A presentation delivered at the Society for Technical Communication (STC) India chapter annual conference in 2004 at Chennai. It talks about the importance of accessibility in software and web-applications with a focus on technical writing or user documentation. It also takes into perspective the US laws such as Section 508.

1. Impact of Accessibility
on Technical Writing
Mohammad Qais Mujeeb, is currently the
Director – Technical Communication at
Ascezen Consulting Pvt. Ltd

2. Topics to be covered
• Accessibility
• Section 508
• Scenarios and Cases
• Assistive Technologies
• Adaptive Strategies
• Ways to make documentation accessible

3. Introduction
Most of the consumer and business services are provided
through the Web today.
Every one has the right to basic services, irrespective of their
age, language and physical or mental abilities.
More than 54 million Americans experience some activity
limitation due to chronic health conditions or impairments.
Number of RSI affected people among an estimated 25
million computer users in India, is rising at a startling rate.
Web content should be made accessible to widen the reach
and help people with disabilities.

4. Accessibility: Some
Definitions
• Ensuring that content can be navigated and read by
everyone, regardless of location, experience, or the type
of computer technology used.
• The quality of a system incorporating hardware or
software that makes it usable by people with one or
more physical disabilities, such as restricted mobility,
blindness, or deafness.
• The degree to which software can be used comfortably
by a wide variety of people, including those who require
assistive technologies like screen magnifiers or voice
recognition.

5. Accessibility and Usability
Accessibility and Usability walk hand in hand as they have a
common objective.
And that is…
To improve the user experience

6. Section 508
In 1998, the U.S. Workforce Reinvestment Act amended Section
508 to include technology and the World Wide Web.
Section 508 of the U.S. Federal Rehabilitation Act:
• Ensures people with disabilities access to goods and
services provided by the federal government.
• Requires access to electronic and information
technology procured by Federal agencies.
• Requires that Federal agencies' electronic and
information technology is accessible to people with
disabilities, including employees and members of the public.

7. Section 508
[contd.]
Section 508 requires that:
• electronic and information technology (EIT)
• purchased or developed
• by federal agencies
• be accessible to
• people with disabilities.
If a product, including documentation, is not accessible, the
product might not be considered for government contracts

8. Paragraph A of Section 508
Paragraph A of Section 508 reads,
"A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided
(e.g., via 'alt,' 'longdesc,' or in element content)."
Paragraph A requires alt text for every "non-text element."
Images are just one example of “non-text elements”.
Other types of non-text elements include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Flash animations
Shockwave files
Video files
Audio files
Scripts
Image maps

9. When does Accessibility come into picture?
Accessibility is most commonly discussed in relation to
people with disabilities, because this group is most likely to
be disadvantaged if the principles of accessible Web
design are not implemented.
Let’s have a look at some Scenarios…

10. Scenario 1
Imagine using the web without a mouse…
• People suffering from arthritis, carpel tunnel syndrome or a
broken wrist
• Move on web page using <TAB> key
Challenges:
• Number of Tab presses required to reach the actual content.
• Logical Sequence of Tab order
• Provision of a shortcut key to enter /exit a Flash plug-in

11. Scenario 2
Using the web without seeing the page
Imagine a situation when you have to use the web without
seeing the web page. Try this for an unfamiliar website.
Challenges of using a Screen Reader
• Requires Alt text for pictures, images, etc.
• Can’t differentiate between ads and real content
• Reading data in tables can be confusing

12. Some Cases
Let us have a look at some cases where accessibility is
required and how accessibility features can help.

13. Case 1
Online Shopper with Color Blindness
• Mr. Lee, an online shopper, has Red/Green Color Blindness
• Problems Faced:
– Poor color contrast on Web sites
– Discounted prices, indicated by red text, appearing brown
– Required fields on forms, indicated by red text
• Probable Solutions:
– Using proper color contrast on Web sites
– Discounted prices can be indicated by mentioning
it in brackets
– Required fields on forms, can be indicated by
using asterisks (*)
– Use of style sheets, as they can be over-ridden
by personal style sheets through browser support

14. Case 2
Reporter with Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI)
• Mr. Jones, a reporter, has developed RSI and is unable to type
• Problems Faced:
– Inability to use mouse and keyboard for prolonged hours
– Lack of keyboard equivalents/shortcuts for mouse driven
commands in the web-authoring software at his office
• Probable Solutions:
– Using Access key feature on Web sites having a long list of
links
– Using the new version with full keyboard support

15. Case 3
Online student who is deaf
• Ms. Martinez, an online student who is deaf
• Problems Faced:
– Inability to utilize the audio lectures in the online
courseware
• Probable Solutions:
– Making available the transcripts of lectures
– Captioning of all audio lectures

16. Case 4
Accountant with blindness
• Ms. Linda, an accountant at an insurance company that uses
web-based formats over a corporate intranet
• Tools used:
– A Screen Reader which generates a combination of
speech
output and refreshable Braille output
• Do these tools work?
– Tables are marked up with column and row headers
– ALT text is provided for images
– Expansions of abbreviations and acronyms are mentioned,
the first time they appear on a page

17. Case 5
Supermarket assistant with cognitive disability
• Mr. Sands, who works at a supermarket, has Down Syndrome
• Problems Faced:
– Difficulty with abstract concepts, reading and mathematical
calculations
– Faces difficulty in searching for items and calculating totals
• Solution:
– An Online grocery service Web site with consistent design
and navigation.

18. Case 6
Teenager with deaf-blindness, seeking entertainment
• Ms. Kaseem, a teenager who has low vision and is deaf
– She wants to find out about restaurants where she can
go with friends.
• Problems Faced:
– Inability to read small font size
– Problems with multimedia virtual tours
• Tools used:
– Screen Magnifier
– A Screen Reader which generates refreshable Braille output
– Personal style sheet on the browser which makes all web
pages display as desired
– Captioning of audio and description of video

19. Assistive Technologies
Adaptive Strategies
• Case studies in the previous section validated the role of
assistive technologies and adaptive strategies in making the
content accessible.
• Assistive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies can help make
the web sites and their content, accessible.

20. What is an Assistive Technology?
• An assistive technology is the hardware and the software
that helps people with disabilities use a computer.
• Assistive technologies typically provide specialized input and
output capabilities not provided by the system
Software Examples
• Screen Magnifiers
• Screen Readers
• On-screen Keyboard
• Speech recognition programs
Hardware Examples
• Head-mounted pointers
• Braille output devices

21. What is an Adaptive Strategy?
Adaptive Strategy is one that is adopted while developing the
content, designing the output format and actually writing the
content.
Examples
• Providing alternative text for images
• Setting up a proper tab sequencev

22. Making Documentation Accessible
To make the documentation accessible to users with
disabilities, the following changes can be made to the
documentation:
• Provide all online documentation in HTML format
• Define text, color, and spacing in the style sheet
• Add text descriptions to graphic elements
• Ensure that color alone is not used to convey meaning
• Include table summary data and labeled table elements
• Document the accessibility features of the product

23. Making Documentation Accessible 1
Provide all documentation in HTML format
• HTML can be read by assistive technologies
• Most documentation tools offer conversion to HTML
• HTML 4.0 fully integrates style sheets

24. Making Documentation Accessible 2
Define text, color, and spacing in the style sheet
• The size and style of text, the foreground and background
color, and the spacing of information can affect the
accessibility of documents
• Using a style sheet can not only make the documentation
more accessible but it can also improve the appearance of
the documentation.

25. Making Documentation Accessible 3
Add text descriptions to graphic elements
• Adding text descriptions to graphic elements is necessary
because assistive technologies, such as screen readers,
cannot interpret graphics.
• Writing short alternative text, not exceeding 150 characters in
length.
• Short alternative text can be added to graphics by using the
ALT attribute of the IMG element.

26. Making Documentation Accessible 4
Ensure that color alone is not used to convey meaning
•
Using color as the only way to convey important information
can cause problems to color-blind users.
For example, we are using the blue and red colors to
identify the visited and unvisited hyperlinks. We can change
these links such that an unvisited link appears blue and
underlined and the visited one changes to bold, red and
underlined.

27. Making Documentation Accessible 5
Include table summary data and labeled table
elements
We can follow these guidelines when creating data tables-
• Summarizing the table contents by including a table caption,
by introducing the table in the surrounding text, or by using
the SUMMARY attribute of the TABLE element.
• Including column headers in the table. Providing row
headers if these headers make the table easier to navigate.
• Using markup to associate data cells with header cells.
• Using relative, as opposed to absolute, widths and heights in
defining table cells. Specifying a fixed size for a table might
introduce formatting difficulties if the user resizes the
window in which the table is displayed

28. Making Documentation Accessible 6
Document the accessibility features of the product
Accessibility features in a product should be documented too.
The description of accessibility features should include • How to use keyboard shortcuts and mnemonics
•
How to change font and color of a web page
• How to customize menus and toolbars
• How to use an alternative style sheet to format files

29. Conclusion
•
Accessibility is about ensuring that content can be
navigated and read by everyone, regardless of location,
experience, or the type of computer technology used.
•
Section 508 of the U.S. Federal Rehabilitation Act ensures
people with disabilities can access goods and services
provided by the federal government.
•
Assistive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies can help
make the web sites and their content, accessible.
•
Knowledge of working with adaptive technologies would
help us a lot.
•
Accessibility features of a product must be documented.
•
Accessibility issues apply for documentation, as well.

30. References
•
http://www.section508.gov/
•
http://www.access-board.gov/
•
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/508home.html
•
http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist
•
http://www.w3.org/
•
http://www.trainingcafe.com/macromedia/accessibility/intro
duction.asp?offset=0
•
“Making Documentation Accessible to Users With
Disabilities” by Gail B Chappell
•
White paper on “Complying with Section 508: SkillSoft’s
Strategy for Making Business Skills E-Learning Accessible
to All”

31. Questions ?