Accessibility Importance

Krishna Vutla

Agenda What is Accessibility? Why is accessibility important? Section 508 Advantages Screen Readers Accessibility Testing Accessibility Principles General Accessibility Problems

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a system is usable by as many people as possible.

Making the content of a application/web available to everyone, including those with disabilities of various orders.

Providing equal access to everyone

Providing equal information

Providing equal functionality to all

Accessibility for All!

http://signsanddisplays.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/disability-access-sign-symbols-for-download/

Why is accessibility important? Accessibility is the right thing to do

Day-to-day activities, tax forms, social programs

Accessibility is the law for many institutionsSection 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act

Accessibility offers benefits for all userseasier to read, easier to navigate, and faster to download

Accessibility uses innovative technologyPersonal Digital Assistance (PDAs)

Accessibility creates market opportunitynew customers, new markets and widest possible audience

Section 508Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: It's a law

Section 508 requires that Federal agencies electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities

Millions of U.S. citizens must use assistive technology (AT) in order to read electronic content

All electronic and information technology used, procured, developed, or maintainedby agencies and departments of the U.S. Government must be accessible to people with disabilities

1 in 5 people have a disability

According to the U.S. Census brief, Disability Status: 2000

People with disabilities in the U.S.: 54.4 million

People in U.S. with disabilities that impede them using the internet: 24 million

People age 15 and older having difficulty hearing a normal conversation: 8 million Completely deaf: 1 million

People age 15 and older having difficulty reading ordinary newsprint (even with glasses): 8 millionCompletely blind: 1.8 million

Type of Disability Disability Details Assistive Technologies

Visual

Blindness, Low-vision, Color-blindness.

JAWS Screen Magnifier

Hearing

Partial to total deafness

Hearing Device

Physical Impairments

Inability to use a mouse or physical keyboard, slow response time, limited fine motor control

Larger Keyboard Joystick

Cognitive Impairments

Learning disabilities, distractibility, dyslexia, inability to remember or focus on large amount of information

Accessibility Target Users & Assistive Technologies

Screen Readers

JAWS Reader

ChromeVox - Free

IOS Voice Over

NVDA (Non Visual Desktop Access) - Free

Screen Readers

ChromeVox - Free IOS Voice Over

Demo Screen Reader Chrome Vox and IOS

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility Developer Tools - Chrome Audits Chrome Shades

Accessibility Testing

http://webaim.org/standards/508/checklist

www.wave.com / www.apple.com

https://www.apple.com/in/accessibility/

Accessibility Problems Compatibility problems with screen enlargements Compatibility problems with screen readers Compatibility problems with alternate color schemes Uses flash and moving images to convey content Lack of Alt tags Font too small Color scheme hard to read Pages cluttered, busy and poorly organized Insufficient spacing between lines and individual words Inconsistent layout Navigation elements too small Links too small Poor use of available space Mouse-over menus difficult to use Too much scrolling required Inconsistencies in navigating elements Header text too small Problems with printer-friendly version of site

Advantages of being a leader… Reach new target markets

Improve the customer experience, helping increase consumer commitment

Maintain an awareness of changing requirements for accessibility

Reinforce your public image as a strong, corporate-responsibility leader

Engage with people, awareness… Practitioners Developers ID SME QA Usability specialists

Policy maker People Researchers Communities UX advocates Accessibility researchers

Four Accessibility Principles (POUR)

• Provide text alternatives for non-text content• Provide captions and alternatives for audio and video content• Make content adaptable; and make it available to assistive technologies• Use sufficient contrast to make things easy to see and hear

Perceivable

• Make all functionality keyboard accessible• Give users enough time to read and use content • Do not use content that causes seizures• Help users navigate and find content

Operable

• Make text readable and understandable• Make content appear and operate in predictable ways • Help users avoid and correct mistakes

Understandable

• Functionality Across Current and Future Technologies• Adhering to W3C standards ensures future compatibility

Robust

www.google.com/accessibility

https://mikewest.org/2011/12/transcript-gdd-accessibility-with-chromevox

http://signsanddisplays.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/disability-access-sign-symbols-for-download/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Accessibility_Initiative

http://html5accessibility.com/

http://webaim.org/

References

Thank you for your time.