Transcript Impact of Accessibility on Technical Writing

Impact of
Accessibility on
Technical Writing
Mohammad Qais Mujeeb
VisualSoft Technologies Ltd., Hyderabad
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Introduction
-Most of the consumer and business services are provided
through the Web today.
-Every one has the right to basic services, irrespective of
their age, language and physical or mental abilities.
-More than 54 million Americans experience some activity
limitation due to chronic health conditions or impairments
-Number of RSI affected people among an estimated 25
million computer users in India, is rising at a startling
rate.
-Web content should be made accessible to widen the reach
and help people with disabilities.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Accessibility: Some Definitions
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Ensuring that content can be navigated and read by everyone,
regardless of location, experience, or the type of computer
technology used.
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The degree to which software can be used comfortably by a wide
variety of people, including those who require assistive technologies
like screen magnifiers or voice recognition
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The quality of a system incorporating hardware or software that
makes it usable by people with one or more physical disabilities,
such as restricted mobility, blindness, or deafness.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Accessibility and Usability
Accessibility and Usability walk hand in hand as they
have a common objective.
And that is…
To improve the user experience
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Section 508
In 1998, the U.S. Workforce Reinvestment Act amended Section
508 to include technology and the World Wide Web.
Section 508 of the U.S. Federal Rehabilitation Act:
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Ensures people with disabilities access to goods and
services provided by the federal government.
Requires access to electronic and information technology
procured by Federal agencies.
Requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information
technology is accessible to people with disabilities,
including employees and members of the public.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Section 508 [contd.]
Section 508 requires that:
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electronic and information technology (EIT)
purchased or developed
by federal agencies
be accessible to
people with disabilities.
If a product, including documentation, is not accessible, the
product might not be considered for government contracts
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Paragraph A of Section 508
Paragraph A of Section 508 reads,
"A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be
provided (e.g., via 'alt,' 'longdesc,' or in element content)."
Paragraph A requires alt text for every "non-text element."
Images are just one example of “non-text elements”.
Other types of non-text elements include:
• Flash animations
• Shockwave files
• Video files
• Audio files
• Scripts
• Image maps
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
When does Accessibility come into picture?
Accessibility is most commonly discussed in relation
to people with disabilities, because this group is most
likely to be disadvantaged if the principles of
accessible Web design are not implemented.
Let’s have a look at some Scenarios…
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Scenario 1
Imagine using the web without a mouse…
• People suffering from arthritis, carpel tunnel syndrome or a
broken wrist
• Move on web page using <TAB> key
Challenges:
• Number of Tab presses required to reach the actual content.
• Logical Sequence of Tab order
• Provision of a shortcut key to enter /exit a Flash plug-in
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Scenario 2
Using the web without seeing the page
Imagine a situation when you have to use the web without
seeing the web page. Try this for an unfamiliar website.
Challenges of using a Screen Reader
• Requires Alt text for pictures, images, etc.
• Can’t differentiate between ads and real content
• Reading data in tables can be confusing
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Some Cases
Let us have a look at some cases where accessibility is
required and how accessibility features can help.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Case 1
Online Shopper with Color Blindness
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Mr. Lee, an online shopper, has Red/Green Color Blindness
Problems Faced:
– Poor color contrast on Web sites
– Discounted prices, indicated by red text, appearing brown
– Required fields on forms, indicated by red text
Probable Solutions:
– Using proper color contrast on Web sites
– Discounted prices can be indicated by mentioning it in
brackets
– Required fields on forms, can be indicated by using asterisks
(*)
– Use of style sheets, as they can be over-ridden by personal
style sheets through browser support
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Case 2
Reporter with Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI)
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Mr. Jones, a reporter, has developed RSI and is unable to type
Problems Faced:
– Inability to use mouse and keyboard for prolonged hours
– Lack of keyboard equivalents/shortcuts for mouse driven
commands in the web-authoring software at his office
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Probable Solutions:
– Using Access key feature on Web sites having a long list of links
– Using the new version with full keyboard support
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Case 3
Online student who is deaf
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Ms. Martinez, an online student who is deaf
Problems Faced:
– Inability to utilize the audio lectures in the online courseware
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Probable Solutions:
– Making available the transcripts of lectures
– Captioning of all audio lectures
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Case 4
Accountant with blindness
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Ms. Linda, an accountant at an insurance company that uses
web-based formats over a corporate intranet
Tools used:
– A Screen Reader which generates a combination of speech output
and refreshable Braille output
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Do these tools work?
– Tables are marked up with column and row headers
– ALT text is provided for images
– Expansions of abbreviations and acronyms are mentioned, the first
time they appear on a page
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Case 5
Supermarket assistant with cognitive disability
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Mr. Sands, who works at a supermarket, has Down Syndrome
Problems Faced:
– Difficulty with abstract concepts, reading and mathematical
calculations
– Faces difficulty in searching for items and calculating totals
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Solution:
– An Online grocery service Web site with consistent design and
navigation.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Case 6
Teenager with deaf-blindness, seeking entertainment
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Ms. Kaseem, a teenager who has low vision and is deaf
– She wants to find out about restaurants where she can go with
friends.
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Problems Faced:
– Inability to read small font size
– Problems with multimedia virtual tours
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Tools used:
– Screen Magnifier
– A Screen Reader which generates refreshable Braille output
– Personal style sheet on the browser which makes all web pages
display as desired
– Captioning of audio and description of video
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Assistive Technologies
Adaptive Strategies
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Case studies in the previous section validated the role of
assistive technologies and adaptive strategies in making
the content accessible.
Assistive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies can help
make the web sites and their content, accessible.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
What is an Assistive Technology?
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An assistive technology is the hardware and the software
that helps people with disabilities use a computer.
Assistive technologies typically provide specialized input
and output capabilities not provided by the system
Software Examples
Hardware Examples
• Screen Magnifiers
• Head-mounted pointers
• Screen Readers
• Braille output devices
• On-screen Keyboard
• Speech recognition programs
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
What is an Adaptive Strategy?
Adaptive Strategy is one that is adopted while developing
the content, designing the output format and actually
writing the content.
Examples
• Providing alternative text for images
• Setting up a proper tab sequence
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Making Documentation Accessible
To make the documentation accessible to users with
disabilities, the following changes can be made to the
documentation:
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Provide all online documentation in HTML format
Define text, color, and spacing in the style sheet
Add text descriptions to graphic elements
Ensure that color alone is not used to convey meaning
Include table summary data and labeled table elements
Document the accessibility features of the product
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Making Documentation Accessible -1
Provide all documentation in HTML format
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HTML can be read by assistive technologies
Most documentation tools offer conversion to HTML
HTML 4.0 fully integrates style sheets
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Making Documentation Accessible -2
Define text, color, and spacing in the style sheet
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The size and style of text, the foreground and background color,
and the spacing of information can affect the accessibility of
documents
Using a style sheet can not only make the documentation more
accessible but it can also improve the appearance of the
documentation.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Making Documentation Accessible -3
Add text descriptions to graphic elements
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Adding text descriptions to graphic elements is necessary
because assistive technologies, such as screen readers, cannot
interpret graphics.
Writing short alternative text, not exceeding 150 characters in
length.
Short alternative text can be added to graphics by using the ALT
attribute of the IMG element.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Making Documentation Accessible -4
Ensure that color alone is not used to convey meaning
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Using color as the only way to convey important information can
cause problems to color-blind users.
For example, we are using the blue and red colors to identify
the visited and unvisited hyperlinks. We can change these links
such that an unvisited link appears blue and underlined and the
visited one changes to bold, red and underlined.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Making Documentation Accessible -5
Include table summary data and labeled table elements
We can follow these guidelines when creating data tables Summarizing the table contents by including a table caption, by
introducing the table in the surrounding text, or by using the
SUMMARY attribute of the TABLE element.
 Including column headers in the table. Providing row headers if
these headers make the table easier to navigate.
 Using markup to associate data cells with header cells.
 Using relative, as opposed to absolute, widths and heights in
defining table cells. Specifying a fixed size for a table might
introduce formatting difficulties if the user resizes the window in
which the table is displayed
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Making Documentation Accessible -6
Document the accessibility features of the product
Accessibility features in a product should be documented too.
The description of accessibility features should include  How to use keyboard shortcuts and mnemonics
 How to change font and color of a web page
 How to customize menus and toolbars
 How to use an alternative style sheet to format files
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Conclusion
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Accessibility is about ensuring that content can be navigated
and read by everyone, regardless of location, experience, or the
type of computer technology used.
Section 508 of the U.S. Federal Rehabilitation Act ensures
people with disabilities can access goods and services provided
by the federal government.
Assistive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies can help make
the web sites and their content, accessible.
Knowledge of working with adaptive technologies would help us
a lot.
Accessibility features of a product must be documented.
Accessibility issues apply for documentation, as well.
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
References
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http://www.section508.gov/
http://www.access-board.gov/
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/508home.html
http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist
http://www.w3.org/
http://www.trainingcafe.com/macromedia/accessibility/introduct
ion.asp?offset=0
“Making Documentation Accessible to Users With Disabilities” by
Gail B Chappell
White paper on “Complying with Section 508: SkillSoft’s
Strategy for Making Business Skills E-Learning Accessible to All”
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Questions ?
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd
Mohammad Qais Mujeeb
VisualSoft Technologies Ltd., Hyderabad
Email: [email protected]
Cell: +919849397900
© 2004 VisualSoft Technologies Ltd