Setting the scene

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has promoted a complete overhaul of the way that service organisations receive funding. With the power of funding now in the hands of individuals it is imperative that the services that Vision Australia is offering are of the highest quality and exceed the expectations of individuals using them.

Audio Description (AD) is a key service that is offered by Vision Australia. It is an additional narration of a live performance that describes the scenery and action that is taking place for those who can not see it. This service is currently operated by volunteers using specific radio broadcast equipment that is supplied to audience members before a show commences. Presently the service is limited to theatre performances, but there is an ambition to extend the service into other live events.

There is anecdotal evidence that similar services are offered in other countries, specifically the US and the UK, in a much more effective way so there could be learnings to gain from other markets and organisations.

The Project

Using a design thinking, double diamond approach myself and two other UX Designers set about understand the landscape and the opportunities to create more meaningful engagement with the AD service including an updated digital solution.

While I was involved end to end in this project my core focus was the research; planning, participant recruitment, in-depth 1:1 interviews, survey, email outreach and the subsequent synthesis of the research findings including; persona creation, journey mapping, affinity mapping, empathy mapping, problem statement, identification of the minimum viable experience, hypotheses, solution sketching and medium fidelity prototyping. I was also very involved in ensuring accessibility of all project deliverables and the strategy around how the digital solution fitted within the broader service offering.

Understanding the Landscape

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Understand the landscape and examples of how technology is being used to assist with AD and vision impairment and what we can learn from the current offering.

Audio Description: Gala Pro, Tour Guide Speaker & Listener, Description Victoria

Assistant Apps: Seeing AI, Be My Eyes

Assistive Technology: IrisVision

KEY TRENDS

Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning and prevalence of smartphones is changing the landscape of available apps.

Apps like Tour Guide Speaker and Gala Pro are not designed with AD for the visually impaired as the primary function but provide this service.

Technology is enabling remote assistance.

Specialised hardware is starting to be used but remains expensive and inaccessible for most people.

UX Challenge 1

The first major UX challenge was understanding what part of the service model would benefit from a digital solution to improve the user experience. With a complex network of stakeholders organising and delivering the AD services it was not immediately obvious which was the biggest problem to solve.

Research Objectives

EMPATHY

Explore the experience of current and potential users of AD services at live performances.

CURRENT SERVICE EVALUATION

Uncover sentiment towards the current service and any challenges/highlights, explore other AD services that are offered and services that are available in other countries.

DIGITAL EXPLORATION

Explore relevance and resonance of digital solutions, focus on current device usage and potential new ways to leverage available tools, or incorporate new tools.

Research Plan

The research methodology and recruitment was something that had to evolve throughout the project, with such a specific audience who used and provide this service there needed to be a number of different avenues used to try and source relevant participants and gain as many insights as possible. Not all avenues proved fruitful.

METHODOLOGY

1:1 Interviews in-person or over the phone.

Survey - this went through a number of iterations and platforms to ensure that it was accessible to participants.

Long form questions via email, with the time constraints of the project this was the most effective way to have global outreach.

PARTICIPANTS

Regular play and theatre goers who are using the Vision Australia AD service, or a similar service (users).

People currently working in providing the AD at live performances (providers).

RECRUITMENT

Users

Communication sent out to Vision Australia community database for participants who would be willing to be interviewed about using AD services.

Survey shared through online forums and Facebook groups about the AD service experience.   

Contact organisations that focus on vision impairment for a call out for users of AD services.

Contact personal and professional networks for a call out for users of AD services.

Contact visually impaired bloggers.

Providers

Contact theatres and performance companies/festivals for providers of AD services - eg. Malthouse Theatre offers a range of accessibility options for performances, the Fringe Festival, Midsumma Festival.  

Reach out to organisation that focus on accessibility of the arts (eg. Arts Access Victoria, Access2Arts, Arts Access Australia) to share a call out for interview participants, both users and providers of AD services.

Email organisations that provide AD in other countries.

Key Insights

AD at live events is a really powerful and desirable service.

There is a complex landscape of provider stakeholders that are dictating what, when and how AD services are provided.

There is limited understanding of what AD services are.

The current tech that is being used is unreliable and uncomfortable.

There are numerous steps and extra requirements that leave some users feeling frustrated, excluded and an imposition on other people.

The Potential Users

Key Problem

People using Audio Description (AD) services often feel a range of negative emotions during live events because they are reliant on the current AD tech which has intermittent faults and quality issues.   

UX Opportunity - Hypothesis

We believe that by providing an AD solution that allows people to utilise their own devices, we will achieve an experience where people are seamlessly immersed in the live event, with minimal disruptions resulting in positive emotions.

We will know this to be true when we see an increase in people using the service and providing positive feedback about it.

The New AD Service Experience

UX Challenge 2

The second challenge was understanding the tech constraints of a real time audio broadcast that was particularly sensitive to issues of latency, accessibility considerations and design parameters that would ensure people with varying levels of visual impairment could use the solution.

The Solution

To address the UX challenges a simple smartphone app was created, allowing users access to the AD broadcast through their smartphone, and included two methods of interaction; gestures and voice commands. It was very important to allow people the choice of ways that they interact. The rigid single method of operation of the current device was a key pain point for users.

As well as the choice of interactions, it would be imperative that it work in conjunction with any assistive tools (screen readers, braille keyboards etc) that are active on the users phone, further empowering the user to choose how they interact. WIFI was chosen for the broadcast as it currently represents the most reliable delivery method directly to a smartphone.

Conclusion

The audio description service is one that Vision Australia should look to professionalise and extend. This is an extremely desirable service that fosters inclusion. By providing different options of delivery it would provide a key offering in Vision Australia’s mission to “support people to live the life they choose.”

Engaging the the community of people that surrounds live performances to help them understand the importance of these type of services will be imperative to the success. The proposed digital solution can not exist in isolation of a broader advocacy program.

Next Steps

Provider stakeholder engagement and education. With the complex landscape of stakeholders there needs to be considerable thought given to the best way to ensure that the optimal delivery of the full audio description service. There should also be consideration given to whether or not there are additional elements of the service that could be offered in describers no longer need to spend time handing out the devices.

User education and marketing. There is a lack of awareness and understanding about the value that AD can bring to a live performance.

Remote describers. Is there a way to leverage more of the tools available (eg. cameras) on a smartphone to access more people who could provide the describer service?

Pre-recorded descriptions that could make AD available for every session. Explore if there is an opportunity to leverage AI to listen into the performance and play pre-recorded content at the appropriate moments.