Lisa Herrod - Accessibility for web teams: Recategorising WCAG 2 using a role-based approach

The application of web accessibility guidelines in a holistic manner across all roles of a web team continues to encounter resistance. This is often due to a lack of resources and knowledge, or no sense of relevancy in certain web roles. While there is solid support of the guidelines by accessibility activists and many front-end developers, a large percentage of other web practitioners in non-technical roles do not know how to integrate accessible design practices into their daily work, despite wanting to.

By re-categorising accessibility guidelines into role-based groupings, such as visual design, content writing and information architecture, guidelines become more accessible to inexperienced web practitioners across a broad range of web roles. The application of accessibility guidelines then becomes more integrated and holistic, thereby reducing project timelines and costs while increasing the overall accessibility of a site from initial design stages.

This method enables practitioners to apply skills specific to their role to a narrow range of accessibility guidelines particular to their area of expertise. For example, the visual designer would create a design and evaluate colour contrast before submitting the design to the development team. Likewise, an interaction designer would consult with the Javascript specialist to ensure the menu design satisfies relevant accessibility guidelines.

Transcript

1. Accessibility for web teams: Recategorising WCAG 2 Lisa Herrod Web Directions South 2011
2. How to Create Accessible Sites When the rest of the team doesn’t give a S#!t Lisa Herrod Web Directions South 2011
3. Web Directions 2007
4. 4 of 50 Progressive Enhancement Interactivity Design Structure Content
6. General C 1.1 Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element. D 2.1 Ensure that all information conveyed with colour is also available without colour, for example from context or markup. C IA F 6.1 Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets. C D F S 6.2 Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes. Images and image maps F 1.2 Provide redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image map. Data tables F 5.1 For data tables, identify row and column headers. Frames F 12.1 Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation. Applets and scripts D F S 6.3 Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets etc are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternativ page. Multimedia C 1.3 Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an audio description of the important visual information of a mu presentation. C D M F 1.4 For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the with the presentation. And if all else fails C F 11.4 If you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link to an alternative page that is accessible, has equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated inaccessible page.
7. General C 1.1 Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element. D 2.1 Ensure that all information conveyed with colour is also available without colour, for example from context or markup. C IA F 6.1 Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets. C D F S 6.2 Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes. Images and image maps F 1.2 Provide redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image map. Data tables F 5.1 For data tables, identify row and column headers. Frames F 12.1 Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation. Applets and scripts D F S 6.3 Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets etc are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page. Multimedia C 1.3 Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an audio description of the important visual information of a multimedia presentation. C D M F 1.4 For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation. And if all else fails C F 11.4 If you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link to an alternative page that is accessible, has equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as often as the inaccessible page.
8. Guidelines continue to encounter resistance  Lack of resources  Lack of knowledge  Sense of irrelevance by certain web roles 360 respondents 2010
9. How is a11y incorporated?  Best practices  WCAG  User Testing 360 respondents 2010
11. Re-categorise accessibility guidelines into role-based groupings  Guidelines become:  more accessible  more integrated  Reduce project timelines and costs  Improved accessibility from initial design stages  Higher skilled team members
12. Expertise typically rests (of 6) Accessibility Specialists & Front End Developers
13. Understanding of guidelines is unbalanced across a web team:  GLs are not implemented or evaluated by domain experts.  Bottle-necks occur
14. Problem 3 Additional time and money Assessing, Reporting, Repairing
15. Problem 4 Poor knowledge around collaborating for the most accessible outcomes.
16. Problem 5 More time on Compliance issues means... Less time for User Research
17. Problem 6 Poor user experience for users of guidelines
18. The Solution... A role-based approach makes accessibility guidelines more relevant & more accessible to more people
19. Current Classifications  WCAG 1.0 is defined by content types  WCAG 2.0 is defined by four principles of accessibility: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust.
20. The role-based method identifies 7 generic roles on a web team 1. Content writer 2. Visual designer 3. Front-end developer 4. Scripting (e.g. javascript) 5. Multimedia 6. User experience (e.g. information architecture, interaction design) 7. Accessibility specialist
22. http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/ How to meet WCAG 2.0
23. Supports individuals in making a positive change... whether or not they have explicit support
24. A generic template can be provided as a guide
25. Benefits...
26. Domain Experts are responsible for relevant GLs 1. Exploit Domain Expertise
27. 2. Accessibility spread more evenly  From the outset  No bottle necks  Self-evaluate as you go  Responsibility spread across more people with greater domain expertise.
28. 3. Costs are reduced  Less time and money spent evaluating gls & remediating design flaws
29. 4. Collaboration and Independence  Improved collaboration between team members around accessible practices;
30. 5. Less time on Compliance  Accessibility Specialist budget can be used to conduct user research, identifying deeper level issues.
31. 6. Improved UX of Guidelines  Greatly improved user experience of Accessibility Guidelines for all web practitioners, increasing likelihood of uptake by practitioners in non-technical roles (e.g. visual designers, content developers).
32. Additional benefits
33. Social Innovation & The Network Effect Portability and easy transference of the method as practitioners move company to company or team to team
34. Role Base Design The Poster The Workshop Both available from November 2011
35. Keep in Touch! lisa@scenarioseven.com.au @scenariogirl ScenarioSeven.com.au