those pieces are working together. Through our work with accessible technology, we have the opportunity to fix many fundamental problems and the power to make computers easier to use, and that's exciting.