Transcript Web accessibility in an Irish Context

Implementing web
accessibility – a Universal
Design approach
EDF-NDA Seminar
“Accessibility of Public
Sector Websites –
legislative and practical
approaches”
Donal Rice
Senior Design Advisor, ICT
Contents
•
•
•
•
Who we are - remit of the Centre
What we do - areas of work
How we do it – education, awareness, standards
Why we do it – motivators; legal, business, social
Centre For Excellence in Universal Design
(CEUD)
Standards
– Stimulate research
– Participate in Standardisation work nationally and
internationally
– Provide advice to stakeholders
– Encourage compliance
Education and Professional Development
– Incorporate UD content into design curriculum
– Guidance on Universal Design for teaching, examinations
and accreditation
Awareness
– Maintain a best practice database (website)
– Promote awareness and understanding
Universal Design aims:
to maximize the number of people who can readily use a
product, building or service which may be achieved by:
(i) designing products, services and environments that
are readily usable by most users without any
modification,
(ii) by making products or services adaptable to different
users (adapting user interfaces), and
(iii) by having standardized interfaces to be compatible
with special products for persons with disabilities.
(Standards: ISO, CEN, NSAI)
Built environment
Products & Services
ICT
3
1. BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Universal Design Buildings Guidelines
Environment
Shared Spaces,
Shared Surfaces
and Home Zones
Research and
Recommendations
for Ireland
2. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Size Data for Universal Design in Ireland
(Anthropometry Research, Penn State, USA)
3. INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGIES
Information Communication Technologies
1)National Universal Design Guidelines for
Digital TV Equipment and Services
2) Research and National guidelines on
the Lived experience of people
using public sector websites
3)Trialing Universal Design Assessment Tool for assessing
use/nonuse of Technology by Older People
Services: Customer engagement
•Standard (SWiFT) on
“Universal Design for Energy
Suppliers” - 2012
•Standard – “Universal Design
for Customer Engagement in
Tourism Services” – in
development
•Toolkit for effective customer
communications – in
development
3
3
3
1
EDUCATION
Universal Design 2nd Level
“Designing our Tomorrow Ireland”
3rd level - Meet the Normals
WEB ACCESSIBILITY - AN
IRISH PERSPECTIVE
Legislation and policy - Ireland
• Disability Act 2005
– Electronic communications to be accessible, as far as
practicable
– Code of Practice: Compliance with WCAG 2.0 (AA)
• NDA Monitoring: 2008
– About half have had their website audited for
accessibility
– WCAG 2.0 - AA or AAA level (32.5% at Level AA
and 17.0% at Level AAA).
• Equality Acts, Education for Persons with
Special Needs education Acts
Legislation and policy - Ireland
• “Opportunities for users to provide
feedback should be integrated into the
design of new electronic systems to
facilitate suggestions from those that
use the systems with a view to ensuring
continuous improvement.”
– “eGovernment 2012 – 2015” Action no. 14
“Universality Is the Foundation”
“Several principles are key to assuring that the Web becomes ever
more valuable. The primary design principle underlying the Web’s
usefulness and growth is universality. When you make a link, you
can link to anything. That means people must be able to put
anything on the Web, no matter what computer they have, software
they use or human language they speak and regardless of whether
they have a wired or wireless Internet connection. The Web should
be usable by people with disabilities. It must work with any form of
information, be it a document or a point of data, and information of
any quality—from a silly tweet to a scholarly paper. And it should
be accessible from any kind of hardware that can connect to the
Internet: stationary or mobile, small screen or large.”
- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and Inventor of the World
Wide Web. Long Live the Web
United Nations Convention on the Rights of
People with Disabilities
• Universal Design:
– Governments are: “to undertake or promote research
and development of universally designed goods,
services, equipment and facilities…”
• Early Stage Accessibility Definitions:
– “Promote the design, development, production and
distribution of accessible information and
communications technologies and systems at an
early stage, so that these technologies and systems
become accessible at minimum cost” (Art. 9)
Our approach to web accessibility
1. Standards
2. Education
3. Awareness
1. Standards - Public procurement
• Standardisation
– Mandate 376
2. Education
• E.g. Events
• “Universal Design for Digital Document
Creation and Publication”
3. Awareness
• Networks
• Research
– “Lived Experience of people in Ireland
using public sector websites”
Key findings 1
• 48% of people surveyed do not use public
services online
• 80% satisfaction
– but when questioned - the level of difficulty
would appear to be greater
• Persons with disabilities are 3 times more
likely to encounter a difficulty
Key findings 2
• Main obstacles include the
• ‘finadability’
• ‘readability’ of information
Key finding 3
• Challenge to provide content that is both comprehensive, and
easy to read and use.
• Disparity between perception of level of accessibility of their
websites and what this and other studies found to be the
actual case.
– web accessibility considered a ‘once off’ versus quality assurance.
• significant cost benefits
– Servicing queries via the website takes staff no time as it's self-service, compared
with:
• 4 minutes over the phone
• 11 minutes face to face
• 15 minutes by email”
New research!
“Measures to improve accessibility of public
websites in Europe”
• 3 questions
• 5 - 8 Member States
Department of Communications, Energy
and Natural Resources
The questions:
1. What is the current state of web
accessibility in Ireland and other Member
States?
2. What is being done to improve web
accessibility?
3. What more needs to be done?
Recommendations
• on the most effective monitoring and
reporting mechanisms to public sector
bodies in the context of the draft Directive
• constructive suggestions that may assist with
its review in the Parliament and Council and
transposition by Member States.
• costs likely to be incurred and the benefits
to be generated by bringing the samples sites
up to the requisite standard
We need your help!
Questionnaires,
interviews,
suggesting indicative websites
What does it all mean...
“If anybody asks me what the Internet
means to me, I will tell him without
hesitation: To me (a quadriplegic) the
Internet occupies the most important part
in my life. It is my feet that can take me to
any part of the world; it is my hands which
help me to accomplish my work; it is my
best friend - it gives my life meaning.”
Dr ZhangXu