Enhancing Mobile Accessibility for All Users

We’re all about diversity, right? Well, one thing I’ve noticed is that there’s a curious lack of conversation about how to test and design for neurodiversity. We talk about how we can ensure accessibility, but what about ensuring accessibility in terms of cognitive ability? Studies show that up to 20% of the population is neurodivergent. As more information emerges about how diverse human brain function can be (and how this diversity can be the basis of many unique strengths), it’s time that we started exploring how we can ensure cognitive accessibility in digital experiences. Neurodiversity exists on a wide spectrum, everything from dyslexia to autism spectrum disorders. For researchers and businesses designing with neurodiversity in mind, I have a few tips to guide the process. 1. Be mindful of sensory thresholds when conducting research with neurodiverse users. Minimize environmental elements that could be overwhelming for individuals with sensory processing disorders, such as bright lights, intense animation, and loud sounds. 2. Keep user interfaces simple and to the point. Be intentional about creating a visual hierarchy that gives clear directives. Using legible fonts helps keep users focused. Give your neurodiverse users the option to adjust some features during their digital usability experience—font size, background color, screen contrast, etc. This takes into account the fact that neurodiversity is unique to each individual and that digital experiences will vary from user to user. 3. Throughout testing, provide clear and consistent feedback to users as they move through the digital experience. Give plenty of visual and auditory cues to actively eliminate ambiguity around what actions lead to what results. If you’re ready to start integrating these principles into your products, an accessibility audit could be a good place to start, or you could initiate a pilot project focused on enhancing cognitive accessibility. These practical steps will help your designs and applications become more accommodating for neurodiverse users.

Imagine this: you’re filling out a survey and come across a question instructing you to answer 1 for Yes and 0 for No. As if that wasn't bad enough, the instructions are at the top of the page, and when you scroll to answer some of the questions, you’ve lost sight of what 1 and 0 means. Why is this an accessibility fail? Memory Burden: Not everyone can remember instructions after scrolling, especially those with cognitive disabilities or short-term memory challenges. Screen Readers: For people using assistive technologies, the separation between the instructions and the input field creates confusion. By the time they navigate to the input, the context might be lost. Universal Design: It’s frustrating and time-consuming to repeatedly scroll up and down to confirm what the numbers mean. You can improve this type of survey by: 1. Placing clear labels next to each input (e.g., "1 = Yes, 0 = No"). 2. Better yet, use intuitive design and replace numbers with a combo box or radio buttons labeled "Yes" and "No." 3. Group the questions by topic. 4. Use headers and field groups to break them up for screen reader users. 5. Only display five or six at a time so people don't get overwhelmed and bail out. 6. Ensure instructions remain visible or are repeated near the question for easy reference. Accessibility isn’t just a "nice to have." It’s critical to ensure everyone can participate. Don’t let bad design create barriers and invalidate your survey results. Alt: A screen shot of a survey containing numerous questions with an instructing you to answer 1 for Yes and 0 for No. The instruction is written at the top and it gets lost when you scroll down to answer other questions. #AccessibilityFailFriday #AccessibilityMatters #InclusiveDesign #UXBestPractices #DigitalAccessibility

Accessibility vs. Usability — A Real-World Example from Mobile App Testing While testing a mobile app, I came across an intriguing case I wanted to share. There’s a single label — “Date of Birth (Required)” followed by three dropdown fields: Month, Day, and Year. Each uses a floating label, meaning the label appears inside the input field and disappears once the user starts entering data. All three fields are dropdowns — even for the year. On iOS with VoiceOver, navigating through decades of options is extremely frustrating. You have to swipe through dozens (sometimes hundreds) of items just to reach your birth year. From a strict accessibility perspective, it technically works: 1. All fields are accessible by swipe 2. All fields work with an external keyboard So there’s no clear WCAG violation. But this is where we must go beyond compliance and think about real users. Just because something meets the guidelines doesn’t mean it provides a good user experience — especially for people relying on assistive technologies. My recommendation is to provide a manual input option as an alternative, with proper input restrictions (e.g., numbers only for day and year). This gives users more control and avoids endless scrolling through dropdowns. Accessibility is not just about checking boxes — it’s about providing equal access to the user. Text Description: The image compares two mobile app date of birth input methods: dropdowns and manual input. On the left, three dropdown menus labeled Month, Day, and Year represent the accessible option. On the right, three text fields labeled MM, DD, and YYYY show the manual input method, which is often more usable. The title reads “Accessibility vs. Usability – A Real-World Example from Mobile App Testing.”

Ever tapped the wrong button on a healthcare app because they were all crammed together like a bad game of Tetris? That’s not just annoying. It’s a usability failure. And in healthcare, that means missed refills, skipped messages, or abandoned appointments. Ease of Use is one of the most overlooked (but most critical) dimensions of digital patient experience. When interfaces are hard to tap, guessy to navigate, or visually overwhelming, patients drop off—or never engage to begin with. Here are 5 UX fixes to make healthcare tools feel effortless across devices: 1️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝘃𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 Follow the Don’t Make Me Think rule. If a button looks like plain text, it’s not a button. If users have to guess what’s clickable, they’ll guess wrong. 2️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘁𝘆 Use common patterns that feel natural. Patients shouldn’t have to “learn your interface” just to book a flu shot. 3️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗽 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 Especially for older adults and low-vision users, tap targets should be at least 1 cm x 1 cm with adequate padding. This isn’t just best practice — it’s accessibility 101. 4️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 Support natural gestures — swiping, pinching, tapping — especially for scrolling long results or zooming into care instructions. 5️⃣ 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 Use bright colors for actions that move users forward. If everything is bold, nothing is clear. Prioritize clarity over decoration. When digital care is easy, patients trust it. When it’s clunky, they opt out. 💬 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀: Well-designed UX reduces patient errors and data-entry mistakes, which means fewer compliance headaches for your team. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀? Let’s apply the PX Scale and uncover where friction is hiding: https://lnkd.in/gVd7Vd-z Because in healthcare UX, friction isn’t just a design flaw — it’s a barrier to care. #HealthcareUX #DigitalHealth #PatientExperience #UXDesign #AccessibilityMatters #DesignForOutcomes #ComplianceByDesign

Lyft knew they had a problem. Only 5.6% of its users are over 65, and those users are 57% more likely to miss the ride they ordered. So, Lyft created Silver – a special app version for seniors. But why create a separate app when these improvements would benefit all users? The curb-cut effect is real. Features designed for wheelchair users ended up helping parents with strollers, travelers with luggage, and delivery workers with carts. The features in Lyft's senior-friendly app wouldn't only benefit older riders: 💡The 1.4x larger font option? Great for bright sunlight, rough rides. 💡Simplified interface? Less cognitive load for all of us. 💡Live help operators? Great for anyone when there's a problem. 💡Select preference for easy entry/exit vehicles? Not everyone likes pickup trucks. What started as an accommodation should became a universal improvement. The most powerful insight? Designing for seniors forced Lyft to prioritize what truly matters: simplicity and ease of use. Will they leverage this for all their users? The next time someone suggests adding another button to your interface or feature to your product, consider this approach instead: sometimes the most innovative design is the one that works for everyone. Rather than creating separate "accessible" versions, what if we just built our core products to be usable by all? This is the paradox of inclusive design - what works better for some almost always works better for all. What "accessibility" feature have you encountered that actually made life better for all users? #UniversalDesign #ProductThinking #CustomerExperience

  Day 16 of the Mobile Accessibility Advent Calendar!   Let's talk assistive technology!   One mindset we tend to get into in mobile application accessibility is testing only with screen readers. In theory screen reader testing SHOULD catch most of the issues in your application, however to get a full picture of the accessibility of your app you need to test with multiple assistive technologies. The truth is there is a load of different assistive technologies that users use that you should be testing with to ensure you content is accessible. For this post, we will cover iOS!   What you should be testing with: Voiceover - The standard default screen reader with iOS, that should be at the core of the testing you are doing.   Switch Control - Allows users to use an adaptive accessory to interact with their phone by highlighting each item sequentially. More on Switch Control: https://lnkd.in/g6uKPrnq     Voice Control - Allows users to use voice to control iOS device. One of the common testing methodologies I suggest with this is saying "show numbers" and ensuring all the actionable items on the screen are accounted for AND function. More on Voice Control: https://lnkd.in/giyt4NDH   Keyboard - Yes, you read this correctly. No it isn't an assistive technology per say, however keyboard users exist in iOS. To say that they don't would be a mistake, testing your application with keyboard and Voice Over on (and off) will ensure that multiple inputs can work with it.   Follow #MobileA11yAdventCalendar all month for tips and tricks on #Mobile #Accessibility !   #A11y #iOS #Android