Getting your own experience of accessibility helps you to put yourself in the shoes of others and keep accessibility in mind when designing and developing. Find out how you can easily experience accessibility for yourself using something you likely have in your pocket – a smartphone.
Experiencing digital accessibility (FEL 2018)Jon Gibbins
If empathy is about understanding people, accessibility is about understanding people and the barriers that they face. Getting your own experience of accessibility helps you to put yourself in the shoes of others and keep accessibility in mind when building and testing your sites and applications.
In this talk, Jon Gibbins gives a practical introduction to accessibility for front end designers and developers. He will walk through some typical accessibility barriers and situations where an accessible user experience does not necessarily come from simply adhering to accessibility guidelines. Find out how you can easily experience accessibility for yourself using something you likely have in your pocket – a smartphone. Leave with some tips under your belt and a grasp of some technical fundamentals that are often the missing piece of the puzzle for developers' understanding of accessibility.
Design for Everyone: 7x10^9 Reasons We Need to Stop Designing for OurselvesMegan Kierstead
Technology should be more inclusive. This means thinking about people as diverse, individual entities--not just statistics or marketing segments. I give an overview of the different ways of understanding people and culture, and the implications for designers and entrepreneurs.
Making sustainability accessible (Future Economy Network event, February 2021)Jon Gibbins
If we exclude people in our work, then we create products and services that are less sustainable. And as we look to the future, our idea of what it means to be inclusive and sustainable will shift. Around 1 in 5 people have a disability. We need to include them. We need their help.
Experiencing digital accessibility (FEL 2018)Jon Gibbins
If empathy is about understanding people, accessibility is about understanding people and the barriers that they face. Getting your own experience of accessibility helps you to put yourself in the shoes of others and keep accessibility in mind when building and testing your sites and applications.
In this talk, Jon Gibbins gives a practical introduction to accessibility for front end designers and developers. He will walk through some typical accessibility barriers and situations where an accessible user experience does not necessarily come from simply adhering to accessibility guidelines. Find out how you can easily experience accessibility for yourself using something you likely have in your pocket – a smartphone. Leave with some tips under your belt and a grasp of some technical fundamentals that are often the missing piece of the puzzle for developers' understanding of accessibility.
Design for Everyone: 7x10^9 Reasons We Need to Stop Designing for OurselvesMegan Kierstead
Technology should be more inclusive. This means thinking about people as diverse, individual entities--not just statistics or marketing segments. I give an overview of the different ways of understanding people and culture, and the implications for designers and entrepreneurs.
Making sustainability accessible (Future Economy Network event, February 2021)Jon Gibbins
If we exclude people in our work, then we create products and services that are less sustainable. And as we look to the future, our idea of what it means to be inclusive and sustainable will shift. Around 1 in 5 people have a disability. We need to include them. We need their help.
This is the presentation I gave to my examiner and fellow classmates on March 19 2013.
I showed some demos during the presentation which can be viewed here:
-LAPS: http://2013ixd.tumblr.com/post/44775623665/try-out-the-interactive-laps
-Guided Conversation: http://alexismorin.com/voice/voice.html
-Guided Conversation (French): http://alexismorin.com/voice/voice-fr.html
NCET Tech Cafe | Dr. Zimmerman, To text or to talk?Archersan
To text or to talk: That is the question.
Learn the answer during this discussion led by Dr. Gordon Zimmerman, professor emeritus in communication at the University of Nevada and an internationally renowned communication consultant.
Sure, writing "it" and saying "it" are clearly different methods of relaying information about "it," but did you know your communication choice can impact how you are perceived - and ultimately may contribute to your success (or failure)?
The third Wednesday of each month is when we invite an expert to offer business tips during Tech Café. In March, our featured speaker will help answer the following:
• What are the advantages of using written communication - texting and email?
• What special benefits come from conversation - phone or face-to-face?
• What do we know about people who prefer writing over speaking?
• How can we achieve special payoffs in building relationships and personal influence?
Applying EU regulation to native mobile apps (IAAP webinar, December 2021)Jon Gibbins
Modern digital accessibility standards are designed to be applicable to all technologies, but they need translating for use in different technical contexts. This is particularly true for native mobile platforms, such as iOS and Android, where terminology and measures specific to web technology do not necessarily translate easily. So, how do we conform to the EU Web Accessibility Directive when working with native mobile apps? Jon will explain how he translates these accessibility standards for native mobile apps.
Your small business meets sustainability (webinar for The ICG, October 2021)Jon Gibbins
Webinar discussing the themes of sustainability, ethical finance and green technology, and include toolkit suggestions, helpful advice and achievable changes you can start using today.
https://theicg.co.uk/event/your-small-business-meets-sustainability/
Native mobile accessibility testing: compliance, tools and tips (Funka Access...Jon Gibbins
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines may have been designed to be applicable to all technologies, but it still uses terminology and measures specific to web technology. So, how do we ensure our native mobile apps conform to standards and guidelines? Jon will show us how he tests native apps to such standards.
Advanced (Undocumented) iOS accessibility techniques (iOSDevUK, September 2019)Jon Gibbins
Perhaps you know some accessibility basics, but what about the more advanced stuff? iOS provides a powerful API for creating accessible user experiences, and some implementations certainly have their quirks. This talk covers this trickier end of the spectrum.
iOS and Android accessibility APIs (AccessU 2017)Jon Gibbins
A guided tour of the native accessibility APIs on iOS and Android to help you understand what’s possible and learn how to speak accessibility to iOS and Android app developers.
This primer on mobile accessibility will give you a solid grounding on standards, guidelines and principles of making websites accessible on mobile devices, and demonstrate some of the accessibility features available on iOS and Android.
This presentation was delivered at Digpen 7:
http://lanyrd.com/2014/digpen7/sdfcth/
Hitting a moving target: achieving mobile inclusionJon Gibbins
Mobile interaction and use is narrowing the digital divide, providing new opportunities for digital inclusion around the world. Mobile platforms such as iOS, Android, and Windows are rapidly evolving with richer and more robust accessibility features and support, giving developers more ways to create accessible mobile web applications.
This presentation was delivered at e-access '13:
http://www.headstar.com/eaccess13/agenda.html
Online presentation:
http://www.w3.org/People/shadi/Talks/2013/1031/Mobile/
Or:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64311/training/2013-eaccess-553d7c/index.html
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
This is the presentation I gave to my examiner and fellow classmates on March 19 2013.
I showed some demos during the presentation which can be viewed here:
-LAPS: http://2013ixd.tumblr.com/post/44775623665/try-out-the-interactive-laps
-Guided Conversation: http://alexismorin.com/voice/voice.html
-Guided Conversation (French): http://alexismorin.com/voice/voice-fr.html
NCET Tech Cafe | Dr. Zimmerman, To text or to talk?Archersan
To text or to talk: That is the question.
Learn the answer during this discussion led by Dr. Gordon Zimmerman, professor emeritus in communication at the University of Nevada and an internationally renowned communication consultant.
Sure, writing "it" and saying "it" are clearly different methods of relaying information about "it," but did you know your communication choice can impact how you are perceived - and ultimately may contribute to your success (or failure)?
The third Wednesday of each month is when we invite an expert to offer business tips during Tech Café. In March, our featured speaker will help answer the following:
• What are the advantages of using written communication - texting and email?
• What special benefits come from conversation - phone or face-to-face?
• What do we know about people who prefer writing over speaking?
• How can we achieve special payoffs in building relationships and personal influence?
Applying EU regulation to native mobile apps (IAAP webinar, December 2021)Jon Gibbins
Modern digital accessibility standards are designed to be applicable to all technologies, but they need translating for use in different technical contexts. This is particularly true for native mobile platforms, such as iOS and Android, where terminology and measures specific to web technology do not necessarily translate easily. So, how do we conform to the EU Web Accessibility Directive when working with native mobile apps? Jon will explain how he translates these accessibility standards for native mobile apps.
Your small business meets sustainability (webinar for The ICG, October 2021)Jon Gibbins
Webinar discussing the themes of sustainability, ethical finance and green technology, and include toolkit suggestions, helpful advice and achievable changes you can start using today.
https://theicg.co.uk/event/your-small-business-meets-sustainability/
Native mobile accessibility testing: compliance, tools and tips (Funka Access...Jon Gibbins
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines may have been designed to be applicable to all technologies, but it still uses terminology and measures specific to web technology. So, how do we ensure our native mobile apps conform to standards and guidelines? Jon will show us how he tests native apps to such standards.
Advanced (Undocumented) iOS accessibility techniques (iOSDevUK, September 2019)Jon Gibbins
Perhaps you know some accessibility basics, but what about the more advanced stuff? iOS provides a powerful API for creating accessible user experiences, and some implementations certainly have their quirks. This talk covers this trickier end of the spectrum.
iOS and Android accessibility APIs (AccessU 2017)Jon Gibbins
A guided tour of the native accessibility APIs on iOS and Android to help you understand what’s possible and learn how to speak accessibility to iOS and Android app developers.
This primer on mobile accessibility will give you a solid grounding on standards, guidelines and principles of making websites accessible on mobile devices, and demonstrate some of the accessibility features available on iOS and Android.
This presentation was delivered at Digpen 7:
http://lanyrd.com/2014/digpen7/sdfcth/
Hitting a moving target: achieving mobile inclusionJon Gibbins
Mobile interaction and use is narrowing the digital divide, providing new opportunities for digital inclusion around the world. Mobile platforms such as iOS, Android, and Windows are rapidly evolving with richer and more robust accessibility features and support, giving developers more ways to create accessible mobile web applications.
This presentation was delivered at e-access '13:
http://www.headstar.com/eaccess13/agenda.html
Online presentation:
http://www.w3.org/People/shadi/Talks/2013/1031/Mobile/
Or:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64311/training/2013-eaccess-553d7c/index.html
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
Kubernetes & AI - Beauty and the Beast !?! @KCD Istanbul 2024Tobias Schneck
As AI technology is pushing into IT I was wondering myself, as an “infrastructure container kubernetes guy”, how get this fancy AI technology get managed from an infrastructure operational view? Is it possible to apply our lovely cloud native principals as well? What benefit’s both technologies could bring to each other?
Let me take this questions and provide you a short journey through existing deployment models and use cases for AI software. On practical examples, we discuss what cloud/on-premise strategy we may need for applying it to our own infrastructure to get it to work from an enterprise perspective. I want to give an overview about infrastructure requirements and technologies, what could be beneficial or limiting your AI use cases in an enterprise environment. An interactive Demo will give you some insides, what approaches I got already working for real.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
8. “Getting your own experience of
accessibility helps you to put
yourself in the shoes of others and
keep accessibility in mind when
building and testing your sites and
applications”
– Jon Gibbins, Nov 2007
58. Compound words
Compound words are commonplace
• Homepage
• Sitemap
• "Signup" announced as "sig–nup" in VoiceOver iOS
Spaces and hyphens are your friends.
This is relatively new talk based on some old ideas.
I’ve been thinking about this for around 5 years now.
It encapsulates my take on accessibility.
Digital accessibility consultant on web and mobile
Training, testing, development, UX, mentoring, policy and organisational change
Self-taught web developer since 1999
Digital accessibility since 2003
Mobile specialist since 2012
Passionate about accessibility – why?
I don’t have a disability as such (wears glasses, APD, bad back)
Let me tell you the story of my journey to working with accessibility in mind
Short version: “What’s accessibility all about for me?”
Many accessibility presentations will kick off with an explanation of what accessibility is all about, why you should be thinking about it.
Corporate Social Responsibility.
The legal aspects (Equality Act, EN 301 549, ADA, 508).
I’m not going to talk about compliance or the law today, unless you ask me to.
The benefits.
Proven Return On Investment
You may have heard that the Internet’s biggest blind user is Google.
Accessibility is good for SEO.
Accessibility can save you time and helps make your applications more robust. No, really! Adding accessibility into applications makes automated testing easy.
There’s a good case study for the business case from Legal & General (http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/legal-and-general-case-study)
Developers:
Often see accessibility as having to jump through hoops for little gain.
It’s such a hassle.
Why should I do it?
For me:
It’s a challenge.
It’s on a par with testing, security and documentation. You don’t have to do it, but you should.
I think it’s cool!
Most importantly, I’ve seen what accessibility can do.
I’m going to kick off with why I do accessibility…
Jon’s earliest experience of “geek”
Smart watches / phones:
Jon first saw these in a book in the 80s and thought, “Woah, that’s pretty cool!”
Technology is cool! But also enabling!
LG watch phone: 1.3 inch full touch screen, 3G+ connectivity, video call capabilities, Voice recognition software, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, MP3 player.
Jon’s first experience of accessibility – a talking clock used by his blind mother.
Jon has a passion for music. He plays guitar, sings, writes songs…
At university, he got to work with disabled musicians to develop accessible music composition and performance software.
The point is that we need to think outside the box a little.
We need to find ways to empathise.
Why is getting your own experience important?
November 2007
Started assembling my accessibility video tour.
Needs updating, but still helpful to understand how the technology is used.
https://lab.dotjay.com/notes/assistive-technology/videos/
Another way to talk about accessibility is through analogies. I like analogies.
Any parents in the audience?
More on analogies:
https://dotjay.com/2007/11/analogies-for-accessibility
You don’t know what it’s like unless you experience it for yourself.
You can get an idea of what it's like from friends or family, but you don't know it until you become a parent yourself.
Experiencing assistive technology for yourself or taking part in disability simulations won’t tell you what it’s like to be disabled.
You cannot simulate disability effectively enough to understand what it is like to live with any disability.
Robin Eames on Twitter, September 2018:
https://twitter.com/robinmarceline/status/1039311147738906624
https://twitter.com/robinmarceline/status/1039321725756891136
Well, yes, but no…
Empathy = I feel with you = “you’re in a person’s head and understand how they feel and what they think.”
Sympathy = I feel for you = “the acknowledgement of the suffering of others.”
I choose to talk about empathy because disabled people don't want sympathy. They want equality.
We build better through exercising empathy rather than sympathy.
Empathy requires much more effort in order to achieve better understanding.
Some say that it is impossible, or even wrong, to aim for empathy.
Using an accessibility feature on your smartphone is going to build sympathy.
But what I’m suggesting we should all do is going further to achieve better understanding.
Don Norman, May 2019 (Design thinker and researcher, co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group)
https://theblog.adobe.com/why-i-dont-believe-in-empathic-design-don-norman/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/sympathy-vs-empathy-ux/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/empathy-mapping/
Beware of lies. We want to build for everyone. But you cannot understand everyone.
I don't believe there is such as thing as “fully accessible”, so I try to avoid using that phrase.
It's no easy task making something accessible to every person and accommodate the way they interact with the world.
You can only do your best to make things as accessible as you can.
Accessibility is not all about code or compliance; it’s about people.
Experiencing digital accessibility helps *build empathy* with your users, 15-20% of which have some form of disability.
[15% worldwide statistic from WHO World report on disability, 2011; 20% statistic is for England & Wales, 2011]
In 2016, around 75% of disabled people in the UK had used the internet.
In 2017, 78%.
In 2018, 80%.
Numbers are increasing, especially with cheaper means to access using mobile devices.
Difficult to estimate regular users.
Around 13% of the UK internet population have a disability.
[Click-Away Pound Survey 2016]
More:
http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report/en/
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/nearlyoneinfivepeoplehadsomeformofdisabilityinenglandandwales/2015-07-13
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2016#25-of-disabled-adults-had-never-used-the-internet
https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/itandinternetindustry/bulletins/internetusers/2018
http://www.clickawaypound.com/cap16finalreport.html
http://fra.europa.eu/en/theme/people-disabilities
Out of interest, do we have people with a disability here today?
Jon wears glasses
Jon’s mum went blind
Jon’s dad has Alzheimer’s disease
Jon has friends who are blind, deaf, people who are wheelchair users, people with cerebral palsy…
I don’t know about you, but everyone I know is ageing.
As we get older, we are likely to experience multiple disabilities of different types.
Who can think of their own story about accessibility?
I like to get good balance and something for everyone.
What roles do we have in the room?
How many developers? How many testers?
Who is not technical?
Who has some knowledge of accessibility?
Who has used a mobile screen reader?
WCAG?
Inclusion and accessibility is about people, not laws or even just code.
Yes, accessibility is a human right…
For me, accessibility is as important as security, or performance, or documenting your code.
Vision – blind, partially sighted
Hearing – Deaf (capital D), deaf, hearing loss
Deaf = Deaf community ∴ sign language more likely to be first language (BSL instead of English, for example)
Motor – limited movement or control
Cognitive / neurological – dyslexic, autistic
Disabled people don’t always fall neatly into the 4 main disability types
People have diverse needs
Equally, people may use a diverse range of access tech and settings
Older users, for example, could fall into any of the above groupings (limited dexterity, hearing and vision)
Ageing
We are all subject to ageing
Spans various disabilities and user groups
Often first-time users
Note: Older people, like young children, find primary solid color easier to see and draw meaning from than pastel colors, etc.
Hidden disabilities
Often, we have images of people with extreme disabilities in mind (totally blind, amputees, wheelchair users, totally deaf, etc.)
Many of us have mild disabilities (e.g. people who wear glasses) or hidden disabilities
Dyslexia
Chronic fatigue / pain (fibromyalgia)
Epilepsy
Photo sensitivity
Temporary disability
Broken bones, e.g. someone with a broken arm cannot use a mouse.
Repetitive strain injury
Tiredness
Situational limitation
Hands-free while driving.
Hearing a phone call in noisy environments.
Touch screen devices in bright light or wet weather.
Small keyboards require dexterity.
Notice the difference of “limitation” as opposed to “disability” (https://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/wiki/Situational_terminology)
Terms like “device disabled” or “situational disability” dilutes the definition of disability and accessibility.
Cultural inclusion
Language; not everyone understands English.
Colours have different meanings or associations all over the world. Red is often associated with stop, errors, or passion in Western cultures. In China, red can relate to celebration or good luck.
Even shape and iconography
Technology
Particular software and hardware requirements or preferences
User requirements can be diverse.
Technology issues include user preference, for a particular hardware feature, for example. You cannot account for user preference, you can only build for flexibility.
Mobile users can be limited by data allowances.
Vision impairment
Uses a screen reader or screen magnifier
Physical impairment
Only use a keyboard, may use voice recognition software and/or switch access
Equally, people may use a diverse range of different access technology and settings
Deaf or hard of hearing
Requires captions for audio content
iOS mainly, but all this applies to Android now, and to some extent on other platforms too.
How many smartphones in pockets?
How many iOS?
How many Android?
Others?
Why am I picking out mobile accessibility here?
Easily available – iOS and (most) Android devices
Quick to learn
Good way to get experience of AT
Great for quick testing on actual AT
Of particular interest to Jon… mobile accessibility:
Small screens
40-pixel (7mm+) finger is big on small targets
Can be hard to reach some parts of the screen
Small text sizes is like having low vision
Small input devices
Tiny keys
Environment (hands-free, noise, rain)
Eyes-free usage, e.g. in car, is like being blind
“Mainstream” features with accessibility benefits
SMS
Video calls
Voice assistants, such as Siri, Cortana, etc.
FaceTime used by deaf people
Custom vibrations as ringtone equivalents
Speeches given using iPad with Proloquo
HueVue app that helps color blind people identify colors
Braille:
V-B-Reader app (Android) that enables Braille to be read using vibrating touch screens
Touch-screen Braille writer
Innovative assistive technology that’s useful to all users!
Apple’s Siri voice recognition
Google Voice’s voicemail transcription
Custom vibrations (iPhone setting and Android app)
Shared experiences comparable to temporary disability
in the car (blind)
at concerts (hard of hearing)
small text (low vision)
“fat fingers” on small screens / keyboards (hand tremors)
broken bones (crutches)
http://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/experiences
Opportunity
For users
Cheaper technology
Easier to learn
Easier to access services
For business
Reaching as wide an audience as possible
Reaching untapped spending power
Modern mobile devices have a wide variety of accessibility features built in, particularly iOS and Android.
Let’s just take a look at screen readers.
We’ll look at “explore by touch” first; gesture navigation is explained in the next slide. Also, more general notes about these interaction methods are in the notes on the next slide.
Explore by touch:
is spatial
requires users to become aware of the layout of a page/screen
can be tedious for general use and things can be missed by users
but is by far the best way to interact with on-screen keyboards and is a bit like touch typing
Focus: Slightly different concept on mobile than on desktop.
Gesture navigation:
is sequential, typically following the reading order of a page/screen
allows users to interact with one element of a page/screen at a time, similar to how you interact with the keyboard on desktop applications
uses a virtual focus cursor, which is roughly equivalent to keyboard focus and tabbing around an interface
often makes more sense to users (provided reading order makes sense) and things are less likely to be missed
Both of these methods are now used in iOS and Android
Both methods available in iOS since iPhone OS 3 was released with the iPhone 3GS in June 2009
Android TalkBack Explore by Touch mode available since Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) in October 2011
Android TalkBack Gesture mode available since Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) in June 2012
Gesture navigation on Android does not behave in exactly the same way as VoiceOver on iOS, but it is similar
These interaction methods are becoming a de facto standard on mobile devices
So, why isn't this the normal approach to accessibility?
I think disability is difficult for some people to think or talk about.
People may feel uncomfortable.
I think this is down to poor understanding, social stigmas, lack of experience.
But there are more problems at play…
Don’t just be the accessibility guy/gal
Shared responsibility
Raise awareness
Teach
Learn
Think about accessibility as early as possible
Bake it into your process, wireframes, etc.
Fix accessibility before it hits the screens
Documenting accessibility as you go will help future iterations
Accessibility more likely to:
get baked into prototypes
persist through development
make it into production at an acceptable level
Accessibility in continuous integration: code linting, checks as part of release procedures, etc.
BS 8878
Not a set of development guidelines
Project management roadmap for ensuring that web products are built in an accessible way
You know your work better than I do.
You understand the context better than I do.
You are better placed to find solutions.
I can guide you, but it’s better if you can teach yourself.
Solutions are contextual – accessibility is contextual. Context is King, especially on mobile.
It’s not necessarily about what you know; it’s about knowing what to look up and where.
Another reason that experiencing accessibility is important.
It helps you better understand the context.
Just look at images, which may:
Be purely decorative
Be a photo
Be a map
Be a button
Convey simple information
Convey complex information
Experience is the first step towards understanding.
Without experience, poor choices are made.
Without understanding, things you design or build may be inappropriate or incoherent.
Here’s an example of an incoherent.
Photo
Just because you add something “accessible”, doesn’t mean that it makes sense.
Design stage is important for establishing context and making sense of the answers before they become problems.
In short, plenty.
Guidelines are great, but…
The guidelines don’t tell you everything.
There are some fun things that can go wrong.
I’ve seen plenty of examples on the Web where following guidelines has lead to poor accessibility due to lack of understanding:
Tabindex
WAI-ARIA
The guidelines don’t tell you everything…
Interesting things can happen with content.
Here are just a few quick examples.
We have language selection in WCAG, but what about pronunciation?
Something that often gets missed is the text itself – the words we use.
Clear text is essential to providing good user experiences for all users, but especially for users of assistive technology such as screen readers.
Using semantic markup helps
But screen readers can still get things wrong
Notes:
Screen reader software takes text found on screen – on a website, for example – and tries to create synthetic speech from it to help people understand what's on the screen. Think of Stephen Hawking's speech synthesizer (http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-computer.html).
Problems arise when the software can't quite figure out what is meant by the text it finds.
Certain text does not result in clearly understandable announcements from screen readers. While not a requirement under WCAG 2.0, these things should be considered for the best user experience for people who use assistive technologies.
Not just an issue for screenreader users, but also people with dyslexia.
Many compound words have become so commonplace that they have become acceptable in day-to-day use:
bookmark
commonplace
grandfather
newspaper
weekend
website
So, accessibility is contextual.
How do we best build for accessibility then?
Annotate
Fix accessibility before it hits the screens
Documenting accessibility as you go will help future iterations
Annotate wireframes with accessibility detail
Show structure, headings, labels, order
Headings
Focus order
Grouping
Structure
Colour contrast
Include disabled people in personas
Different disabilities, different needs
Older people (often first time users)
Plan to test with similar people