Compeer Accessibility App

Article recommendation: A Diverse Ability

Wed, 09 Apr 2014 15:04:34 -0700

This morning I read an article featuring University of Missouri student, Gina Ceylan, and her experience of living with a vision impairment. Or, as Gina prefers to call it, one of her “diverse abilities.”

I thought the writer did a fantastic job of letting Gina share her story without framing her as a common disability stereotype (inspirational, helpless, mean, etc…).

The article includes an interview with a student of Gina’s, Christina Thebeau. Christina describes how her awareness of accessibility has increased after meeting Gina. She now notices things like barriers to entry:

“Everywhere I go, I see barriers to accessibility.”

I know this feeling all too well, Christina. Before embracing accessibility, my definition of effective design was incredibly limited.

The more I learned about Universal Design, the more my evaluation of a beautifully executed website/app changed.

Working on Compeer has only amplified this awareness in my mind. I cannot help but evaluate the accessibility of a location now. Barriers that were once annoying are now inexcusable to me. Gina is spot on in the article when she says:

“[Perception of disabilities] influences the way people make decisions and the way they design things.”

My approach to design has changed for the better since embracing accessibility. Here’s to hoping Compeer will influence others to broaden their view on disabilities. Oh! and hopefully it will also let others know where that tricky wheelchair accessible entrance to Ellis Library is located.

—Emily

Service animal etiquette

Thu, 03 Apr 2014 15:04:34 -0700

Last fall, I was standing in the checkout line at the University of Missouri bookstore and a woman with a service dog was in line behind me. Two young women saw the dog and came up abruptly and started petting it. The dog handled it gracefully, but I could tell it was startling to both the owner and the dog.

I don’t think the two women did it to be obnoxious, I honestly believe it was a lack of awareness. This is why I am so happy Mizzou wrote an article on learning to respect service animals on campus.

The article has many great points, but I believe Julie says it best:

“Service animals are an extension of us.”

We’re hoping Compeer will heighten awareness of service animals in Columbia and encourage people to respect the animal and their owner.

—Emily

Using VoiceOver with the screen off (Day 6)

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 15:04:34 -0700

This post is brought to you by VoiceOver and text input holyw cow this is so hard forget even editing

National Cerebral Palsy Day: March 25

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 15:04:34 -0700

Top 10 Issues/Questions Facing Cerebral Palsy in the U.S.

“We need to get corporations to think about people with disabilities when they design products.” —John W. Quinn

In honor of National Cerebral Palsy Day coming up tomorrow, I thought I’d point to John W. Quinn’s video describing the 10 issues/questions he’d like to address regarding Cerebral Palsy in the U.S.

John was diagnosed with CP as a child, but managed to keep it a secret during his distinguished 20 year career in the Navy. From what I’ve read on his personal site (I want to read his book!), he now actively speaks out as a disability advocate.

You’ll have to watch the video for full details, but one of the 10 things he’d like to see an increase of is universal design in products. He’d like to see companies designing products that can be used by everyone—despite their ability. I couldn’t agree more, John!

—Emily

Using VoiceOver with the screen off (Days 4 and 5)

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 15:04:34 -0700

Realization: screen curtain on = immortal battery life

I haven’t charged my iPod since Day 2 and it’s still at 45%. This is unreal. My battery is never going to die. It’s awesome.

FYI: it finally reached 10% by the end of Day 4.

Realization: haptic feedback would be beneficial

Using earbuds has been key to making this an enjoyable experience. For one, it saves the sanity of everyone around me by not having to listen as I fumble around in VO. Also, it ensures my password isn’t read aloud as I log into various accounts.

Most importantly, though, it makes navigating the device tremendously easier. I never realized how noisy every human is until I relied on audio to use my iPod.

I’m sure custom vibrations and alerts are amazing for VO iPhone users. I haven’t done enough research yet, so apologies if additional haptic feedback already exists. If not, I imagine there are numerous ways this could improve the UX for VO users.

Personal example: we went to see Bill Nye speak and during his presentation I was in the audience and wanted to check something on my iPod, but I didn’t want VO to distract people around me. Navigating with haptic feedback would have been super useful.

—Emily

Using VoiceOver with the screen off (Days 2 and 3)

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:04:34 -0700

It’s the end of Day 3 and I’m definitely getting the hang of VoiceOver by now. Just a few notes—nothing too much.

Thing #1: decreased awareness of an app crashing

When an app crashes, I get the same noise as when I close that app. It’s barely noticeable. It takes a couple of seconds before I realize the app even crashed. It could just be me, but I have to wonder if it’s disorienting to VO users.

Thing #2: a few of my go-to apps are inaccessible

It’s disheartening to see that a fair amount of apps I use on a daily basis are pretty useless with VO. As someone who is making an app (two person team, without funding) I’m not interested in publicly shaming these individuals. I’ll leave it at this: one app is a music service I subscribe to that supposedly implements a high caliber design.

Thing #3: VO feedback occasionally gets obnoxious

Whenever I’m listening to a podcast and I lock my screen, VO ducks the audio and says “screen locked.” I actually think it’s great VO gives feedback like this—it was more of a realization that I no longer needed VO to hold my hand through every interaction. Cheers!

—Emily (@mpgstew)

Using VoiceOver with the screen off (Day 1)

Sat, 15 Mar 2014 15:04:34 -0700

I’ve found myself making the feedback sounds alongside VoiceOver while using my iPod.

Since the beginning, we’ve strived to make the experience of using Compeer with a disability not just functional, but delightful. User testing provides excellent feedback, but it has its limitations.

I think it’s hard as a maker to innovate unless you can relate—at some level—to what your users are describing.

That’s why I decided to spend 7 days using only VoiceOver on my iPod. Normally, I would test things with the screen curtain on (screen off) and then turn the screen curtain off (screen on) whenever I got stumped.

I realized that I was missing a huge opportunity to learn the things that were frustrating to me and things that were potentially a roadblock to users with vision impairments.

It’s been just over a day and already I’ve gained perspective on how I can make better design decisions in Compeer.

Realization #1: I’m forced to be better at VO

It’s amazing how much better I am getting at using VoiceOver now that I don’t have the screen on as my safety net. Now, whenever I get stuck, I tap around trying a bunch of gestures before giving up and pressing the home button. Meh! I’m getting better.

Realization #2: VO gives system cues to the user that otherwise aren’t provided

There’s certain information that’s only given to VoiceOver users. For instance if I’m swiping through apps on the home screen, VoiceOver will tell me whether an app is running.

Realization #3: Siri + Dictation + Fleksy rule

Without Fleksy, speech dictation and Siri I’m not sure I would have finished typing a single sentence yesterday. Being able to offload the pains of text input on Siri by saying “send a message saying I’m on my way” or “open Rdio” is an incredible time-saver.

Realization #4: Phrasing in apps is incredibly important

It’s amazing how the phrasing of an action can make me think I enabled a setting, when it’s actually disabling it. For instance, toggling a button may read “location on,” which confuses me on whether that action turns it on or if it already is on.

I think by having VoiceOver read “location is on,” the user would have a better idea of the status of the button.

I’m not saying by any means that barriers I experience are the same severity a person with a real vision impairment experiences. However, it does definitely help me empathize in my design execution.

Either way, this has been really beneficial and educational.

—Emily

Using AssistiveTouch for 8 months

Fri, 14 Mar 2014 15:04:34 -0700

Last summer during Apple’s Developer Conference (unrelated: WWDC was an epic roadtrip), I bought a 32 GB iPod to install the beta version of iOS 7. Five days after buying that brand new iPod, I managed to drop it on concrete and completely destroy the sleep / wake button. Ouch.

I didn’t realize how many times I lock / unlock my device until I could no longer do that. Thankfully, I was able to restore this functionality by turning on “AssistiveTouch.”

AssistiveTouch is an accessibility accommodation that makes using touch gestures and hardware buttons easier for users. It places a tiny orb on the screen so that users can complete tasks with a single tap. Although it was designed for people with motor impairments, it benefited my inability to use my sleep / wake button. The beauty of universal design.

I was able to fully use my iPod without this button for eight months. For a Christmas present, Tyten got it repaired for me.

However, having to use this accommodation gave me incredible insight into designing for those who rely on it.

iPhone illustration with VoiceOver on screen curtain on

This is why I decided that for the next seven days I am only using my iPod via VoiceOver with the screen curtain on. My hope is that it will better inform certain design decisions in Compeer.

We’ve been testing VoiceOver with users and our own devices constantly throughout making the app. We’ve implemented dynamic type and gone to great lengths to make the app as accessible as possible.

However, I think relying on VoiceOver—and turning the screen off so that I can see nothing on it—will give me understanding of some of the barriers users with vision impairments experience.

Yes, I’ll have access to my iPhone with VoiceOver turned off, meaning that the iPod won’t be my only iOS device. But I believe that I use my iPod intensely enough that this will still be a great learning experience.

—Emily

Meet Compeer

Thu, 13 Mar 2014 15:04:34 -0700

As someone who finds the design process the most interesting part of a product, I thought I would publicly document the evolution of Compeer as it grows. My hope is that this will humanize Compeer and make it more personable to those who are interested in the app.

But first, a bit of background information.

What is Compeer?

Compeer is an iOS app that allows people to rate, review and search the ADA-friendliness of a location. Compeer splits reviews up into four category types: Cognitive, Hearing, Motor and Vision. Based on personal preferences, users can set which category reviews are displayed. Obviously, our target audience is people with disabilities, but we know that users without accommodation needs might find the app useful when planning events or hanging out with friends.

When / where is it available?

Oh-so-soon! We are working toward a Beta version right now. At this time, we are marketing it locally (Columbia, Missouri, USA) but anyone within the United States can use it.

How much does it cost?

It’s free! Seriously. And we don’t sell your information, either.

What devices are supported?

Compeer is designed for iOS 8 (iPhone / iPad). In a future blog post, I’ll explain our rationale for choosing iOS as our platform.

Who is working on this?

On nights and weekends, Tyten Teegarden (developer) and Emily Stewart (designer) are creating this as a personal, side project.

Are you getting paid?

At this point, nope. We believe so strongly in Compeer that we are doing this in our free time. We are making this because we cannot imagine it not existing. We are looking into crowdfunding options for the future, though.

Why the name Compeer?

Compeer (companion + peer) means “a person of equal rank, status or ability.” The name seemed to fit perfectly with our view on accessibility. I’m looking forward to sharing not only more about Compeer, but also cool accessibility / universal design things as well. If you have any thoughts or feedback, we’d love for you to please tweet us!

—Emily