Embed inclusion
An inclusive service is easy to use for everyone who needs it, no matter their abilities, background, device or level of connectivity.
Inclusive digital services:
- Are designed in a user-centric way that accommodates the needs of a wide range of different people (based on user research and testing with diverse participants)
- Are accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities and people living in remote communities, Indigenous communities or areas with poor internet connectivity
- Are designed by diverse teams that value accessibility in their hiring processes and work environments
- Provide alternative ways for people to get access, including providing non-digital methods and ensuring they link seamlessly to digital ones
- Communicate in plain language so people can easily understand how they work
Inclusion
Inclusion is about making sure everyone can access digital information and services. Including a wide variety of people in the service design process will help you understand how people with different needs or abilities might use your product or service, what barriers they might face and how you can improve their experience. This will help you refine your service and provide the best possible experience for everyone who uses it. In practice, this means:
- Recognizing the diversity of your audience and co-designing products with people who have diverse backgrounds, perspectives and accessibility needs
- Testing your product with people who will use it and taking special care to include people who are normally underrepresented in usability testing
- Designing your product or service to be equitable, meaning it acknowledges that everyone is different and meets the needs of people with diverse access and use requirements
Design for accessibility
Designing for accessibility is about eliminating barriers that prevent people from fully participating in our products and services. Put simply, making your product accessible will mean it works for all who need it while providing the best possible experience. To make your product accessible:
- Take a proactive approach to identifying, removing and preventing barriers to accessibility
- Consider accessibility at every point in the development of the service and make accessibility testing a continuous effort
- Familiarize yourself with web content standards and guides, accessibility tools and accessibility policies and guidelines that can help you design for accessibility
- Communicate in plain language so your audience can understand your content the first time they read or hear it
Alignment guide
The alignment guide is intended to be used with the supporting context of the related practice and resources. This guide provides examples of what the implementation of this practice may look like and defines a range of competence within the practice area.
1
Initial
Initial teams need to connect more closely with their users to create products that respond to their needs.
Examples include:
- Making technical or design decisions without connecting with users and considering how they will be impacted
- Developing their product without input from people in the program areas that will implement and operate it
- Viewing accessibility as an inconvenience rather than a way to deliver value to the community
2
Developing
Developing teams are building the processes, skills and awareness they need to understand and respond to user needs.
Examples of developing:
- Shifting their decision-making processes to focus on user needs
- Securing the training, resources and support they need to conduct user research and testing throughout the product lifecycle
- Familiarizing themselves with accessibility requirements and figuring out how to meet them
3
Delivering
Delivering teams are guided by user feedback throughout their product’s lifecycle, ensuring it’s easy to use and meets user access needs.
Examples of delivering:
- Documenting plans for user research and testing, content design and strategy and accessibility testing
- Engaging with users continuously to understand their needs and respond quickly when they change
- Collecting meaningful data about their product and documenting their design decisions thoroughly
4
Optimizing
Optimizing teams continuously measure and improve their processes to maximize the value they deliver for users.
Examples of optimizing:
- Refining their user research and testing practices to better understand user needs and their product’s performance
- Analyzing user research and testing results to identify the most valuable ways to improve their product
- Supporting their accessibility testing with automation or external audits
5
Innovating
Innovating teams champion innovative ways of working that help improve accessibility and user experiences across government’s digital ecosystem.
Examples of innovating:
- Promoting design practices that align government digital services with accessibility and inclusion requirements (particularly the government’s commitment to meet WCAG AA)
- Using insights from user research to inform strategic decision making and help leaders understand what the community expects from government digital services