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Accessibility Research at ServiceNow

San Diego Accessibility & Inclusive Design Meetup

Jaime Young

Mgr, Platform Foundations, UX Research & Insights

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Safe harbor notice for forward-looking statements

This presentation may contain “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us only as of the date of this presentation. Forward‑looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward‑looking statements. Further information on these and other factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors,” set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. We cannot guarantee that we will achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in our forward‐looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward‐looking statements. The information on new products, features, or functionality is intended to outline our general product direction and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, is for informational purposes only, and shall not be incorporated into any contract, and is not a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, �or functionality. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described �for our products remains at our sole discretion. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, �to update the forward‑looking statements.

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about me

10+ yrs in dentistry
10+ yrs in UX (researcher & product designer)
Background: psychology, interaction design & information architecture, product mgmt, scrum, etc.
Worked in various industries: gov, startups, agency, enterprise

Human centered

Accessibility

Today at ServiceNow

Official introduction in graduate school via director (linguistics specialist)
NIST: aging
Thesis/publications
I was a caregiver
Previous work: UX, branding, design systems, started COEs

Platform Foundations =

Accessibility
Globalization
Design System
Platform Analytics

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accessibility — the bigger picture

1.3B

An estimated 1.3 billion people experience significant disability. This represents 16% of the world’s population, or 1 in 6 of us - WHO, 2023*

*world health organization: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health

**Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/793952/disability-in-the-us-by-age/

WHO estimates that more than one billion people need one or more assistive products.

As the global population ages and occurrence of noncommunicable diseases rises, the number of people needing assistive products is projected to increase beyond two billion by 2050*

Percentage of people in the United States with a disability as of 2019, by age**

1B+

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We see accessibility guidelines as a starting point, then drive towards an amazing, usable, user experience.

what ServiceNow values

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our collective team and shifting left

Accessibility through teamwork and high collaboration.

Quality Engineering

Design & Content

Research & Customer Outreach

Product Mgmt.

Program Mgmt.

Engineering

Center of Excellence

Business Units and Platform

Sales

Release Mgmt.

Legal

Customer Support

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Tech Support

Training

Finance & Procurement

Human Resources

Data Insights

Marketing

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what does research do

What we do

We build a comprehensive understanding of the problem space and our users—who they are, their needs and pain points, and what they expect in �a solution ensuring that we build the right products

We study how users interact with our products and identify key areas for improvement elevating the product experience, increasing adoption, �& generating value for �our customers

We partner closely �with Design, Product, & Engineering throughout the product lifecycle identifying areas for exploration or validation, prioritizing key learnings, & influencing product roadmaps

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when do we conduct research

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how do we connect with users (examples)

Interviews

Workshops

In person or virtual

Contextual Inquiry

(Silent Observation)

Surveys

How we connect

with users

In product or via email

In person or virtual

In person preferred

We select appropriate methods based on the research question, �persona, and workflow

Multi-day company visits including workshops, interviews with users, �and observation

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accessibility research approach

Company-wide strategy

Business unit execution

Operations/scaling

Impacting key strategic areas of focus re: global product team
Effecting high-impact change and informing overarching goals like shifting left
BU agnostic efforts
Examples:

Success metrics point of view
Accessibility CSAT

Product/BU specific research
Primarily testing on people with disabilities to answer questions, identify usability/WCAG issues, and drive the roadmap
Example:

Reflow prioritization
Keyboard shortcut

Scaling research and ensuring fluidity:

Researcher enablement
Tooling and vendor evaluations
Org specific & company-wide training
Participant panels creation

Responsibilities and impact

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who do we connect with

Visual

Auditory

Speech

Cognitive

Physical

What types of disabilities we focus on

There are 5 disability categories, 3 groups, and 17 functional limitations. A person’s disability does not define who they are, it is a variable of their being.

Permanent

Blind

Deaf

Muteness

Autism

Amputation

Temporary

Lost glasses

Ear infection

Laryngitis

Sleep deprivation

Broken arm

Situational

Bright sunlight

Party with loud music

Heavy accent

Distracted while driving

New parent

Functional Limitation Groups

Colorblind, partially sighted/low vision, legally/totally blind

Low auditory loss, nearly complete/complete auditory loss

Trouble speaking/cannot speak at all

Memory, solving problems, focus, learning/understanding

Missing or paralysis/limited use of limbs, dexterity

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examples

Testing directly with people with disabilities

Remote, rapid usability testing

Alternative (headmouse & switch) navigation

Physical impairment severity: total paralysis of all limbs

Screen reader navigation

Visual impairment severity: legally/totally blind

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Research methods don’t necessarily change, the multifaceted considerations is what changes. Be creative!

Educate yourself around what to say, what not to say, and all the assistive technologies available

For evaluative types of research, start with audits and/or heuristic evaluations before-hand to rule out obvious issues

Every touchpoint needs to be accessible, including the research tools used — prevent systematic drop outs!

Recruitment can be a challenge. Start with who you first have access to.

When talking to a user, don’t hesitate to ask to slow down their AT (like screen readers) or explain something. There are no “dumb” questions.

6 tips and tricks for conducting accessibility research

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Thank you

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