Sociability Inclusive User Testing | Disability Research
Georgina Grogan
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Updated April 2026
At Sociability, we are more than just an app that helps Disabled people find accessible places. We go beyond compliance to help organisations understand how accessibility works in the real world.
We are a community of thousands of Disabled people sharing lived experience to help others navigate the world with confidence. While our Sociability Accessibility Management System (AMS) helps organisations manage and structure their accessibility data, our Sociability Inclusive User Testing ensures that data reflects the real-world needs of Disabled users.
We have built Sociability Inclusive User Testing as a disability research panel in the UK, designed to bridge the gap between technical data and the reality of navigating everyday environments. By working directly with our community, we help partners move past checklists to understand how real people interact with digital platforms and physical spaces.
What is Inclusive User Testing?
Inclusive user testing ensures that products and services are tested by people with a wide range of access needs, including Disabled users.
Traditional testing often focuses on technical compliance or small, non-representative samples. Inclusive user testing goes further by capturing real-world experiences across mobility, sensory, cognitive, and non-visible disabilities.
This means understanding not just whether something meets guidelines, but whether it works in practice.
What is a Disability Research Panel?
A disability research panel is a group of Disabled participants who take part in structured research, usability testing, and co-creation.
At Sociability, our panel is built from our existing community of app users. These are people who actively navigate the world using accessibility information every day.
This allows us to provide:
Authentic, experience-led insights
Highly engaged participants
Real-world context that goes beyond theory
Why Choose the Sociability Research Panel?
Unlike traditional recruitment agencies, we are a community-led platform.
Our panel members are not just participants. They are active members of the Disabled community who use the Sociability app daily to find accessible places, meaning their feedback is grounded in real behaviour, not hypothetical scenarios.
1. Inclusive User Testing Across the Full Journey
We specialise in the intersection of digital and physical accessibility.
Our approach covers the complete experience:
Digital journey Testing websites, apps, and booking flows for usability across a wide range of access needs.
Physical journey Verifying venues, facilities, and customer experience through lived experience.
Real-world testing Understanding how digital tools perform in live environments, such as navigating transport hubs or busy hospitality spaces.
This hybrid approach is where traditional user testing often falls short.
2. Powered by the Sociability Ecosystem
Our strength comes from how everything connects:
The Sociability app provides access to a highly engaged community of Disabled users actively navigating real environments
Our Accessibility Management System (AMS) with Detailed Access Guides gives organisations structured, scalable accessibility data
Our research panel validates and enhances that data through lived experience
This combination allows us to deliver insights that are both measurable and meaningful.
Sociability Inclusive User Testing in Action
Foster + Partners – Global Architecture Practice
The Challenge
In 2024, Sociability led a structured user research project at the Imperial War Museum. The project was commissioned by the Foster + Partners Inclusive Design Team as part of a strategic shift beyond compliance-focused accessibility towards a people-focused approach shaped by lived experience.
What We Tested
We conducted a deep, intensive cohort study evaluating movement, navigation, junctions, signage, and sensory environments within a major civic public building. This involved lead user research through facilitated walkthroughs, structured observation, and semi-structured interviews.
Who Was Involved
A diverse cohort selected to represent mobility access needs (including electric wheelchair users), visual access needs (partially sighted participants with assistance dogs), and hearing access needs (BSL users).
Key Insight
The project surfaced the conflicting needs inherent in public spaces. For example, an atrium that provided excellent sight lines for some caused sensory overload for others. By surfacing these tensions rather than smoothing them away, we allowed the design team to see the full spectrum of need.
As one participant noted: "I want to be just like everyone else where I can enjoy and enter with everyone else.”
The Outcome
Findings were delivered as a comprehensive research report and in-person presentation to senior management. The results acted as a catalyst for conversations about achieving future-proofed, resilient design. This study demonstrated Sociability's capability to embed Disabled voices in live design conversations and phase recommendations to align with specific project RIBA stages.
Colicci – Community-Led Content Creation
The Challenge
Colicci were committed to improving accessibility across their venues, but like many hospitality operators, they lacked a clear understanding of the real, lived experience of Disabled customers within their spaces.
While physical accessibility features existed, there was uncertainty around how the end-to-end customer journey actually felt, from arriving at the venue, to ordering, finding seating, navigating busy environments, and accessing facilities. These are often the moments that shape whether someone chooses to return, yet they’re rarely captured through traditional audits or internal decision-making.
Colicci wanted to showcase their venues in a way that felt authentic, inclusive and representative of real customer.
What We Did
We worked with members of our Sociability disability research panel to co-create content:
Selected Disabled creators from our community based on lived experience
Facilitated content creation within real Colicci venues
Ensured representation reflected genuine use of the space
The Insight
Colicci recognised the importance of demonstrating their commitment publicly, not just by saying accessibility matters, but by actively involving Disabled people in shaping the experience. They highlighted to the Disabled community that this was a genuine, ongoing journey, grounded in lived experience and co-creation rather than top-down decisions.
The Outcome
Authentic, user-led content rooted in lived experience
Increased credibility and trust with Disabled audiences
A stronger, more inclusive brand narrative
Our Sociability User Testing Panel Expertise
Our panel is diverse and intersectional from different demographics, providing insights across:
Mobility: Wheelchair users, powerchair users, and those with limited mobility.
Sensory: Blind and low-vision users, Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants.
Neurodiversity: Insights into cognitive load, sensory processing, and clear communication.
Non-Visible Disabilities: Including chronic illness and fatigue.
This diversity ensures research reflects real-world experiences, not just a limited subset of users.
Work With Sociability
We provide a unique, community-led approach to accessibility. For organisations looking to truly understand their impact, we offer Sociability Inclusive User Testing as a powerful extension of our Sociability Accessibility Management System (AMS) and Sociability Detailed Access Guides.
While the Detail Access Guides provide the data and management tools you need, our Disability Research Panel provides the human narrative and verification that ensures your accessibility strategy works in practice.
We can support with:
End-to-end user research and testing
Lived experience insights that go beyond compliance
Co-creation with Disabled users
Real-world validation of digital and physical accessibility
Contact the Sociability Team: business@sociability.app
Help Shape the Future
Are you a Disabled person who wants to help make the world more accessible? We are always looking for new voices to join the Sociability Disability Research Panel UK.
By joining, you can share your lived experience to help major brands and venues improve their services for everyone.
Get Paid for Your Expertise: Your time is valued and you will get paid for your expertise.
Direct Impact: Your feedback helps shape everything from transport hubs to new digital platforms.
Flexible Participation: Take part in a variety of sessions that work for you, whether that is a remote video call or an in-person visit to a venue.
Join the Sociability Research Panel
FAQs
What is inclusive user testing?
Inclusive user testing involves testing products and services with people who have a wide range of access needs, including Disabled users. It ensures solutions work in real-world scenarios, not just against guidelines.
What is a disability research panel?
A disability research panel is a group of Disabled participants who take part in research, usability testing, and co-creation to improve accessibility and user experience. At Sociability, our panel is built from our existing community of app users.
Why is inclusive user testing important?
It helps organisations move beyond compliance and understand real user experiences, reducing barriers and improving usability for everyone.
How does Sociability recruit participants?
We recruit directly from our community of app users, ensuring participants have real, lived experience of navigating accessibility in everyday life.
