This presentation was provided by Julia Caffrey-Hill of Towson University during the NISO event "The Impact of the Interface: Traditional and Non Traditional Content," held on November 20, 2019.

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NISOVirtualConference
Julia Caffrey-Hill
SelectingAccessible (and
Usable)Interfaces

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JULIA CAFFREY-HILL
Web Services Librarian, Towson University, (she/hers)
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Your users deserve usable,
accessible products.

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Support what
we have
Select
new things
INFORMATION AND WEB PROFESSIONALS

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• Awareness and expectation:
products change over time.
• During concurrent trials, usability
testing with end-users may not be
an option
• Review techniques and automated
tools
• Usability and accessibility
contribute to inclusion and access
to information
• Considering accessibility at the
point of selection is less
expensive than remediation or
litigation later.
Select
new things

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• Brief overview of key
definitions and context
• Practical activities to
review interfaces for
accessibility
• Identify sets of guidelines
and rules-of-thumb for
usability and accessibility
• Provide self-education
resources for accessibility
Objectives

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CONTEXT
& DEFINITIONS
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Peter Morville’s UX
Honeycomb, 2004
USER EXPERIENCE (UX)

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Everyone.
Cognitive or
language differences,
dyslexia
Motor disabilitiesDeaf, people with
hearing loss or
differences
Low vision or
differences in
vision
Blind and
screenreader users
ACCESSIBILITY BENEFITS…

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ACCESSIBILITY MEANS
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Same information, available at the same time, at the same price.
(Lazar et. al, 2015)

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Caffrey 2017
COMPONENTS OFACCESSIBILITY

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FOR LICENSED
PRODUCTS
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Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
ALWAYS ASK
THE SALES
REP FORA
VPAT

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The Big Ten Academic Alliance provides license and shares third-party expert reviews.
This language ensures providers:
• follow international guidelines on web accessibility (WCAG 2.1)
• comply with U.S. regulations related to accessibility (Section 508)
• provide timely remediation
• allow clients to alter licensed materials for users with disabilities if needed
REQUEST
STANDARDIZED LICENSE LANGUAGE

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WHEN TO REVIEW FORACCESSIBILITY
You or another human will need to check accessibility if any of these are
true:
• Your organization is creating the interface, changing the interface,
customizing the interface, or uploading content.
• The interface is licensed and does not come with a VPAT, or there is one
and it is unreliable or incomplete.
• The interface is open source and has no reports, reviews, or open issues
related to or guaranteeing accessibility
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REVIEWING FOR
ACCESSIBILITY
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Motor disabilitiesBlind and
screenreader users
Use your keyboard (no mouse!)
ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW TECHNIQUE #1

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SelectEnter
ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW TECHNIQUE #1: COMMANDS
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Use your keyboard (no mouse!)
Tab
Tab+
Shif
t

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Use an automated review tool like WAVE.
wave.webaim.org
Browser extensions for:
• Firefox
• Chrome
ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW TECHNIQUE #2

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Use a screen reader.
• Most thorough of techniques presented
• Upfront learning involved
• Recommend choosing 1 screenreader on 1
browser and sticking with it.
• Recommended: NVDA with Firefox on
Windows with Focus Highlight Plug-in.
ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW TECHNIQUE #3

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GUIDELINESAND
RULES-OF-THUMB
For accessibility and
usability
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USABILITY
1. Laws of UX
2. 10 Usability Heuristics (Nielsen 1995)
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ACCESSIBILITY: WCAG 2.1
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• Authoritative source of techniques and guidelines for web accessibility.
• The closer you are to this resource, the higher the fidelity.

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1. There are quick flashes of light or motion without a way to control it.
(Video backgrounds, automatic carousels without controls)
2. Links require ninja-like precision.
3. Text is hard to read because of the colors used.
4. You cannot highlight text with your mouse.
5. Color alone is used to convey meaning.
5 DEAD GIVEAWAYS IT IS INACCESSIBLE: #1

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1. There are quick flashes of light or motion without a way to control it.
(Video backgrounds, automatic carousels without controls)
2. Links require ninja-like precision.
3. Text is hard to read because of the colors used.
4. You cannot highlight text with your mouse.
5. Color alone is used to convey meaning.
5 DEAD GIVEAWAYS IT IS INACCESSIBLE: #2

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1. There are quick flashes of light or motion without a way to control it.
(Video backgrounds, automatic carousels without controls)
2. Links require ninja-like precision.
3. Text is hard to read because of the colors used.
4. You cannot highlight text with your mouse.
5. Color alone is used to convey meaning.
5 DEAD GIVEAWAYS IT IS INACCESSIBLE: #3

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1. There are quick flashes of light or motion without a way to control it.
(Video backgrounds, automatic carousels without controls)
2. Links require ninja-like precision.
3. Text is hard to read because of the colors used.
4. You cannot highlight text.
5. Color alone is used to convey meaning.
5 DEAD GIVEAWAYS IT IS INACCESSIBLE: #4

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1. There are quick flashes of light or motion without a way to control it.
(Video backgrounds, automatic carousels without controls)
2. Links require ninja-like precision.
3. Text is hard to read because of the colors used.
4. You cannot highlight text with your mouse.
5. Color alone is used to convey meaning.
5 DEAD GIVEAWAYS IT IS INACCESSIBLE: #5, PART 1

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1. There are quick flashes of light or motion without a way to control it.
(Video backgrounds, automatic carousels without controls)
2. Links require ninja-like precision.
3. Text is hard to read because of the colors used.
4. You cannot highlight text with your mouse.
5. Color alone is used to convey meaning.
5 DEAD GIVEAWAYS IT IS INACCESSIBLE: #5, PART 2

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1. There are quick flashes of light or motion without a way to control it.
(Video backgrounds, automatic carousels without controls)
2. Links require ninja-like precision.
3. Text is hard to read because of the colors used.
4. You cannot highlight text with your mouse.
5. Color alone is used to convey meaning.
5 DEAD GIVEAWAYS IT IS INACCESSIBLE: #5, PART 3

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SELF-EDUCATION
RESOURCES
For accessibility
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SELF EDUCATION RESOURCES
You are not alone. Starting and being imperfect is better than doing nothing.
• Do’s and Don’ts UK.gov Posters
• A11y Project Checklist (Web professionals)
• Webaim.org (Designers, writers)
• W3 Web Accessibility Initiative
• Lazar, J., Goldstein, D., & Taylor, A. (2015). Ensuring Digital Accessibility through Process and
Policy.
• W3 WCAG (Technical Resource)
• Trusted Tester Program: US Department of Homeland Security Office of Accessible Systems &
Technology Training Resources
• Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies Certification by International
Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
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33. @jscaffrey
jcaffrey@towson.eduJulia Caffrey-Hill
THANK YOU