Accessibility Means Business

accessibility means business well-designed content = results for everyoneIrene Walker @1rene Confab 2012 Minneapolis

fast-paced

competitive

global

noisy fast-paced global competitiveSo why cut off large groups of consumers

Answer: ignoranceIt’ll take too Hmm. Sounds Blind folkslong. Let’s look expensive. And won’t use myat it again in a unnecessary. product.year’s time.

Accessibly-designed content will: savemake youmore money you moremoney

Accessibility universal{It’s also quite beautiful too}

What accessibility means for business

1.new markets 4. reduced legal risk superior products 5.2. & services performance increased employee3.relationships building on

“ 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 with disabilities.But that upgrade also contained, among other fixes, the solutions for 6 of the top 10 customer complaintsfrom that brief interval between the two releases. ” - Bill Gates, Business @ the Speed of Thought

“ There is nothing that you can do on the iPhone or iPad that I cant do.” - Stevie Wonder

“ For people without disabilities, technology makes things convenient. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.” - Judith E. Heumann, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of Education

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

It makes sense. Standards-based design Accessibility

What accessibility is all about

Accessibility is… productthe usability of a service environment facilityby people with the widest range of abilities - The International Organisation for Standardisation

It means taking account of: age1. language Individuals of different physical ability mental ability level of literacy

It means taking account of:2. internal Individuals who use app-based different software office systems

It means taking account of: desktops3. Individuals with handheld devices different hardware laptops cross-network devices telecoms 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

TodayPre-internet Vision-impaired couldn’t Screen readers read read newspapers. electronic text out loud. Motor-impaired couldn’t Assistive technologies turn newspaper pages. adapt computer interfaces. Deaf people can view captioned multimedia.

Credit: itutelecommunication“My quality of life has changed dramatically. Technology is the limb I never had.” – Joanne O’Riordan

Credit: itutelecommunication “Without Microsoft, Adobe and Apple in my life I would not bedoing and achieving my full potential. My life would be quite differentto what it is now.” – Joanne O’Riordan

People with disabilities and their spending power

the largest minority group in20% the United Statesof the total population. - Disability Funders Network

Globally, 1 billion people report having a disability In the U.S., people with disabilities control aggregate annual income of > $1 trillion. - Disability Funders Network

In 2004, 2.3 million undergrad andgrad students reported disabilities -more than doublethe 1.1 million reported in 1996. - Disability Funders Network

54 million have at least one disabilityAmericans baby boomer population + more veterans returning from war = double this number, in 20 years’ time - Disability Funders Network

Baby Boomers account forof all U.S. families, plus 48%spending power of > $2 trillion. - Chris Orestis,The Silver Tsunami White Paper

21 %– 23% have highly deficientof U.S. adults literacy skills another have very limited 25 %– 28% literacy skills - National Adult Literacy Survey, (via Angela Colter in Contents, Issue No. 2)

of online shoppers who experience75% sites that freeze, sites that crash, slow sites, and a convoluted checkout processwould no longer buy from these sites - Jupiter Research

And over in the UK,impaired + elderly =combined spending power of€297 billion - RNIB

83% of disabled people “walk away” from purchases because they feel unwelcome, or the product or service offering is inaccessible. - EFD Survey

Tesco implemented a fully accessible versionof their online grocery store.It cost £35,000 to develop and generatesestimated annual revenue of £1.61m - Business Taskforce on Accessible Technology

What the law says

federal departments and agencies { including web designers producing work for them } Section 508: government-funded projects { including any states that choose to adopt it }“equal or equivalent access to everyone”

set of international guidelines developed by the W3CWCAG: basis of most web accessibility laws Version 2.0, based on POUR

Perceivable Available to the sensesOperable Users can interact with all controlsUnderstandable Content is clear and unambiguousRobust Wide range of technologies

Source: quicklycode

21st Century U.S. smartphones to have accessibleCommunications web browsers by 2013 and Video Smartphones to be accessible in generalAccessibility Act: Solutions must be free or of “normal cost”

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 2011 that are not accessible. Walt Disney Company fails toaccommodate 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. ” previous Barclays CEO - John Varley,

Banco Bradesco becomes 1 st bank 1998: in the world to offer online banking for people with visual disabilitiesIts internet customers grew by 12 percent each month.

“ From the beginning, we said that all our to the would be aimed at connecting everyone actions 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

more oftenAn accessible website gets found with increased regularity by users who get exactly the information they are looking context loyalty to find via Search

But wait, there’s more.Accessibility really does mean business.

Less development timeIncreased usability Direct cost savings Accessibility means businessWider clientele Increased findability Optimised mobile content

Whose job it is

IA? IxD? PM? Devs? CS? (sorry)…it’ssaw that coming, didn’t you?) (you everyone’s job.

CS & A11y, sitting in a tree

“ The longest journey begins with the shortest alt text. ” - Jeffrey Zeldman

assessinguser goals

briefingwriters

testingusability

changemanagement

communitymanagement

How not to listen to your users… and lose business1.

Accessible content tools

Qualitative content audit

Style guide

Style guide Keep your writing short and scannable Start strong Write in the active voice Be inclusive Avoid abbreviations wherever possible Use contractions sparinglyLink text must make sense out of context Ensure all images have appropriate alt text Use thoughtful microcopy

Writing checklist

How to spread the love

1.drive it from the top down 4.collate and share2.appoint an A11y champion 5.how theyup let them see square3.decision-makers workshop with

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

helps businesses reach their objectivesAccessibility 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.D dissertation 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)

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Accessibility Means Business

by Irene Walker

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Accessibility Means Business Presentation Transcript