Accessibility Workshop

Accessibility 101

15th August 2008

© iQ Content Ltd, 2008

Agenda

1.Define

2.Guidelines

3.The Audit

4.PDF Accessibility


Defining

Accessibility1


Hit or myth?

1. Accessible sites look boring

2. “Read more…” is a suitable alternative to “Click here” links

3. “Text-only” pages are a good way to provide accessibility

4. Accessibility adds cost to a web project


Why accessibility?


Incentives…


Disabilities

Vision Hearing Mobility Cognitive Temporary injury Getting old


Universal Design

“I've spent the past few weeks trying to use my computer mostly via keyboard and voice control, trying to avoid touching my mouse (recurring overuse injury in my elbow)” Donna Mauer, maadmob.net/donna/blog/


Universal Design

“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 (2001)


Universal Design

“The power of the web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect”.Tim Berners Lee


What is accessibility?

Disabilities Different devices Recent immigrants Older & other browsers, operating systems Slow connections


Accessibility < Universal Design


Universal Design

“Accessibility: now everyone’s invited”.

iQ Content


Irish legislation

The Disability Act (2005), Section 28

“Where a public body communicates in electronic form with one or more persons, the head of the body shall ensure, that as far as practicable, that the contents of the communication are accessible to persons with a visual impairment to whom adaptive technology is available”


Private sector legislation?

Equal Status Act (2000)

categorises discrimination under 9 grounds, one of which is disability

Employment Equality Act (1998)

provision of accessible technologies to employees


Employment Equality Act

Intranets & internal web apps

“Unless I can use this new system, I can’t get a promotion” – employee of a recent client of ours


Laws elsewhere

Barcelona Declaration www.bcn.es/ciutat-disminucio/angles/a_dec02.html

UK Disability Discrimination Act www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm

U.S. Section 508 www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/

Other policieswww.w3.org/WAI/Policy/

http://www.bcn.es/ciutat-disminucio/angles/a_dec02.html

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/1995050.htm

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/

http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/


Open discussion

1. When in a project do you think “accessibility”?

2. Who checks for accessibility? Have you cross-browser checked it? Have you tested it with JAWs? Checked against guidelines?


Challenge-Response (CAPTCHA)

Balance: spam versus accessibility


AJAX: Google Calendar


Drag n’ drop


Olympics.com


8 years on...


Dangers of accessibility compliance

This often leads to rubber stamping

A box ticking exercise Quick fix and badge-wearing Bare minimum level of accessibility What about usable accessibility?


Business case for accessibility

Before After


Case study: AIB

A reduction in file size of 69% Reduction in bandwidth of 192 GB per

page, per year. A reduction in development costs. Faster downloads - happier users of AIB

sites Better search engine placement?

Question: is this the best way to promote accessibility?


Let’s digress: How we read online


How do we read online?

1. People almost always scan your pages

2. Users won't read your text thoroughly in a word-by-word manner

3. Most readers have 2 key questions:• Am I on the right page?• If not, where do I go next?

Headings

links


JAWS Demo 1

1. Scanning headings & links with JAWS

2. Scanning with JAWS at “normal speed”


JAWS Demo 2

www.eaglestarlife.ie/product_centre/savings_investment/mib.jsp

http://www.eaglestarlife.ie/product_centre/savings_investment/mib.jsp


“Good Design Enables,

Bad Design Disables”The Institute for Design and Disability


Introduction to

guidelines2


W3C WAI WCAG 1.0

Published 1999 3 Priorities 1,2,3 – A, AA, AAA Checkpoints Provide a basis of an audit NDA have their own version… accessit.nda.ie

http://accessit.nda.ie/guidelineindex_1.html


NDA Guidelines


NDA Guidelines: Priority 1

1.1 Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element

1.2 Ensure that information does not rely on colour perception

1.6 Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate

1.9 For data tables, identify row and column headers

1.15 Ensure that scripts and applets that provide the only

source of important functionality are directly accessible or

compatible with assistive technologies

1.16 Ensure that pages are usable without support for scripts,

applets, or other programmatic objects

1.17 If you cannot make a page accessible, provide an equivalent

accessible page


NDA Guidelines

1.2 Ensure that information does not rely on colour perception



2.5 Use style sheets to control layout and presentation WAI

2.6 Use relative rather than absolute units

2.7 Use header elements to convey structure

2.8 Break up large blocks of information where appropriate

2.12 Clearly identify the target of each link

2.16 Associate labels explicitly with their controls

2.17 Properly position the labels of form controls

2.18 Ensure that user interfaces are device-independent

2.21 Ensure that scripts and applets are accessible

2.30 Do not generate pop-ups or other windows and do not change the

current window without informing the user


2.7 Use header elements to convey structure


NDA Guidelines

2.21 Ensure that scripts and applets are accessible



3.5 Place distinguishing information at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists

3.7 Provide summaries for tables

3.9 Identify groups of related links and provide a way to bypass them

3.14 Provide navigation bars

3.18 Create a style of presentation that is consistent across pages


The “audit”3


PAS 78 (UK)

4.3.1 Website commissioners should not rely solely on automated conformance testing tools to assess conformance with the relevant W3C guidelines and specifications

4.3.2 Automated tools may be used as part of the validation process, but additional manual checks and user testing with disabled people are essential to be confident that the website is accessible to disabled people.


The audit

Automated & manual Manual: code-checking Internal or independent?


Process for the audit

Checklists & audit procedure Automated tests Toolbars for manual testing

(AIS for IE, Web Developer on Firefox)

User testing


Let’s do an accessibility audit…

Pick a website…



1. Automated check

Fae: http://fae.cita.uiuc.edu/WebXACT: http://webxact.watchfire.com/

http://fae.cita.uiuc.edu/

http://webxact.watchfire.com/



2. Manual check



3. User testing


Key message

Guidelines are not there to be ticked off – try to understand the potential problems they highlight and ensure you don’t create those problems for your users


What we’ve covered so far

Defining disability NDA guidelines Measuring accessibility


PDF Accessbilty4


You MUST read this…


Thoughts on PDF accessibility

• Most of what we publish should NOT be PDF

• Appropriately prepared PDFs can be accessible

• To be accessible, PDFs need to be “tagged”

• Tagging requires “specialist” skills

• Screenreaders need to understand tags


Thoughts on PDF accessibility

• Not just blind users

• Simple, clear language

• Break large chunks of content up

• Good contrast

• Well designed


The alternatives

• HTML (as well as or instead of)

• RTF

• Retro-tag your PDFs (Yikes!)

• Change your content publishing process and think of your content strategically

• Technology solution?

4. The new guidelines


New structure

PrinciplesGuidelines

Success Criteria


The Four POUR Principles

WCAG 2.0 principles: Perceivable Operable Understandable Robust


Guidelines

Each guideline has a number of Success Criteria

Success Criteria are measured over 3 levels Similar to current guidelines “A” = all Level 1 “AA” = all Level 1 & Level 2 “AAA” = Levels 1 & 2 & 50% Level 3


Guideline 2.4Provide ways to help users with disabilities navigate, find content and determine where they are

• 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks: A mechanism is available to bypass blocks of content that are repeated

• 2.4.2 Page Titled: Web pages have descriptive titles. • 2.4.3 Focus Order: If a Web page can be navigated

sequentially, focusable components receive focus in an order that follows information and relationships conveyed through presentation

• 2.4.4 Link Purpose (Context): The purpose of each link can be determined from the link text

View the rest of the success criteria…• w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/#navigation-mechanisms

http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/#navigation-mechanisms


WCAG 2.0 Documents

WCAG 2.0 Quick Referencewww.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/

Understanding WCAG 2.0www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/

Comparison of WCAG 1.0 checkpoints to WCAG 2.0 www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/appendixD.html

http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/appendixD.html

Wrap-up


What you can do right now

Right-click your images- especially those that contain text

Plug-out your mouse Use some automated testing tools

(TAW, Fae, WebXACT)

Validate your HTML Disable CSS & JavaScript Install Firefox & Web Developer toolbar Download AIS toolbar and test your site with it Advanced: Download JAWS free (40 minute mode) Do some “live” testing


Key principles

Think usable accessibility, not just checkpoints Do your own quick audit for WCAG 1.0 If you are Double A now, you will have very little to do

when the new guidelines become recommendations Accessible design is good design

Build accessibility in, don’t bolt it on!

Accessibility Workshop

Technology

Transcript of Accessibility Workshop