User-Centered Design
What is Microsoft's approach to digital accessibility and why is it important?
Microsoft views access to technology as a fundamental human right, recognizing that over a billion people worldwide live with some form of disability. The company has evolved its accessibility strategy by integrating both technical innovations and inclusive organizational practices. Despite rapid digital transformation across industries, the disability divide is growing, with only 4% of businesses considering accessibility in their strategy. This represents a significant business opportunity, as organizations with inclusive technology strategies demonstrate better revenue and profit margins. Microsoft's journey includes establishing employee resource groups, hosting regular ability summits, and creating the Inclusive Tech Lab to ensure products are accessible to everyone, regardless of whether their disabilities are permanent, temporary, or situational.
Watch clip answer (06:25m)
Nexer Digital
02:02 - 08:28
How does accessibility fit into product development strategy at Workday?
At Workday, accessibility is treated as a foundational element rather than an afterthought. As Katie Holden explains, the company integrates accessibility into the core of product development, similar to how they approach security and resiliency. This involves engineering, product management, and design teams partnering with the accessibility team from the start of development to ensure products are usable for all users, including those using screen readers or keyboard navigation. This approach not only meets legal requirements but actually enhances products for the entire user population. When accessibility constraints are considered during innovation, they drive better outcomes and reduce friction for all users. The organization chart redesign project demonstrates how addressing accessibility improved user experience for millions of monthly active users while adding valuable new features.
Watch clip answer (04:35m)
Workday
10:37 - 15:13
What is universal design in the context of map accessibility?
Universal design in map accessibility is an aspirational approach originating from architecture that focuses on making maps usable by all people to the greatest extent possible. Rather than just addressing blindness, it considers a broader range of impairments including common vision problems and cognitive challenges. Amanda Tickner emphasizes this paradigm as a goal rather than a specific set of guidelines, recognizing limitations while striving for improvement. This approach prioritizes enhancing comprehensibility for everyone instead of merely accommodating regulations, making it a more effective framework than focusing on specific disabilities alone.
Watch clip answer (01:44m)
NACIS
02:00 - 03:44
How can small businesses design professional HTML emails without coding skills?
Today's email marketing tools offer ready-to-use HTML templates that automatically generate code, allowing businesses without web designers to create professional-looking emails. These tools enable customization without requiring coding knowledge, making them ideal for small teams wanting polished email campaigns. For those comfortable with HTML who want more control, most email platforms allow importing custom templates. There are numerous free HTML templates online that can be tailored to fit specific brand requirements. Alternatively, those seeking to create emails from scratch would need advanced HTML knowledge or developer assistance. Regardless of approach, it's essential to design with a mobile-first mindset to ensure responsiveness across different devices.
Watch clip answer (00:48m)
Elena Bezborodova
15:41 - 16:29
How does empathy influence design thinking?
Empathy influences design thinking by allowing designers to observe the world through others' perspectives, putting aside preconceptions to understand users' needs at an emotional and psychological level. It fuels creativity that transforms into human-centered solutions by creating a bond between developers and users. David Kelley, IDEO's founder, explains design thinking as deeply understanding problems and realities of people you're designing for, meeting their needs in technologically feasible and strategically viable ways. Airbnb's success story demonstrates how empathy-driven design—improving listing photos—doubled their revenue and transformed their business.
Watch clip answer (03:45m)
Dalham
00:15 - 04:01
What role did users play in Twitter's most successful features?
According to Jack Dorsey, users played a fundamental role in Twitter's most successful features. He emphasizes that elements like the retweet, reply functionality, and even the word 'tweet' itself all originated from Twitter's user community rather than being company innovations. Dorsey highlights how users essentially defined the platform for themselves, creating the very features that would become central to Twitter's identity and success. This organic, user-driven development represents a key factor in Twitter's evolution from its early days into the influential information network it later became.
Watch clip answer (00:09m)
The Market is Open
17:18 - 17:27