2010: MyDisplay - Accessibility Preferences Aren't for Sissies

Accessibility preferences aren ’ t for sissies… the importance of global collaboration in creating cloud-based auto-personalisation approaches Jonathan Hassell Head of Usability & Accessibility BBC Future Media & Technology For: Access to digital content for education workshop, Tromsø Nov 30 2010 First Presented: Unitech-2010, May 19 2010

Why is collaboration important? - the common challenge…

1a. The view from the UK… who might be excluded from Digital Participation?

21% of UK adults do not have the net 67% are C2DE vs 45% of UK population at home, or use it elsewhere 10.5m adults aged 15+ Their average age is 61 . More than half are 65+

1b. Disabled people ’s use of the web in the UK… … compared to what it could be

Disabled people in the UK
11 million adults
More likely to be older
47% over 65 compared to 20% of general population
Less likely to be working
43% of disabled people of working age are working compared to 74% of general population
Heavy media consumers
Particularly of TV and radio
Only half see themselves as ‘disabled’
This made little difference to attitudes to the media
Sources: Experience and expectations of disabled people (ODI 2008), TGI, Disabled for Life (DWP 2002), Phase 3 research

Internet use in the UK Sources: UK - EEDP (2008) and ONS (2007); US – FCC (2009) 42%
Of disabled people in the UK have used the internet
cf. USA figure: 42%
67% Of the general population in the UK have ever used the internet cf. USA figure: 65%

Missing disabled internet audience… 58% of 11m = 6.4m cf. USA figure: 40m Sources: UK – EEDP (2008) and ONS (2007); US – NPII (2010)

1c. Do they just not want to use it... What do those who use it say?

In general they use the web in ways that are very similar to non-disabled people
They look for similar sorts of things on YouTube
And find them in the same sorts of ways – through viral means or the search engine
People use similar social networking sites e.g. Facebook
And are often introduced to them by non disabled peers

About half say the web makes them feel less isolated 51% Of disabled people who use the internet daily say it helps them feel less isolated Source: EEDP (2008)

This was most important for our mentally ill participants
Depressed people may use the internet to help manage their lives during depressive episodes
Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know when - with bipolar disorder you have - you know - several times of - several weeks or several days which you - you don't feel like sort of being around people, or directly speaking to people. So, you know - we use the internet - it's marvellous, because I can do everything on it - you know - from banking to - you know - watching TV, and cooking, or buying stuff online.
Female, Bipolar Disorder, London

For some users the web is a huge enabler over other technologies…
I know YouTube but a lot of deaf are using it out there in the community I mean America the deaf are using it a lot…it links with the internet and it's got pictures and they use web cam and it's all over the world so deaf people are there because they can be signing to each other
Male, Hearing impairment, Birmingham

1d. If there ’s so much to gain… … what’s getting in the way?

Age matters… but even when controlling for age, disabled people are less likely to have ever used the internet Question (ODI) Have you ever used the internet, including email, websites instant messaging, chatrooms etc.? ONS: ever used the internet Sources: ODI (2008), ONS (2007) Base: 16-34 142, 35-54 417, 55-74 850, 75+ 451

Primary barriers: limited understanding of the internet means consideration is low 55-64, Non User “ There’s nothing on there that you couldn’t get from Teletext.”

Primary barriers: perceived value vs cost is possibly a greater issue than cost per se Significant minority cite cost / affordability as main barrier to take-up For many:

Primary barriers: lack of skills & confidence means many do not see net as available to them 75-84, Non User “ You’ve got to learn a new keyboard. All those computer controls! On my TV you’ve got buttons all over the place, I can barely cope with that!” “ I’d be frightened I’d do something and it’d go boom!” 75-84, Non User

Initial claimed barriers often mask different or deeper reasons Majority Minority Limited understanding Low perceived benefit vs cost Low confidence / skills Acquisition & installation process Basic affordability Impact on life Literacy & social exclusion Safety & security concerns Primary barriers Secondary barriers

Installation process for disabled people…
Not just the computer…
and the internet connection…
and any plug-ins or downloads needed for some sites…
but also specialised Assistive Technologies to make it work for them

Use of Assistive Technologies is low… 6-8%
Of web users use an Assistive Technology (screenreader, adapted mouse or similar) to access the Internet
Source: EEDP (2008)

When the benefits should be useful to most users… Source: Microsoft/Forrester Research study 2003, USA 57%
Of computer users (aged 18-64) are likely or very likely to benefit from the use of Assistive Technology

‘ It saves on headache tablets…’ So, for some, the experience of using the web just isn’t good enough…

1e. How current inclusion models don ’t help…

Examining our current accessibility model Up to now, “inclusion” on the net has mostly been implemented via:
“ design for all”
tweaking code so disabled people can use Assistive Technologies or OS/browser settings to make things work for them
do ‘alternative HTML versions’ if doing multimedia…

We love inclusive design…

However, rarely does a “one-size-fits-all” site work for all
different user groups can have conflicting needs
BBC iPlayer disability focus group (2009)
Vision impaired / dyslexic
“ I like the black – it’s cool”
“ I hate it – I find it really tiring”
Low literacy
“ can it just talk or something?”
Aging / learning difficulties
“ all on one page… lovely!”
“ it was just too overwhelming – can’t I have a simpler version?”
so “design for all” becomes “design for the many”
and personalisation is relied upon…

But current web personalisation expects too much…
an Assistive Technology or OS/browser setting/tool to exist to make the site accessible
often they don ’t (e.g. text to sign language, text to ‘Easy Read’)
and expects web users to:
be aware that an Assistive Technology or OS/browser setting/tool exists for their need
(even with sites like BBC My Web My Way to point the way) most are not
are able to afford that technology
most are C2DE so have difficulty affording expensive techs
are able to work out how to install it
most are not technical and scared of downloads
are able to work out how to use it
most are unconfident
are able to use it to access online content
thus… most never get this far, even if the site is WCAG AAA
… and to do this for every device they use

And alternative versions often miss the point…
would HTML alternatives really make these more accessible?
silent video
video games
wandering around 3D worlds
technology is rarely the issue, modality and complexity are
what people really need is:
the ‘version for me’
the ‘simple version’
and they need to be able to:
access it as easily as the original version

What websites need…
is to know more about the user ’s needs…
by motivating them to provide this information…
through enabling them to see the benefits this will bring…
(NB. see inclusion of such personalised approaches in latest accessibility standards, such as BS 8878 Web accessibility – code of practice )

2. Why is collaboration important? - the challenge is even harder if we don ’t share… - here’s what the BBC can share…

2a. BBC accessibility history (learning from our past)

BBC – a brief history of accessibility information
Problem: People don ’t know about OS/browsers settings or ATs
Answer: BBC My Web My Way (2006 onwards)
c. 2006 c. 2010

BBC – a brief history of accessibility personalisation
Problem: People have UX problems with OS/browser settings…
Answer: personalisation tools…
c. 1998 c. 2003 c. 2006 c. 2007 ‘Betsie’ ‘News low graphics’ ‘Accessibility Settings ‘Display Options’ Text only Text only + pics Text size + colour Text size, colour, simple Blind + simple Blind + simple VI + cognitive VI + cognitive Server-side CPS-based Site-spec CSS switcher Client-side tech Shared (BBC + ext) Not shared Not shared Shared (just BBC)

Learning – BBC jam SEN commissions
Audiogames for helping Blind children learn maths
Signing avatars for helping Deaf children ’s literacy
Media – BBC iPlayer
Access Services: Audio Description, Signing & Subtitling
Simplicity: BigScreen
BBC – a brief history of more interesting & useful alternatives…

2b. Rigorous user research – what works and what doesn ’t…?

Aren ’t web accessibility preferences for Sissies…? Read Jared Smith ’s useful article and discussion at: http://webaim.org/blog/web-accessibility-preferences-are-for-sissies /

Well maybe… in the past… let ’ s find the problems…
BBC comparative testing on BBC and other sites ’ tools
14 BBC and non-BBC customisation tools (mostly site-based) tested
with a group of 15 people with:
Dyslexia,
Aspergers,
ADHD,
Poor Vision
Mild to moderate Learning Difficulties
research was conducted externally and participants were not told until the end it was commissioned by the BBC

Research results…
most users had never used personalisation before
there was little consistency in calls to action…
and thus few were able to identify what to do
none knew what “ A A A ” was
same finding as from Frode Eike Sandnes paper from Unitech 2010
many initially didn ’t see the point… some initial reluctance to try something new…
however all said the sites they viewed were better once they had customised them
So we came up with some guidelines for personalisation
“ If all the web were like this, I’d use it…” User with ADHD

Guideline 1: make the tool simple to identify, and motivate people to use it, or else they won ’t get the benefit…

Guideline 2: make the tool as simple as possible… get users to their required preferences in the fewest clicks…

Guideline 3: allow users to feel completely in control

Guideline 4: allow users to use their preferences everywhere…

Where users want to use their preferences cf. when they can… Website Browser (incl. toolbars) OS (incl. most ATs) ‘ My Desktop/Laptop/Netbook’ ‘ My other computer’ ‘ My cell phone (apps & web)’ ‘ My tablet’ ‘ My IPTV/ games console’ Device

Guideline 5: make sure putting the tool on your site doesn ’t give those who don’t need it a worse experience

2c. Oh great… yet more guidelines…? No. A trial cloud-base solution from the BBC - MyDisplay

BBC MyDisplay at a glance
a way of letting people know why they should want…
to use an engaging way of setting and storing their accessibility preferences…
and getting sites to respond to them
… which works consistently across BBC Online…
… and ideally cross-platform to mobile + IPTV
… and ideally across the rest of the web
… providing common tools for sites to respond to those preferences
… and a common model for existing tools to use to find a user ’s preferences
opening up BBC content, and the rest of the web, to underserved audiences

Two clicks to preview a change…

Three more clicks to tweak and save your theme…

And the rest of BBC Online uses your preferences…

On whatever OSes and browsers you want to use…

On all the (IP-connected) computers you use… theme stored on the web, in a BBC iD

Without requiring any downloads…

2d. Checking acceptance by target audiences before ploughing on…

“ I’ve been waiting for this for years… ” User feedback in labs and focus groups…

In practice: 6 month trial with core target audiences…
November 2010 to May 2011 in the UK
Key metric: retention ratio (people who continue to use MyDisplay cf. all people who try MyDisplay )
Sources: DFEE 2m
low-vision but not blind
1.9m
dyslexic
1.8m
adults with low-literacy levels (<age 8)
80k
cognitively impaired (ADHD, Aspergers)

2e. Didn ’ t the users say they wanted this everywhere? - if the audiences like it, a vision for sharing…

Across multiple web platforms (eventually) Apps Browser

In whatever technologies websites use… (potentially)

On websites from more than one organization (actual sites indicative)
working with initial non-BBC adoption partners…
have 5 signed-up for feasibility pilot
have interest from many, many more…

A UI and adaptation framework which can evolve to cover preferences for many different groups… Optimisation for users wanting voicing Optimisation for screenreader users Optimisation for switch users Optimisation for older users

Working with international standards and initiatives…
to ensure MyDisplay complies with, and helps influence, international standards for the specification of Accessibility Preferences
e.g. ISO/IEC 24751, Access For All 3.0…
to ensure MyDisplay influences and works with other global accessibility initiatives
e.g. NPII, GPII etc. ( www.npii.org )

Collaboration is everything…
the need is real… piecemeal solutions don ’t work… we need to work together…
nationally
internationally – EU, globally…
potential for collaboration across Europe…
e.g. FP7-ICT-2011.5.5 – smart and personalised inclusion (proposals due Jan-11)
collaboration on:
research into user needs and preferences
what people would like to change about the web …
what preferences are local and what are global
research into solutions that will work
interoperably
in broad real-world usage
research into communication and acceptability of solutions to our common audience
what will actually make a difference?

e: jonathan@hassellinclusion.com t: @jonhassell w: www.hassellinclusion.com Contact me

2010: MyDisplay - Accessibility Preferences Aren't for Sissies

by Jonathan Hassell

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2010: MyDisplay - Accessibility Preferences Aren’t for Sissies Presentation Transcript