importance of accessibility for a successful and future-proof business - csun international...

http://developer.yahoo.com1

March 2010 Artur Ortega

25th Annual International Technology & Persons with

Disabilities Conference

Importance of Accessibility for a Successful and

Future-proof business

http://developer.yahoo.com

Who is Artur Ortega?

Blind Software Engineer

IntroductionPhoto: Stephen Schobloch

Accessibility

i18nLegal

Reasons for Accessibility

• Social responsibility• Avoiding risk of lawsuits• Robustness• Revenue

Diversity

Usergroups

• Silver Surfers• People with disabilities

Standard

WCAG 2.0 consist of four principles:

Principle 1: PerceivableInformation and user interface components must be presentableto users in ways they can perceive.

Principle 2: OperableUser interface components and navigation must be operable.

Principle 3: UnderstandableInformation and the operation of the user interface must beunderstandable.

Principle 4: RobustContent must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliablyby a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

US: Section 508UK: DDAUN: Convention on Disability Rights

How everything fits together

WCAG 2.0

Silver Surfer

Definition: an older user of the Internet, usually someone over 50.

Etymology: a humorous reference to the comic book character and also to the fact that older people who surf (= use) the Internet often have grey or silver-coloured hair.

Source: Oxford University Press 2010 http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/oald7/wotm/wotm_archive/silver_surfer?cc=global

Users with disabilities

• Visually impaired• Blind• Hard of hearing• Deaf• Dyslexic• Reduced mobility• Learning disability• Situative disability

Family & Friends

Accessibility attracts not only people with disabilities but

also their families and friends.

Usergroups: a detailed view

Usergroups:a detailed view

Older Internet Users

Older users were more likely to use the internet to access

- travel information

- health and medical information(46<=> 36%)

Source: Nielsen Panorama Survey, April 2007-March 2008 (N = 21,570 for 14+ years age

Understanding Connectedness

• Removes feelings of isolation• Being able to communicate with family

overseas• Maintain daily contact with relative in

time of sickness or adversity • Ability to stay involved in work

Source: Understanding Personal Connectedness, CTN presentation at the Communications Policy and Research Forum, Tuesday 30 September 2008, http://www.networkinsight.org/verve/_resources/CPRF08_Program_110808_.pdf

Keeping up with technology changes

Technology attItudes: “I try to keep up with technology” (Results by Age %, n = 17,527)

Source: Nielsen Panorama, March 2008

Keeping up with technology changes

Two thirds of Australians found it difficult to keep up with technological changes.

Older age groups were least likely to 'try to keep up with technology' (44%) than other age groups.Source: Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Consumer Survey, June 2008

Users with disabilities

A study conducted in Germany in 2008 found that:• They use web 2.0 above average• They use the web for compensating disabilities• They use the web differently depending on disability• They consider web 2.0 very useful• They use the web independently with the assistive technology • They find that the barriers they face are always quite similar: e.g.

visual captchas, usability, language, inconsistency• They are quite creative to overcome the barriers when the site is

useful or of interest• Their way of communication is reflected in the web 2.0

Source: >Chance und Risiken des Internets der Zukunft aus Sicht von Menschen mit Behinderungen<, Study by "Aktion Mensch" in Germany

Creativity to overcome barriers

Blind users take photos and share them on flickr.

Useful Web 2.0 and mobile connectivity

Mobile application keeps person with diabetes in contact with the clinic and helps to monitor values.

Similar requirements:classic & situative

disability

Subtitles for video

More than 120 million Americans benefit from subtitles including:

• 28 million deaf and hard-of- hearing people

• 26 million elementary school children practicing reading skills

• 30 million people learning English as a second language

• 40 million Americans ages 16 and older learning to read.

Without counting:• all users in a silent office• users in a mall or gym• etc.

Driving a car

• Can't use hands

• Can't use eyes

• Only reduced attention

Situative disability

Instead of distinguishing between being disabled and not disabled, we have only requirements on the situative context. Source (german): Barrierefreies eGovernment, by Herbert Kubicek, Henning Lühr, Beate Schulte http://www.ifib.de/publikationsdateien/Barrierefrei.pdf

Yahoo!

For people 55+ in Japan:

• web-based email grew 88% to 7 million users in November 2008

• more than 20% of all visitors to email site category.

“The increase in visitation to email sites has largely been driven by an increase in usage among the older age segments, reflecting the maturation of the Internet as a communication vehicle,” said Maru Sato, managing director of comScore Japan. Source: comScore, Inc. January 15, 2008 http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/1/Email_Usage_Japan/

Failures

Difficulties: Where are the issues today?

Study with adults aged 50-85 years how they usedthe Internet related to Medicare services:

Results indicated many of them:

• made errors• used inefficient search strategies• encountered search problems• encountered problems with usability • were frustrated interacting with the website

Source: 1 Kuhn and Al., What Types of Difficulties do Seniors Encounter When Using the Internet to Make Health Care Decisions? Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Proceedings, 53rd meeting, October 2007, Maryland USA. Aging , pp. 11-14(4)

Solution: Improvement by accessibility

Principle 1: PerceivableInformation and user interface components must be presentableto users in ways they can perceive.

Principle 2: OperableUser interface components and navigation must be operable.

Principle 3: UnderstandableInformation and the operation of the user interface must beunderstandable.

Principle 4: RobustContent must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliablyby a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Outlook: what can we improve?

Audio captchas

Adding an audio alternative to the visual existing one

• no longer excluding visually impaired users

• increases user group• reacting to negative PR on the web

WAI-ARIA

Adding roles to AJAX based web applications

• makes AJAX work with screen readers• makes AJAX work with screen magnifiers• adds semantic information about dynamic content

Using a proper html structure

• better SEO• better usability for keyboard users• better usability for screen reader and screen

magnifier users• consistency

Semantic markup

Subtitles for video

The request and ability to store and display subtitles

• opens video for a wider range of users• videos can be consumed on other markets• makes video work in difficult environments

regarding noise

Conclusion

UED SEO

DiversityP

hotos: Attila H

usejow, Luke R

obinson

Artur Ortega

Accessibility Evangelist Yahoo! Europe Ltd 125 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8AD United Kingdom ortega@yahoo-inc.com

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