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How well-structured, good content means accessibility. And, in turn, how accessibility helps both companies and users reach their goals.
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Irene Walker @1rene Confab 2012 Minneapolis
means accessibility
businesswell-designed content = results for everyone
noisy
fast-paced
competitive
global
So why cut off large groups of consumers
noisycompetitiveglobal
fast-paced
Blind folks won’t use my product.
Answer: ignorance
Hmm. Sounds expensive. And unnecessary.
It’ll take too long. Let’s look at it again in a year’s time.
Accessibly-designed content will:
make youmoremoney
saveyou moremoney
Accessibility universal
{It’s also quite beautiful too}
What accessibility means for business
new markets1.2.superior products
& services
3.building on relationships
4.reduced legal risk
5.increasedemployee
performance
We shipped IE 4.0 in September 1997. Two months later, we shipped a minor upgrade, primarily to deliver features that made IE easier to use for people
But that upgrade also contained, among other fixes, thesolutions for 6 of the top 10 customer complaintsfrom that brief interval between the two releases.
- Bill Gates, Business @ the Speed of Thought
with disabilities.
“
”
There is nothing that you can do on the iPhone or iPad that I can't do.
- Stevie Wonder
“
”
- Judith E. Heumann, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of Education
For people without disabilities, technology makes things convenient.For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.
“
”
- Tim Berners-Lee
The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone, regardless of disability, is an essential aspect.
“”
It makes sense.
Standards-based design
Accessibility
What accessibility is all about
the usability of aproductservice
facility
Accessibility is…
environment
by people with the widest range of abilities
- The International Organisation for Standardisation
It means taking account of:
1.Individuals of different
agelanguagephysical ability mental ability level of literacy
It means taking account of:
2. Individuals who usedifferent software
internalapp-basedoffice systems
It means taking account of:
3. Individuals with different hardware
desktopshandheld deviceslaptopscross-network devicestelecoms equipment
Accessibility Responsive design&
Accessibility and responsive design
Accessibility is a solution
More than just technical accessibility or compliance.
Accessibility
People
What it means for users with disabilities
Pre-
inter
net Today
Motor-impaired couldn’t turn newspaper pages.
Screen readers read electronic text out loud.
Vision-impaired couldn’t read newspapers.
Assistive technologies adapt computer interfaces.
Deaf people can view captioned multimedia.
“My quality of life has changed dramatically.
Technology is the limb I never had.” – Joanne O’Riordan
Credit: itutelecomm
unication
“Without Microsoft, Adobe and Apple in my life I would not be doing and achieving my full potential. My life would be quite different to what it is now.” – Joanne O’Riordan
Credit: itutelecomm
unication
People with disabilities and their spending power
20%the largest minority group in
the United States
- Disability Funders Network
of the total population.
Globally, 1 billion people report having a disability
- Disability Funders Network
In the U.S., people with disabilities control aggregate annual income of
> $1 trillion.
more than double
In 2004, 2.3 million undergrad and grad students reported disabilities -
- Disability Funders Network
the 1.1 million reported in 1996.
baby boomer population
- Disability Funders Network
have at least one disabilityAmericans54 million
more veterans returning from war+= double this number, in 20 years’ time
48%Baby Boomers account for
- Chris Orestis,The Silver Tsunami White Paper
of all U.S. families, plus
> $2 trillion.spending power of
have highly deficient literacy skillsof U.S. adults
21 %– 23%
25 %– 28%another have very limited
literacy skills
- National Adult Literacy Survey, (via Angela Colter in Contents, Issue No. 2)
- Jupiter Research
75% of online shoppers who experience
sites that freeze,sites that crash,slow sites, anda convoluted checkout process
would no longer buy from these sites
€297 billion
impaired + elderly =
- RNIB
combined spending power of
And over in the UK,
- EFD Survey
83% of disabled people “walk away”
from purchases because they feel unwelcome, or the productor service offering is inaccessible.
Tesco implemented a fully accessible version of their online grocery store. It cost £35,000 to develop and generates estimated annual revenue of £1.61m
- Business Taskforce on Accessible Technology
What the law says
Section 508:
federal departments and agencies
including web designers producing work for them}{
government-fundedprojects
including any states that choose to adopt it }{
“equal or equivalent access to everyone”
WCAG:developed by the W3Cbasis of most web accessibility laws
Version 2.0, based on POUR
set of international guidelines
Available to the senses
Users can interact with all controls
Content is clear and unambiguous
erceivablePOUR
perable
nderstandable
obust Wide range of technologies
Source: quicklycode
21st Century Communications
and Video Accessibility Act:
Smartphones to be accessible in general
Solutions must be free or of “normal cost”
U.S. smartphones to have accessible web browsers by 2013
Where others went wrong
2000Sydney Olympic Games Organizing Committee doesn’t provide braille
alternatives for ticketing or souvenir programs. 2009
Arizona State University encourages students to use electronic textbooks that are not accessible.2011
Walt Disney Company fails to accommodate the needs of vision-
impaired customers across its websites and within its theme
parks.
Where others got it right
We have evidence that online shoppers with Sainsbury’s also shop in-store. If the online experience is inaccessible or disappointing, shoppers are very likely to move to a competitor – as will the in-store spend.
- Hamish Elvidge, Director at Sainsbury’s
“
”
At Barclays, we believe that our commitment to diversity and inclusion, backed up by a philosophy of accessibility, it not just a social and legal responsibility, but will be fundamental to the performance and competitiveness of our business in years to come.
- John Varley, previous Barclays CEO
“
We believe, from our own experience, that those organisations that signal their commitment to diversity and inclusion, particularly through technology, are reaping increasing commercial benefits.
They recognise that investing in accessible and usable technology products and services, workplace environments and facilities opens up new markets, increases productivity and liberates talent, and enables the provision of innovative accessible technologies based on an understanding of individuals’ technological aspirations.
- John Varley, previous Barclays CEO
“
”
Its internet customers grew
1998:Banco Bradesco becomes 1st bank in the world to offer online banking for people with visual disabilities
by 12 percenteach month.
From the beginning, we said that all our actions would be aimed at connecting everyone to the power of technology.
HP has made a public commitment to provide leadership in designing accessible products and services for people with disabilities.
- Hewlett-Packard
“
”
How accessibility increases findability
context loyalty
An accessible website gets foundmore oftenwith increased regularity
by users who get
exactlythe information they are looking to find via Search
But wait, there’s more.Accessibility really does mean business.
Accessibility means business
Increased usability
Increased findability
Less development time
Direct cost savings
Wider clientele
Optimised mobile content
Whose job it is
IA? IxD? CS?Devs?
(sorry)
PM?
…it’s everyone’s job.(you saw that coming, didn’t you?)
CS & A11y, sitting in a tree
The longest journey begins with the shortest alt text.
- Jeffrey Zeldman
“”
assessing user goals
briefingwriters
testingusability
changemanagement
communitymanagement
How not to listen to your users… and lose business
1.
2.
3.
Accessible content tools
Qualitative content audit
Style guide
Keep your writing short and scannable
Start strong
Be inclusive
Write in the active voice
Avoid abbreviations wherever possible
Use contractions sparingly
Link text must make sense out of context
Ensure all images have appropriate alt text
Use thoughtful microcopy
Style guide
Writing checklist
How to spread the love
drive it from1.2.appoint an
A11y champion
3.workshop withdecision-makers
4.collate andshare
5.let them see how they
square up
the top down
If all else fails…
Remember. This is why.
Beautiful, meaty, lengthy, clear, accessible: these can all exist, side by side.
It’s up to us – people who live and breathe content, whose literacy levels are high and whose understanding of content is nuanced enough to know when to use what - to simply be thoughtful enough to make it so.
- Sara Wachter-Boettcher
“
in a comment on Angela Colter’s Contents article, ‘The Audience you didn’t know you had’
”
Let a11y be your ally
Accessibility helps businesses reach their objectives
helps users reach their goals
Thank you.Irene Walker @1rene Confab 2012 Minneapolis
Recommended resources
• Developing a web accessibility business case for your organization http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/
• Yahoo! Accessibility Library http://yaccessibilityblog.com/library/
• Web accessibility - a holistic business perspective, Ph.Ddissertation by Marie-Luise Leitner, Universität Wien http://othes.univie.ac.at/7773/1/2009-11-30_9806366.pdf
• One Voice for Accessible ICT www.onevoiceict.org
• Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance, Jim Thatcher et al. (Friends of Ed, 2006)