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Forcing Standardization or
Accommodating Diversity?
A Framework for Applying the
WCAG in the Real World
Brian Kelly
UKOLN
University of Bath
Bath, UK
Email
[email protected]
Co-authors:
David Sloan, University of
Dundee
Lawrie Phipps, TechDis
Helen Petrie & Fraser
Hamilton, City University
UKOLN is supported by:
A centre of expertise in digital information management
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Background To The Paper
This paper:
• Based on experiences of promoting & supporting
best practices for Web accessibility within the UK
higher & further education (HE/FE) & cultural
heritage communities
• Five authors from four HE organisations in the UK
(including 2 national advisory services)
Web developer
Consultant and
Senior adviser
since 1993 &
researcher in
at TechDis
adviser to UK
inclusive design
– a national
HE/FE & cultural
and accessibility,
advisory
heritage
University of
service to
in digital information management
communitiesA centre of expertise
Dundee
HE/FE
2
Senior
Professor at
City University researcher
at City
with interests
University
in usability &
accessibility www.ukoln.ac.uk
The WAI Model
WAI has been tremendously successful in raising
awareness of Web accessibility and providing
guidelines to achieve this.
WAI guidelines are
based on:
• WCAG (Web Content …)
• ATAG (Authoring Tools ..)
• UAAG (User Agents …)
The model is simple to grasp. But is this model
appropriate for the future? Does the model:
• Reflect the diversity of users & user environments
• Reflect the diversity of Web usage
• Reflect real-world technical environment and developments
Reflect
real-world
political management
and cultural environments
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Limitations Of The Model
This model:
• Requires all three components to be implemented
in order for the WAI vision to be achieved
• Is of limited use to end users who have no control
over browser or authoring tools developments
• Is confusing – as many think WCAG is WAI
How does this model address:
• Delays in full conformance? (We're still waiting for
"until user agents …" clause to be resolved)
• Real-world reluctance to deploy new software
(issues of inertia, testing, costs, …)
• Real world complexities
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Is there a plan B in case this model fails to ever take off?
Is it desirable to base legal requirements on an unproven
A
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theoretical
framework?
WCAG Conformance
Page authors can only follow WCAG guidelines.
Several surveys carried out using automated tools
(which gives upper limit on accessibility)
• DRC report: 19% A, 0.6% AA conformance based
on 1,000 Web sites
• UK Museums report: 42% A, 3% AA conformance
based on 124 Web sites
• UK Universities surveys (2002, 04):
43%/58% A, 2%/6% AA based on 160+ Web sites
Implications
These
conformance
levels can indicate:
DRC –low
Disability
Rights Commission,
independent body
• Organisations
don't care
legislated
to stop discrimination
and promote equality of
• Guidelines
are difficult
to implement
opportunity
of disabled
people.
• Guidelines are inappropriate, misleading, wrong, …
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WCAG Difficulties
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Certain Priority 2 and 3 guidelines cause concerns:
11.1 Use W3C technologies when they are available
and appropriate for a task ...
• Promotes own technologies
• Appears to ignore major improvements in
accessibility of non-W3C formats
11.1 … and use the latest versions when supported
• Goes against project management guidelines
• Logical absurdity: when XHTML 1 came out WAI
AA HTML 4 compliant sites downgraded to A!
3.2 Create documents that validate to published formal
grammars
• Dodgy HTML (<br />) can be rendered by
browsers – this is an interoperability issue (e.g.
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W4A
2005
home
page)
Proprietary Formats
WCAG P2 requires use of W3C formats
Thoughts:
• Reflects the idealism of the Web community in
late 1990s
• The conveyor belt of great W3C formats is
slowing down
• Software vendors are responding to WAI’s
initiatives (formats, OS developments, …)
• Developments in non-Web areas (mobile phones,
…) & integration with real-world (e.g. blended
learning, …)
• Users care about the outcomes, not the way in
which the outcomes are provided
Thought: Could this requirement be regarded as anticompetitive if taken to, say, EU court?
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Usability Issues (1)
"WCAG provides the highway code for accessibility on
the information superhighway"
"Fine – but what if the accelerator and brake pedals
differ on every car. I'll still crash!"
DRC survey also carried out usability testing:
• Exemplar accessible Web sites did not comply with
WCAG guidelines (WCAG A)
• WCAG compliant sites (according to tools) were not
accessible or usable
DDA requires users to be able to access & use services
The subjectivity of
"I don't claim people should
DDAguidelines
– UK's Disability Discrimination
ActI say"
usability
do 100% of what
seems to be recognised
Jakob
Neilson
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Usability Issues (2)
What is the relationship between usability &
accessibility?
Accessibility
Usability
Usability
Accessibility
Usability
Accessibility
Accessibility
Usability
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Confusion
SiteMorse’s automated accessibility survey of UK
disability organisations’ Web sites generated heated
debate
• SiteMorse: Low WCAG conformance found:
• Response: doesn’t matter, manual testing gives
OK results
What do such comments say about disability
organisations’ views of WCAG ?
Note that the RNIB actively promote WCAG
guidelines – and also promote use of accessible
Flash, without flagging any inconsistencies.
Organisations may publicly support WCAG whilst
rejecting (parts of) it.
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Nitpicking?
“This is just nit-picking! WCAG is valuable – don’t
knock it!”
WCAG is valuable, but we need to:
• Build a robust framework for the future
• Ensure clarity and avoid ambiguities to avoid
different interpretations
• Reflect on experiences gained since 1999
• Avoid dangers of inappropriate case law being set
Nightmare Scenario
Case taken to court in UK.
Defence lawyers point out ambiguities & inconsistencies.
Case lost, resulting in WCAG’s relevance being
diminished.
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Holistic Approach
Kelly, Phipps & Swift1 have argued
for a holistic framework for
e-learning accessibility
This framework:
• Focusses on the needs
of the learner
• Requires accessible
learning outcomes,
not necessarily e-learning
resources
This approach reflects current UK emphasis on
blended learning (rather than e-learning)
1 Developing A Holistic Approach For E-Learning Accessibility,
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30, Issue 3
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Legal Issues
UK legislation requires organisations to take
"reasonable steps" to ensure disabled people do not
face unjustified discrimination.
This approach:
 Is technology-neutral
 Is both forwards-looking and backwardscompatible
 Acknowledges differences across providers of
services
 Doesn’t differentiate between real-world and
online accessibility (or between Web and other
IT accessibility)
 Avoids change-control difficulties
The approach outlined in this paper appears to fit in well
with
UK legislation
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Need For Engineers
The Web and the notion of universal accessibility was
initially build on a great vision
But as:
• The Web gets more complex
• Real world complexities become apparent
• Alternative approaches emerge
• We learn from user experiences
we argue the need for an engineering approach rather
than a visionary one:
• Robust solutions
• Fail-safe
• Reflect user experiences rather than ideologies
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WAI, WCAG 2.0
What about WCAG 2.0?
 Modularity
 Uncertainty of the broader context
 Is is tolerant of non-W3C formats?
 Why address writing style? (this is for real world)
 Complexity and relationship with WCAG 1.0
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in it"
Addressing writing style has attractions, but:
• Applies a single dimension (ease of understanding)
to a much richer area (learning, culture, …)
• Liable to undermine core accessibility issues
• Hostage to fortune – "They're banning Shakespeare"
• Makes divisions between real world and Web
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Similar
concerns have been raised by Joe Clark, AListApart
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Accessibility In Context
External factors: Institutional issues (funds, expertise,
policies, security…)
Digital Library Programme
Context
Purpose Sector Funding Resources Research
…
Policies
Standards Accessibility/Usability Privacy Finance …
Compliance
External Self-assessment Penalties Learning Broken
A framework is
being developed
which places
accessibility &
usability within a
wider context:
• The context
• A range of
policies
• A compliance
regime
Accessibility
guidelines should
This approach embraces relativism and context be usable in wider
rather than
the
current
absolute
approach
context
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External factors: Legal issues; cultural factors; …
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Links To W3C Approaches
This approach has parallels with W3C approaches:
• Providing a framework which co-exists with
society’s policies rather than seeking to change
them cf. content filtering (PICS), privacy (P3P), …
• Evolution from grandiose standards to more
realistic ones (cf. P3P, HTML+, …)
• Evolution from monolithic standards to more
modular ones (cf. XML, HTML, …)
• Recognition that W3C shouldn’t seek to do
everything Web-related
Implications:
WAI guidelines should be modular & usable in a wider
context
Need
to ofclarify
does
& doesn’t do
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Conclusions
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To conclude:
• Importance of Web accessibility widely accepted
But:
• WCAG P2 & P3 guidelines aren’t working (cf.
disability organisations, W3C members, W4A, …)
• Some guidelines are flawed
• Usability issues are being lost
• User focus on WCAG conformance rather than
providing usable & accessible resources
• World has moved on since 1999
Need for:
• Modularity
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• ofEngineering,
not ideology
Questions
Questions are welcome
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