On Microsoft's sprawling campus in Redmond, Washington state, an unassuming laboratory plays an important role by bringing people with disabilities into product design.
Launched in 2017, the lab quickly made an impact after it helped to launch the Xbox Adaptive Controller for its popular gaming console. The controller has since won design awards for giving people with limited mobility an easier way to use Xbox. It has also been lauded for its customisation options, making it versatile for various disabilities.
“When everybody plays, we all win. It's not just an empty slogan,” said Solomon Romney, Microsoft's accessibility programme manager. “We bring together our design and engineering teams with our disability community with relevant experience to the product they’re designing.”
The lab is not limited only to consumer products, and has broadened its focus to include other parts of the user experience such as packaging boxes and labels.
“This is [made] of sustainable materials,” said Mr Romney, holding one of the minimalist packages designed to ship Microsoft products.
“There are loops built in to make it easy to grab, slide things in and out, and we've included Braille and QR codes to lead you to a quick-start guide,” he explained, emphasising the importance of looking at markets such as the Middle East, China, India and elsewhere to enhance inclusion offerings.
“We're starting the learn the cultural differences in some respects, because when we talk about designing for disability, we can't just be doing it for America – we have to make sure we are creating products that will serve all of our customers.”
And the lab's efforts expand well beyond gaming controllers. Mr Romney says the team is constantly at work on input devices such as modular computer mice, stylus pens and keyboards to enrich the computing experience for those with disabilities.
“This mouse is very simple,” he said, demonstrating one of the lightest wireless devices. “You can get full use of it if you have limited muscle strength, it's perfect.”
Mr Romney said that listening to feedback has proved to be one of the most valuable ingredients to keeping innovation flowing from the lab.
“We’ll do interviews with people with disabilities, asking how they use technology, what delights them, where to they run into barriers and where does it let them down,” he said.
“Then we compensate them, we send them on their way, and then our designers and engineers take all that feedback and we have conversations about where we see themes and commonalities. We don’t ask the community to solve it, we ask them to tell us what the problems are and then we go and figure out the solutions.”
The inclusive technology lab has hosted more than 8,000 visitors to help collaborate with engineering teams and designers. The lab is designed to be as inclusive as possible, complete with sound-dampening materials, assisted listening systems and special chairs.
Mr Romney said that the team is always looking to improve offerings, inside and eventually outside the lab.
“If we design for the most extreme disability scenario, it will automatically benefit all of us,” he said.
The lab works with organisations such as the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Able Gamers Charity, Makers Making Change, Special Effect and Warfighter Engaged to enhance inclusion, Microsoft says.
