My take on digital
A growing group of people cannot follow the current evolution towards a digitized society. Digitalisation today dominates just about every aspect of life. From the information app for your children at school to signing up for a visit to the recycling park, making an appointment at public services, consulting the results of your medical test, it can no longer be done without the use of your smartphone or computer.
We see more and more initiatives to help people find their way in this digital world. All kinds of organizations create training courses where people become familiar with essential digital tools in a safe environment and step by step. Schools, too, are doing their best to prepare children for this digital reality.
But does the solution lie only in educating and guiding users? Are only the users the problem? Or is there perhaps work to be done on the digital solutions themselves? Is it conceivable that these, if built differently, could be much more accessible to a large, diverse group of users? Within the world of software development, 'inclusive user experience design', or inclusive design, is gaining momentum. In fact, that approach should be standard. With authorities leading the way, providing information and developing standards.
Experiences in the field of sharing initiatives
Last year, I advised actors from socio-cultural work, De transformisten and Vlaams Overleg Spelotheken. Together with a Swedish toy library they set up a project within the European Erasmus+ programme entitled 'An inclusive perspective to digital tools in lending libraries'.
The aim of the project: to make the digital applications in use for non-commercial sharing initiatives more user-friendly, thus taking greater account of the great social and cultural diversity among users and volunteers. These are applications that the initiatives use to manage their catalogue, communicate with users, register reservations and loans, etc. Users too often get lost in them. Volunteers need a lot of training and support to use them flawlessly.
In several intensive workshops, I started working with the project partners and their stakeholders (users, volunteers, staff, administrators) on socially inclusive practices. We started from existing knowledge about the experience of users and volunteers of Baby Libraries and game libraries; I shared my knowledge about contemporary software development, user experience design and inclusive design.
Then together, we looked for good and affordable digital solutions for the project partners. We suggested improvements to the software packages the sharing initiatives already use (myTurn and Lend Engine) and together formulated a set of recommendations around inclusive practices and inclusive software.
The recommendations, which I briefly outline below, are useful not only for the socio-cultural sector but for all initiatives aiming at a wide audience and deploying digital applications for their services with volunteers. And for developers committed to inclusive, sustainable software!
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About sharing services
Sharing services (both commercial and non-commercial) are booming. You can now use-without-having just about anything: from bicycles to toys, from baby chairs to board games, from clothes to jackhammers. They are an important part of a forward-looking, circular economy. And they are a welcome innovation.
Because why buy things you only need for a few months, like a baby bathtub or a bottle warmer, when you can borrow them at a Baby Library. And why buy a drill for one job, which you then have to store somewhere afterwards? Borrowing a quality machine from a tool library is plain logical. You save money and you also save the planet.
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Towards inclusion in 4 steps
To move towards more inclusive software, get started in four steps;
- Recognise exclusion
- Learn about diversity
- Design inclusive
- Design together with users
All participants in designing and building software best go through these steps: Clients, UX designers, analysts, architects and software developers. Introducing the whole team in inclusive thinking will deliver the best results.
Step 1: Recognise exclusion
If you don't see exclusion, you can't change it. So it is time to step out of your own digital obviousness and see how people get stuck in digital solutions.
From a 2021 Flemish Community study, we learn that more than 40 per cent of the population has no or few digital skills.
Digital skills include
- Looking up information online
- Communicating online using software
- Solving simple problems with computers or electronic devices.
In a society that is increasingly digitising, these are dramatic numbers.
In the project 'An inclusive perspective to digital tools in lending libraries', we focused on the digital tools of non-commercial sharing systems. Sharing is an important part of the circular economy of the future, which is about closing material cycles. For many users, sharing systems are "a meaningful first introduction to a sustainable, circular consumption model". It is the ambition of sharing initiatives such as De Transformisten's Baby Library or the game libraries united in the Vlaams Overleg Spelotheken to get a broad public on board, not just highly educated, digitally and linguistically literate people. In practice, it appears difficult for people without (innate) digital skills to create an account online as a user, arrange a reservation or add new items to the catalogue as a volunteer.
Step 2: Learn about diversity
Inclusive software design' is not the same as 'building for accessibility'. Accessibility is the generic term for software standards for people with motor, visual or hearing impairments. Inclusive software design is aimed at a much broader group of users.
What diversity of users should you take into account? The Gebruikers Centraal organisation in the Netherlands has summed this up nicely:
- Elderly people (high and low educated)
- Mildly mentally handicapped
- Neuro-diverse people
- Immigrants (high and low educated)
- Low-literate
- People in stressful situations
- Homeless people
- People with health problems
- People in a sub-optimal situation of use (due to device, weather conditions, environmental noise etc)
We like to add children and young people. After all, they often help the above target groups. Together, these target groups form an eclectic mix of people who are not digitally literate for very different reasons, continuously or temporarily.
In the world of non-commercial sharing systems, another element is added. Many projects rely on volunteers. Nowadays, volunteers more often opt for short-term engagement rather than long-term commitment to one organization. So sharing systems have to constantly work with new people. On top of sometimes low digital skills, there is this newbie factor of many volunteers. Moreover, there is not much time to get people started in organizations that usually have to make do with limited resources and people.
Step 3: Design inclusive
How do you create a secure digital environment for diverse users? Software applications that everyone can use with ease? Below, we list the inclusive UX guidelines and tips for inclusive design that proved most valuable in our project.
- Treat my privacy as the highest good: If your user has little understanding of the internet, sharing personal data can be threatening. Many users don't know how to weigh up whether a website or app is 'safe' and just assume otherwise. For vulnerable users, it is best to make sure you explain very well what data will be used for and how they can keep control. Simply complying with GDPR legislation is not enough; guide people and be particularly respectful of their privacy. Your other users will appreciate that too.
- Warn me of commercial activity: The internet is full of pitfalls for many users. It's easy to accidentally endorse a subscription or paying service. People in a precarious financial situation will be especially anxious about this. If you offer something that is free, explain whether it will stay that way. And when you offer a paying option, explain exactly what and how, and also make it easy to get out of it again.
- Tell me what happens: Good software provides feedback on what is happening in each step of a process, so that the user feels confident about their actions. Knowing that a previous step went well helps the user take the next step with confidence.
- Stop me before I make a mistake: Software, including the packages for the systems we looked at, is full of fill-in fields. A form to become a member, a form to reserve stuff, to place something 'in maintenance'. The 'smarter' those forms are, the less likely the user is to enter incorrect information. Build in logic to warn users when they take illogical steps. Explain why they need to fill in certain information and provide feedback as they complete.
- Let me backtrack on my steps: Too often, there is no way back when a user clicks on something. As a software builder, offer a way back. Only by 'clicking around' and returning can an inexperienced user learn about your software and use it correctly.
- Show me only what I need: The fuller a screen, the harder it is to find your way around it. Everyone benefits from minimalist design and a clear focus. Of course, it is also important to be complete and clear: show no more, but also no less information than necessary.
- Let me learn: Sometimes things go wrong and then you want to give your user a chance to learn. Show what went wrong and give your user a chance to correct their mistake. A good, understandable error message reduces the chances that the user will make the same mistake again.
- Speak so I understand you: Every interface consists of language and graphics. Understanding exclusion is also accepting that not everyone has an equally thorough knowledge of the language you use or the jargon associated with your platform. It also means that not everyone will understand your icons and logos in the same way. Where possible, use the graphic language that people are used to in other applications. And use clear, simple language. In addition, be extremely consistent in designations throughout your interface.
Step 4: Design together with various users
"You don't know me so make sure to include me." (cf. Designing for Children’s Rights)
We cannot guess what people from diverse backgrounds will stumble over. A crucial step in designing inclusive software is to involve a diverse group of people in your design process. Do so from the beginning and at every step.
Look for organizations that can make the bridge towards test people from different target groups. Be creative - you don't need huge budgets for inclusive co-creation, you need the right contacts and dedicate the time.
"After each iteration, evaluate your inclusive designs with your users. Record findings and recommendations for improvement. Get feedback from real users and keep doing this: Evaluate your ideas, designs and prototypes with the users you are developing for." (check Microsoft.com/design/inclusive and NNgroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics)
Conclusion
Co-creation with diverse users and according to inclusive design principles makes digital applications better for everyone. Applying those principles in the development of digital tools for sharing initiatives, will contribute to more engagement of a wide diversity of users and volunteers. On to a world that is sustainable and social, where affordable digitisation plays an important role in supporting sustainable business models.
About the author
Ines Vanlangendonck built up a strong technological knowledge combined with methodical Digital Transformation and Agile working. Her forte: structuring complex challenges and making them insightful for non-technical stakeholders. With her consultancy studio Kamon, she helps companies in their sustainable digital transformation.
About the project 'An inclusive perspective to digital tools in lending libraries'
A project of De Transformisten vzw, Vlaams Overleg Spelotheken vzw (BE) and Leksaksbiblioteket (SE) with support from the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme.
Want to know more? Continue reading here:
- Inclusivedesignprinciples.org
- Careerfoundry.com on UX design
- Impactplus.com with inclusive UX design examples