A data capture app can revolutionise the way organisations gather information and report back to clients. At Rugged Data, we help businesses ranging from industrial cleaning firms to security companies log data and provide professional-looking reports faster than ever before.
Crucially, we’re also making sure the 19% of working-age people who are disabled are part of this revolution. Disabilities around vision, hearing, mobility and literacy can all be accommodated if a data capture app is designed with inclusivity in mind, following industry-standard guidelines.
In this post, we’ll look at why this approach matters and how we go about it – so you can be sure an app build with Rugged Data is not just for some of your people but all of them.
The benefits of an accessible data capture app
There is a strong moral case for creating more inclusive technology: people should not be unnecessarily excluded. There’s also a practical business one: it makes perfect sense to try to attract the widest pool of talent, including those 19% of people with disabilities.
Meanwhile, governments around the world are beginning to codify accessibility in working practices, just as they have already done for disabled access to buildings. Soon, inclusivity in app-building might not just be preferable, it could be mandatory.
How we create an accessible data capture app
The good news for responsible developers, businesses and users is that there are detailed guidelines to help ensure a data capture app is inclusive from the start of the build. Here’s two gold-standard documents we follow to ensure inclusivity:
- The Android Accessibility Programming Guide – This best-practice guide offers developers granular advice on every aspect of accessible app development, including layouts, typography, colour, use of sound and much more. This is our ‘accessibility’ bible.
- Google Material Design Guidelines – This sets out best practice in user-interface design, to help ensure interacting with app content is intuitive and simple for all. We frequently refer to this guide to simplify and improve our approach.
How different disabilities affect our data capture app build
Here’s a brief overview of some of the disabilities we consider before beginning a build.
Restricted vision
This could range from complete blindness to partial sightedness. How can we ensure someone who cannot see at all, or someone who can see only text under certain circumstances, interacts with an app?
Limited mobility
Physical motor limitations could affect someone’s ability to tap a button, or swipe. What features might help them navigate different screens?
Restricted hearing
People who are deaf or have minor hearing impairments may benefit from other methods than sound to convey information.
Literacy and numeracy
If a user has low literacy or numeracy, what kinds of content (words and pictures) are going to help them navigate instructions quickly and easily?
A closer look at accessible features
Here are just some of the solutions we include in data capture app builds, to ensure we are inclusive to disabled users. There’s a real win-win in this process: an app that is inclusive invariably turns out to be more user friendly for everyone.
Consistent navigation
Consistency in layout and navigation goes a long way to making a data capture app accessible. We ensure your navigation menus, links, buttons etc. are in the same place on screen as users scroll or move through different screens. Actionable elements, for instance clickable buttons, are clearly highlighted so users can locate them quickly.
Readable fonts
That serif (curly) font may match your brand and look pretty, but it’s going to do nothing for accessibility. We use sans-serif (non curly) fonts because they are easier to read. We also ensure we use heavier-weighted fonts, which ‘pop’ off the screen much easier than light fonts.
Strong contrast
Everything in context. A text colour might look great, but is it standing out sufficiently against its background? All of our colour palettes are chosen carefully as a set, ensuring we have a sufficient contrast ratio to meet accessible guidelines.
Left-aligned text
It’s a little-known fact that left-aligned text is the most accessible format of all. It beats centred text, which increases the ‘cognitive load’ – the amount of information that working memory can hold at one time – because each line starts in a different place. Similarly, justified text also increases cognitive load because it has different spacing between words.
Magnification accessibility
Android features a number of accessible tools and it is our job to ensure your data capture app works seamlessly with them. One of those tools is Magnification Accessibility, which allows users to temporarily zoom of magnify the screen. Is your app going to look good when employees use this function? It will when we build it, because we account for this feature.
Screen reader accessibility
A screen reader uses spoken word, vibration and other audible feedback to let users know what’s on the screen, what they are touching, and what they should do next. All of our apps will work with recommended screen readers, because we use buttons and other controls designed by Android. These controls have ‘built in’ accessibility. For instance, a screen reader will know to check and read out a caption next to a button.
How do we know our accessible apps are truly accessible?
No surprises that we use testing to ensure your data capture app meets accessible users’ needs. But what might surprise you is the number and kinds of test we use to ensure all your workforce are included in releasing the benefits. We test:
- manually, in house, using the app in conjunction with various Android accessibility features
- automatically, using testing tools such as Espresso and Robolectric
- in the field, getting feedback from people using the app in real working environments.
All of these tests help inform the refined and finished app.
Why now is the right time to embrace accessibility
There’s never been a better time to make inclusivity a part of your business processes. As we continue the move away from paper reporting to digital solutions, we all have an opportunity to rethink processes and cater to everybody. A data capture app really can be a far better option than pen and paper when it comes to accessibility – providing it is designed, from the very start, with inclusivity in mind.
Rugged Data creates custom data-gathering and reporting software for businesses of all types and sizes. We follow best practice guidelines to ensure our data capture apps are inclusive and provide the best user experience for all of your employees. To talk to us about creating an accessible data capture app to streamline your processes, get in touch now.
