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Improving TV app sign-in for BBC iPlayer
The BBC approached System Concepts to help understand how they can make their iPlayer native sign in experience (via the on-screen keyboard sign-in) more accessible for those using screen readers.
The challenge
Screen readers are an assistive technology that will read aloud the content on screen (in this case on the TV screen) and is predominantly used by those with visual impairments so that they too can engage with the content.
In order to gain this understanding of how TV screen readers would work alongside the iPlayer on-screen keyboard sign-in process, the BBC had the following research objectives:
To gain qualitative feedback from participants who use TV screen readers to understand the pain points and barriers that occur, as well as how usable the process is for them.
Allow participants to explore the on-screen keyboard sign-in process using their own TVs during in-context research sessions to understand this and see the barriers first hand.
What we did
A total of 10 participants were recruited, all of which were either blind or severely vision impaired and therefore relied on a TV screen reader to navigate and use their TV.
In order to gain more accurate feedback, we conducted sessions in context at participants’ homes. This allowed participants to use technology that they were already familiar with, like their own TV, remote and screen reader. This helped to ensure that any difficulty with signing in to iPlayer was not as a result of unfamiliar technology or set up. For 3 participants further afield, remote sessions were conducted instead, allowing us to gain UK-wide representation.
During the sessions we asked participants to go through the process of signing in naturally, whilst giving feedback on their thoughts as they went along. We also assigned participants specific tasks when on the keyboard screens to encourage the use of certain functions and conduct a deeper dive on the keyboard to understand how useable it truly was.
Keeping the BBC team closely involved and working seamlessly with them helped ensure that every minute spent with participants generated meaningful, high-quality insight. To give the wider BBC team a first-hand view of the in-context research—without disrupting or inconveniencing participants—we live-streamed each session. We also created and maintained a shared, living notetaking space in Miro, enabling real-time collaboration.
Throughout the sessions, the team remained highly engaged, using the live space to suggest follow-up questions and provide technical support when needed. This collaborative approach maximised the value of each session and ensured insights were captured, discussed, and acted on in the moment.
Benefits
As a result of our research sessions, we were able to provide the BBC with detailed insights of all the inaccessible features or difficulties participants faced, as well as their overall thoughts on the process itself. In our final detailed report and presentation we outlined:
Participants’ expectations for the process in comparison to their overall thoughts afterwards.
Key differences in functionality between different screen readers.
Detailed descriptions of the positive aspects of the process as well as all the pain points experienced (which were also prioritized and then categorized by error type e.g. usability issue or a software bug) alongside recommendations for how to improve them.
Video clips of our participants demonstrating each issue to allow the BBC to see them first-hand.
In addition to building a deeper understanding of their TV screen reader audience, these findings enabled the BBC to improve their native sign in experience to make it more accessible.
If you too are interested in understanding the accessibility of your content across multiple platforms - whether web, mobile or TV - please feel free to get in touch by clicking the 'Get in touch' button.