The BBC reported today that the UK Government has launched a campaign aimed at improving the online experience for people with disabilities (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11746150).

A new site called Fix the Web (http://www.fixtheweb.net) allows disabled and older people to report problems they find when surfing. Fix the Web has set itself the ambitious target of getting 10,000 volunteers dealing with 250,000 websites within two years.

Great news for user experience; we UX professionals are always banging on about how important it is to consult your users. The Government should be commended for their effort but I hope they have thought about the bigger UX picture:

People with disabilities are one of many audiences: Are the Government going to talk to other users about what they need?

Accessibility is not the same as usability: Are they running the risk of being too specific about how to improve the usability of their websites?

Data is nothing without knowledge: How will they sort the wheat from the chaff and turn the findings into something tangible?

What people say they do is not what they do: How will they validate the feedback they get is true to what their users really do?

I have more to say on this subject on my company blog: http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/fix-the-web-asks-some-of-the-audience/