Complementing Accessibility Standards with Evidence of Commitment and Progress—ID24 2015

Complementing Accessibility Standards with Evidence of Commitment and ProgressSarah Horton, UX Strategy Lead

ID24 2015 inclusivedesign24.org

Screenshot of compliance audit with red “Fail” notations

Meme: Munch “The Screen” saying, You’re telling me I have 433 alt texts to fix?

What if we define accessibility as

making a commitment and demonstrating progress?

What would accessibility look like?

Accessibility maturityMoving your organization along the continuum toward a mature approach to accessibility

Accessibility Maturity Continuum• Identify• Prioritize• Inject• Integrate

Phase 1: Identify• Identify

Identify and repair accessibility issues based on standards compliance

Context• Customer for software company puts accessibility

requirement in contract• Vendor is asked for evidence of state of

accessibility of product

Activities• Identify methodology• Identify samples to test• Test samples against standards• Write up issues• Test and recommend code fixes

Deliverables• Audit results spreadsheet• Common issues report• Accessibility documentation (e.g., VPAT)• Help desk support• Remediation support

Example of accessibility audit spreadsheet

Details• Issue name• Who is affected by issue• Issue description• Examples of issue• Recommendations for repairing issue• Resources• Relevant guidelines

Example of success criteria failures

Error message not announced by screen readers

Form labels not programmatically associated with inputs

Insights• Frequency and distribution of issues• Estimate of impact and effort of issues• Potential design and code changes to repair

issues

Example of accessibility issues overview

Potential outcomes• Clients have accessibility documentation• Clients work to fix issues • Clients engage for retest and revised accessibility

documentation

Phase 2: Prioritize• Identify• Prioritize

Prioritize evaluation and repair activities based on real-world impact

Context• Transit system provider with legal obligation to

provide accessibility• Group of people with disabilities demanding

accessibility improvements

Activities• Conduct contextual inquiry interviews• Create sampling strategy based on insights from

interviews

Details• 9 people over 2 days• Sessions lasting ½ to 1 hour• Low vision: Large monitor, ZoomText, large type,

high-contrast mode• Blind: JAWS, VoiceOver• Deaf: Captions• Limited mobility and dexterity: Dragon

Deliverables• Same as “identify” activity, plus…• Task-based sampling strategy• First-person perspectives in report

Several people commented that there is a lot going on with the site, which can make it difficult to use for everyone, but especially for people with vision impairments. One participant does not use the site because it’s too busy, and “things jump around.” Another can’t use her preferred mode of large text because the site is not designed to be flexible, and adapt to large fonts—when she enlarges the font, things get “jumbled.” Another prefers to look at the print preview of the itinerary page because it is less cluttered than the main page.

Insights• Real issues encountered by people with

disabilities• Accessibility issues not surfaced in standards

review

Example accessible user experience issue• The right column is a bad location for critical

information

Potential outcomes• Clients focus on issues that impact stakeholders• Clients fix issues related to accessible user

experience

Phase 3: Inject• Identify• Prioritize• Inject

Inject accessibility best practices into the design and development process

Context• Vendor has customers that demand accessible

products• Vendor knows that remediation is costly and

ineffective• Vendor knows current processes do not support

accessibility

Activities• Determine appropriate interaction points and

methods• Review and respond to design artifacts

Deliverables• User stories to help guide design decisions• Design reviews (wireframes, style guides)• Training in accessible design best practices• Code library reviews (technical and design)• QA test design and implementation

Details• Annotating wireframe PDFs• Collating information into accessibility guides• Webinar training for developers in best practices

and creating coding standards

Example annotated wireframe

Example writeup of issues with placeholder text

Insights• Optimal time to address accessibility in

design/development lifecycle• Roles and responsibilities with respect to

attention to accessibility• Appropriate and effective ways of communicating

accessibility knowledge

Potential outcomes• Clients address accessibility issues during the

design/development process• Clients build internal capacity for accessibility

Phase 4: Integrate• Identify• Prioritize• Inject• Integrate

Integrate accessibility best practices into culture and practice

Context• Advocacy group makes a complaint to University

about digital accessibility• University cannot fix all IT services• University understands it must fix culture and

process to respond

Activities• Perform gap analysis to understand current state • Build understanding of desired future state• Assess gaps between current state and future

state

Deliverables• Roadmap report• Commitment to ongoing partnership

Details• Definition of future state• Assets and opportunities• Challenges and barriers• Roadmap toward Accessibility in Practice• Supporting information: Applicable policies

Insights• Perceptions of accessibility and responsibility

within an organization• Governance requirements to advance an

integration agenda• Requirements for activities for change

Outcomes• University makes visible commitment to providing

accessible IT services• University embarks on initiative to address

shortcoming in existing services• University establishes policy and processes to

support accessibility in new services

ReferenceAn Accessible Design Maturity ContinuumBy David Sloan, UX Research Lead, The Paciello Groupuxfor.us/mature-it

Accessibility process standardsEngaging your organization in activities that demonstrate commitment and show progress

Make a commitment to IT accessibility

Responsibility and accountability• Designate a senior official for “plain writing”• Explain the Act’s requirements to staff• Establish a procedure to oversee the implementation of the

Act within the agency• Train agency staff in plain writing• Designate staff as points of contact for the agency plain

writing web page• Post its compliance plan for meeting the requirements of

the Act on its plain language web page

Plain Writing Act of 2010—uxfor.us/plain-writing

ActivitiesEstablish leadership• Chief Accessibility Officer (CAO)• Director of User Experience/CAO• Accessibility Program Lead• Accessibility Specialist

Commitment through skilled and knowledgeable product teams

Establish an accessibility baseline and track progress

Documentation(a) Each manufacturer and service provider…must create and maintain…records of the efforts taken…as applicable, including:

(1) information about the manufacturer’s or service provider’s efforts to consult with individuals with disabilities; (2) descriptions of the accessibility features of its products and services; and(3) information about the compatibility of its products and services with peripheral devices or specialized customer premise equipment commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve access

CVAA—uxfor.us/cvaa-final

Activities• Set a standard, e.g.,– Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

2.0• Define scope of applicability, e.g.,– Teaching and learning– Research– External communications and business

processes– Internal communications and business

processes

Commitment through specification of policies and standards

When acquiring information and communication technology (ICT), we will acquire products and services that comply with the standards defined in the University Accessibility Policy. When there are several products or services under consideration, the one that best meets the standards will be chosen. If the procurer determines that compliance with a provision of the standards is unfeasible, then such exception will be fully documented and approved by University Procurement Services.

Commitment through documentation of accessibility

Foster a community of practice

Accessibility in practiceC201.5 Design, Development, and Fabrication. Telecommunications equipment manufacturers shall evaluate the accessibility, usability, and interoperability of ICT during its product design, development, and fabrication.

Advisory C201.5 Design, Development, and Fabrication. Conducting market research, and holding product design testing and trials that include individuals with disabilities, are examples of ways to meet this requirement.

Section 508—uxfor.us/section-508

Activities• Integrate usability and accessibility support into

existing IT facilities• Tie accessibility into existing professional

development and training activities• Include expectations around accessibility

awareness and skills in position descriptions

Commitment through engaging with people

People working together, committed to making progress, and targeting success

Thank you!@gradualclearing

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