This document discusses web accessibility and its importance for designing accessible websites and online services. It provides definitions and guidelines for accessibility and usability. Key points include:
- Accessibility aims to ensure people with disabilities can access the web, while usability focuses on how efficiently users can complete tasks.
- Countries have varying laws on accessibility, with some having specific web accessibility legislation while others recommend guidelines.
- Accessibility considers the needs of people with various disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, cognitive and neurological.
- Creating an accessible website involves following guidelines, involving disabled users, and addressing laws and regulations.
Smart Cities - Smart(er) cities with geolocative technologiesSmart Cities Project
This guide is for managers at Local Authorities and city management, seeking new ways to deliver local services, and/or to give citizens a greater opportunity to interact with services, from reporting problems to finding the most appropriate information.
Smart Cities - Your library - supporting mobile users in edinburghSmart Cities Project
The Library and Information Services department of the City of Edinburgh Council has been extending its service provision for citizens and engaging with the wider community. This case study shows how
it has made innovative use of services and applications (Apps) for mobile devices. It makes it clear that support for mobile devices is
best seen in the context of a wide-ranging social media and digital communication strategy. This case study covers the relationship with the digital communications service providers and the suppliers of the library management suite. It also considers other content and services available to mobile devices including as eBooks and audio content.
This is one of two case studies showing the different approaches taken by the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) in developing content and services aimed at users of smartphones and other mobile devices. A complementary case study describes the approach taken by Edinburgh’s Transport department which started by working with the locally owned bus company and a system supplier to deliver information to meet passengers’ needs, initially through bus stop displays and then through a website. This was extended to smartphone users through a cooperative and flexible approach to working with two individuals who had chosen to develop Apps for iPhone and Android phones.
Citizens and businesses have many different ways of contacting municipalities for services, and many municipalities allow customers to use email as a contact channel. However many municipalities often find that they have difficulties in managing the email channel, with customers contacting a range of official and unofficial email addresses, and have difficulties in measuring how successful/efficient/appropriate email is for service delivery and as a point of customer contact.
This report illustrates how the municipality of Groningen has transformed its email handling methods and processes in the context of a wider multi-channel strategy to deliver better and more effective services to its citizens.
This report provides an overview of best practices in the use and handling of email by municipalities, shares lessons from Groningen’s experience in transforming email handling through a case study, and gives an insight into the complexities and uses of the email channel. A glossary and links to further reading and resources are also included.
Civic tech the future of civic engagement and technology innovationAlberto Gomez Isassi
Conference imparted on October Monday 5, 2015 at the Civic Engagement Summit. University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA).
Civic Tech international landscape - what is being done to advance the smart cities agenda, citizen engagement in the digital age, the advent of ubiquitous technologies, and the impact of technology innovation in democracy
Smart Cities - Smart(er) cities with geolocative technologiesSmart Cities Project
This guide is for managers at Local Authorities and city management, seeking new ways to deliver local services, and/or to give citizens a greater opportunity to interact with services, from reporting problems to finding the most appropriate information.
Smart Cities - Your library - supporting mobile users in edinburghSmart Cities Project
The Library and Information Services department of the City of Edinburgh Council has been extending its service provision for citizens and engaging with the wider community. This case study shows how
it has made innovative use of services and applications (Apps) for mobile devices. It makes it clear that support for mobile devices is
best seen in the context of a wide-ranging social media and digital communication strategy. This case study covers the relationship with the digital communications service providers and the suppliers of the library management suite. It also considers other content and services available to mobile devices including as eBooks and audio content.
This is one of two case studies showing the different approaches taken by the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) in developing content and services aimed at users of smartphones and other mobile devices. A complementary case study describes the approach taken by Edinburgh’s Transport department which started by working with the locally owned bus company and a system supplier to deliver information to meet passengers’ needs, initially through bus stop displays and then through a website. This was extended to smartphone users through a cooperative and flexible approach to working with two individuals who had chosen to develop Apps for iPhone and Android phones.
Citizens and businesses have many different ways of contacting municipalities for services, and many municipalities allow customers to use email as a contact channel. However many municipalities often find that they have difficulties in managing the email channel, with customers contacting a range of official and unofficial email addresses, and have difficulties in measuring how successful/efficient/appropriate email is for service delivery and as a point of customer contact.
This report illustrates how the municipality of Groningen has transformed its email handling methods and processes in the context of a wider multi-channel strategy to deliver better and more effective services to its citizens.
This report provides an overview of best practices in the use and handling of email by municipalities, shares lessons from Groningen’s experience in transforming email handling through a case study, and gives an insight into the complexities and uses of the email channel. A glossary and links to further reading and resources are also included.
Civic tech the future of civic engagement and technology innovationAlberto Gomez Isassi
Conference imparted on October Monday 5, 2015 at the Civic Engagement Summit. University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA).
Civic Tech international landscape - what is being done to advance the smart cities agenda, citizen engagement in the digital age, the advent of ubiquitous technologies, and the impact of technology innovation in democracy
Fixed-mobile convergence, communities and the challenges of subscriber base (and revenue) protection. The role of Web 2.0 business principles and techniques.
Created for an independent study on Media & the Digital Divide, this presentation discusses the latest developments in Municipal Wireless Internet and how they could be leveraged to lessen the divide in urban communities throughout America.
Presentation held by Mr.Goran Mitreski as a part of the Digital Divide Session at the 8th SEEITA and 7th MASIT Open Days Conference, 14th-15th October, 2010
How to Write a Web Accessibility Statement & Why You Should Be Proactive3Play Media
In this webinar, Marc Dubin, former Senior Trial Attorney of the US Department of Justice and CEO of ADA Expertise Consulting, will discuss why it is essential to be proactive with web accessibility. He will help businesses and state & local governments understand their web accessibility requirements under the ADA, as well as what to include in a web accessibility statement.
What the Winn-Dixie Case & Other Important Rulings Mean for the Future of Web...3Play Media
On June 13, 2017, the Florida Federal District Court ruled that grocery store chain Winn-Dixie had violated Title III of the ADA for denying blind users “full and equal enjoyment” of the Winn-Dixie website. The case was brought forth by a blind man who was unable to download coupons, order prescriptions, or find store locations through his screenreader.
The court mandated Winn-Dixie had to adopt a Web Accessibility Policy ensuring the website conformed with WCAG 2.0 criteria.
As the digital age continues to bring new challenges for accessibility, this groundbreaking ruling is shining a light on the need for corporate web accessibility.
This webinar will be presented by Bobby Silverstein, a nationally-recognized disability attorney and one of the architects of the ADA. In this webinar, Bobby will take us through this and other historical rulings and the impact they have for corporate entities.
The Lethbridge Community Network presented its “ Urban Wi-Fi Initiative “ to City Council on Monday.
Building upon LCN’s success in providing community access to information since 2004, the
URBAN Wi-Fi INITIATIVE
comprises three key phases directed towards ease of access to information in Lethbridge.
1. Develop a network of free, public, Wi-Fi hotspots in the city, covering major gathering areas (bus transfer points, public parks, cultural centers) and recreation areas (sports venues, arenas etc.)
2. Building a hi-tech transit station (stop) downtown equipped with solar power for LED displays of schedules, local events and advertising, climate controlled, and USB charging ports.
3. Enabling Wi-Fi access on public transportation vehicles throughout the city.
Please show your support by contacting your favorite Councilor and by voting on the www.LethbridgeHerald.com ‘s survey “Should the City support the proposal for Free Wi-Fi throughout the city?
Vote and pass this along to everyone you know ! Thanks and happy summer.
For more information, or to receive LCN’s Urban Wi-Fi Initiative presentation please contact me directly.
Feb 2020 - Senate Submission Financial Technology and Regulatory TechnologyTimothy Holborn
submission to: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Financial_Technology_and_Regulatory_Technology/FinancialRegulatoryTech/Submissions
Doorgedreven samenwerking in IT-aankopen leidt tot kostenbesparing en efficiëntie. Een 25-tal besturen sloten aan bij de raamcontracten van Kortrijk en Brugge. Tijd voor een terugblik en kijkje in de toekomst.
Mijn Kortrijk
150 applicaties, één toegangspoort
De Stad Kortrijk is al heel vroeg begonnen met het digitaliseren van back office toepassingen. 150 applicaties werken achter de schermen van de stad, van burgerzaken tot afval, van sport tot geografische diensten. Deze data integreren, zichtbaar en bruikbaar maken voor dienstverlening is een ambitieuze doelstelling voor de komende jaren. Hans Verscheure vertelt hoe goede data-integratie overheidsdienstverlening kan verbeteren.
Fixed-mobile convergence, communities and the challenges of subscriber base (and revenue) protection. The role of Web 2.0 business principles and techniques.
Created for an independent study on Media & the Digital Divide, this presentation discusses the latest developments in Municipal Wireless Internet and how they could be leveraged to lessen the divide in urban communities throughout America.
Presentation held by Mr.Goran Mitreski as a part of the Digital Divide Session at the 8th SEEITA and 7th MASIT Open Days Conference, 14th-15th October, 2010
How to Write a Web Accessibility Statement & Why You Should Be Proactive3Play Media
In this webinar, Marc Dubin, former Senior Trial Attorney of the US Department of Justice and CEO of ADA Expertise Consulting, will discuss why it is essential to be proactive with web accessibility. He will help businesses and state & local governments understand their web accessibility requirements under the ADA, as well as what to include in a web accessibility statement.
What the Winn-Dixie Case & Other Important Rulings Mean for the Future of Web...3Play Media
On June 13, 2017, the Florida Federal District Court ruled that grocery store chain Winn-Dixie had violated Title III of the ADA for denying blind users “full and equal enjoyment” of the Winn-Dixie website. The case was brought forth by a blind man who was unable to download coupons, order prescriptions, or find store locations through his screenreader.
The court mandated Winn-Dixie had to adopt a Web Accessibility Policy ensuring the website conformed with WCAG 2.0 criteria.
As the digital age continues to bring new challenges for accessibility, this groundbreaking ruling is shining a light on the need for corporate web accessibility.
This webinar will be presented by Bobby Silverstein, a nationally-recognized disability attorney and one of the architects of the ADA. In this webinar, Bobby will take us through this and other historical rulings and the impact they have for corporate entities.
The Lethbridge Community Network presented its “ Urban Wi-Fi Initiative “ to City Council on Monday.
Building upon LCN’s success in providing community access to information since 2004, the
URBAN Wi-Fi INITIATIVE
comprises three key phases directed towards ease of access to information in Lethbridge.
1. Develop a network of free, public, Wi-Fi hotspots in the city, covering major gathering areas (bus transfer points, public parks, cultural centers) and recreation areas (sports venues, arenas etc.)
2. Building a hi-tech transit station (stop) downtown equipped with solar power for LED displays of schedules, local events and advertising, climate controlled, and USB charging ports.
3. Enabling Wi-Fi access on public transportation vehicles throughout the city.
Please show your support by contacting your favorite Councilor and by voting on the www.LethbridgeHerald.com ‘s survey “Should the City support the proposal for Free Wi-Fi throughout the city?
Vote and pass this along to everyone you know ! Thanks and happy summer.
For more information, or to receive LCN’s Urban Wi-Fi Initiative presentation please contact me directly.
Feb 2020 - Senate Submission Financial Technology and Regulatory TechnologyTimothy Holborn
submission to: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Financial_Technology_and_Regulatory_Technology/FinancialRegulatoryTech/Submissions
Doorgedreven samenwerking in IT-aankopen leidt tot kostenbesparing en efficiëntie. Een 25-tal besturen sloten aan bij de raamcontracten van Kortrijk en Brugge. Tijd voor een terugblik en kijkje in de toekomst.
Mijn Kortrijk
150 applicaties, één toegangspoort
De Stad Kortrijk is al heel vroeg begonnen met het digitaliseren van back office toepassingen. 150 applicaties werken achter de schermen van de stad, van burgerzaken tot afval, van sport tot geografische diensten. Deze data integreren, zichtbaar en bruikbaar maken voor dienstverlening is een ambitieuze doelstelling voor de komende jaren. Hans Verscheure vertelt hoe goede data-integratie overheidsdienstverlening kan verbeteren.
Kortrijk biedt lokale informatie aan via interactieve schermen of via I-points. Het I-points project brengt informatie op een intelligente en innovatieve manier via het aggregeren van informatie uit diverse bronnen. De software kan ook bruikbaar gemaakt worden op de websites van de streek.
The Edinburgh and its surrounding area are well served by an efficient bus network. The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) have worked with
the locally owned bus company (Lothian Buses) and a system supplier (INEO Systrans) to deliver real-time information to meet passengers’ needs, initially through bus-stop displays and then a website. This case study described how it was later extended to smartphone users through a cooperative and flexible approach with two individuals who had developed Apps for iPhone and Android phones.
This service is currently being upgraded in the light of experience over the first three years’ operation to include a better user interface, with more consideration for accessibility issues, better capacity and a more efficient and controlled route for accessing the data through smar tphones.
This is one of two case studies showing the different approaches taken by the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) in developing content and services aimed at users of smartphones and other mobile devices. The second case study describes the approach taken by the Library and Information Services department of the City of Edinburgh Council to work with commercial App developers to reach the users of mobile devices as part of a wide-ranging social media and digital communication strategy.
Smart Cities Brief No.19
Kortrijk beschikt met E-decision over een performant systeem voor beleidsvoorbereiding en notulering. De stad Kortrijk wenst de software verder te laten groeien en zoekt hiervoor samenwerking met andere steden en gemeenten.
Creating a product to be utilized by a wide range of users is known as digital accessibility. The phrase all kinds of people refers to a broader range of individuals than those with neurological, cognitive, visual, or communication impairments.
Usability ≠ Accessibility. An intro to web accessibility for agencies.Kate Horowitz
I often see people mistake usability for accessibility. They are not the same; in fact, often they contract each other. I've put together this guide to better understand accessibility, how it differs from usability, and when accessibility may be right for your client.
UXPA2019 Enhancing the User Experience for People with Disabilities: Top 10 ...UXPA International
An estimated 1.3 billion people globally report limitations in their daily activities due to a disability. When it comes to the physical world, businesses have made progress in accommodating customers with disabilities. But in the digital world, websites lack basic accessibility features such as text alternatives describing images, proper heading level structures so individuals who are blind and use screen readers can understand the content on a webpage, or captioning for multimedia content for individuals who are deaf or are hard of hearing – let alone assistive technology for customers who have trouble using mobile devices due to dexterity limitations that arise from a variety of conditions.
In this session, attendees will:
* Understand people with disabilities (PWDs) and how they use the web
* Learn about common barriers, issues and solutions
* Discover the different testing methodologies and their interdependencies
* Uncover ROI
Web Accessibility in its simplest definition is all about making sure websites work for the widest possible audience. This seminar would involve a quick introduction to Web Accessibility, Web Accessibility Issues, Guidelines etc.
Designing, Developing & Testing for AccessibilityEric Malcolm
In this talk we will go over the basics of designing, developing and testing for accessibility. Including: Color Contrast, Sizing & Spacing, Device Independent User Input, Page Structure, Headings, Testing Tools, Extensions, Testing with a Screen Reader.
• How do individuals with disabilities interact with and use the web? Understanding how assistive technologies work.
• Understanding your legal requirements - Section 508, Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other state, U.S., and international laws
• Evaluating web site accessibility - automated tools, user testing, using screen readers, and understanding the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0
Evaluationof Smartphone Accessibility Interface Practices for Older Adultsinventionjournals
ABSTRACT: Smartphone's can play a significant role in maintaining decent Quality of Life for elderly people. Key factor to Smartphone's usage success among elderly people depends on the accessibility of phone interface.Indeed, there is an exponential growth of the elderly population that suffers from age-related disabilities. Accessibility problems should be in mindfor developers. To address these issues in new smart phone devices there is no proper set of guidelines available that focus on this domain. So in this paper the work focuses on: (1) a set of guidelines to keep in mind in order to achieve accessibility in mobileinterfaces for older people. This checklist is the result of a review study of the literature, standards and best practices that are being performedin this area of knowledge, (2) use of this accessibility checklist aimed at elderly people, a survey of three mobile native Apps on androidplatform has been carried out, these Apps have as aim to modify the default interface for another more accessible one.
Ease of Use and Its Effect on User Decision of Adopting New Method of Car Ren...IJERA Editor
The effective collaboration of multidisciplinary fields of software engineering and business will
eventually lead to a better understanding of UX and how to use such in our daily life .This paper
spots the light on the how can we improve the user experience of using a internet website to commit
and complete a business transaction of booking a vehicle through ease of use.
This report discusses methods and approaches municipalities and governments can use for evaluating e-services, both prior to their design and implementation and to assess their success following deployment. It presents a new evaluation model for e-services that is developed from models currently used in government and the research community.
GIS systems enable the electronic management of spatial data and facilitate its visualisation; they are specialised forms of information systems that are conceived solely for use with spatial data. Their purpose is the collection, modelling, storage, manipulation, analysis, retrieval and presentation of geodata. During the Smart Cities Project we examined the geobased services that were being used by the project’s six municipal partners. This guide provides a detailed review of the systems that are being used by two of these partners – the City of Edinburgh Council in Scotland, and Kristiansand Kommune in Norway – who had the most advanced geobased infrastructures in the Smart Cities partnership.
ICTarchitecture - supporting service delivery in Smart CitiesSmart Cities Project
Smart Cities has produced two publications about I-architecture and its role in the development and support of e-services. This publication is written for municipal business managers, and managers and employees of ICT departments in local government. It complements the second, more technical
and theoretical architecture publication which discusses various ICT architecture concepts and the
value that an ICT architecture brings to an organisation.
Creating Smarter Cities - Lessons from the Smart Cites ProjectSmart Cities Project
Cities must be dedicated to meeting their demands and needs, and continuously improving the services they deliver. The smartest cities and towns in Europe are discovering how to use technology and redesign internal operational procedures to deliver more efficient and effective services to their customers.
Some municipalities may have to reengineer their business processes, some may choose to centralise their customer service activities. Sometimes they may have to think more strategically about the channels they use for customer interactions. Perhaps the city needs a strict structure, or architecture, for its information and communication systems.
Perhaps they may decide to collect, combine and analyse data about their customers to
reveal new insights into their needs and behaviours.
Whatever changes a municipality must make, customer-centricity – the true essence of
‘smart’ – comes down to people. Technology is a means to an end, but a clever new e-service
will all but fail if people don’t like it or won’t use it.
In this booklet we give you our whistle-stop tour of our main findings and conclusions. You
may already be an expert with many ideas and experience in this field. Or you may find our
ideas new, exciting and thought provoking. Wherever your municipality finds itself on the path
to customer-centricity we hope that this publication will inspire you on your journey and point
you to places – people and publications – where you can find out more.
De steden Kortrijk, Brugge, Gent en Mechelen namen het voortouw om een beeldbank te maken.120 besturen schreven in op het initiatief. De beeldbank zal foto en bewegend beeld ontsluiten voor technische diensten, culturele diensten, archieven...
Via MijnGemeente en de contactendatabank werken de gemeenten in de regio Kortrijk aan een glazen dossier voor elke burger. Gelokaliseerde dienstverlening en op maat aanbieden van diensten en informatie op basis van het profiel van de burger is slechts mogelijk door een goed draaiende contactendatabank en midware.
How Smart are you? A self assessment framework for Digital Cities.Smart Cities Project
In the smart Cities project, Memori wrote a framework paper describing the 'Smart Digital City' in 10 characteristics. Based on this framework paper a self assesmment tool was developed, allowing the Smart cities project partners to evaluate their developments in the digitization of their services. in this presentation Eric Goubin will introduce the framework for smart digital cities, and Elke Van Soom will present the self assessment tool and its first results.
Europe wants to go local. We’re waiting for them in the Citadel. Smart Cities Project
The Flemish Government and a host of European local government partner organisations worked together by identifying the top things that national and EU decision makers can do to better support local eGovernment. The ‘Malmo Vision’ was still hardly translated down to the on-the-ground, local level. The Citadel Statement addressed this short-coming by better understanding why local communities are finding it challenging to implement eGovernment in an innovative, cost-effective and efficient manner. In the short period the Statement got a strong support from the main organizations of municipalities. A number of concrete projects were launched in the spirit of the Statement. And we can also notice a stronger commitment from the EU itself to support Local Egovernment. But there’s still a lot to do.
a Scottish perspective on the challenges faced by the public sector and reform proposed to meet these challenges. In particular the presentation will assess if collaboration, shared services, new ways of working and technology can support better outcomes for customers and citizens.
The systematic improvement of public services of national, regional and local governments is now 10 to 15 years underway. Alex Lambregts participated in this process for 8 years and would like to share some personal reflections with the audience regarding the do's and the don’ts. He hopes this will encourage the attendees to comment and to share their reflections on the development of public services in their own countries; not to criticize but to learn and inspire.
Trends in e-government reflect trends in society but also help shape public services and governance. What really is happening now and how will this continue up to 2020? Why we should be both excited yet cautious.
Creating Customer Contact Centres - A guide for municipalities from Smart CitiesSmart Cities Project
Across Europe municipalities are facing a wide range of challenges as businesses and citizens demand better, more efficient and more flexible services. Municipalities are working hard to become more customer-driven, and to change how they deliver services to respond better to their customers’ demands.
This guide has been produced the Smart Cities project to show what municipalities need to do to establish a customer contact centre. It includes many practical examples and case studies highlighting the experiences of staff in seven municipalities from across the North Sea region. The guide was written by people who are currently working to improve customer services in their municipalities, and it is written for the growing number of people who want to do the same.
Creating Municipal ICT Architectures - A reference guide from Smart CitiesSmart Cities Project
E-government operations require citizens and external organisations to receive appropriate e-services, delivered by an organisation’s automated business processes and supported by information and communication technologies (ICT). This area of service management can be reinforced and strengthened, however, by using architectures: business architectures, information systems architectures, technology architectures and the processes used to produce them.
Architecture frameworks often are difficult concepts to understand. This publication is a collection of ideas about enterprise architecture which will contribute to people’s understanding of this subject. This publication answers some basic questions: What is an ICT architecture? What is the value of ICT architectures and how are they produced? Why should we bother with them? Using the enterprise architecture approach we show how architectures and the processes followed to produce them can help the development and improvement of e-government.
Improving business processes and delivering better e-services - A guide for m...Smart Cities Project
Your business processes define your ability and potential to provide customers and employees with effective and high quality services and solutions. Your processes influence your performance, your service delivery and what administrative support is available for your service offerings.
This document outlines a model, or framework, which can help you to improve your existing business processes to support and develop your e-services. The Common Process Model comprises a set of preconditions, directives, guidelines and templates that will help employees in different roles to identify, measure and improve the performance of the business processes that make up your e-service solutions.
Co-design describes the process of bringing stakeholders into the service design process. This can start modestly – for instance an ICT department may work to change its relationship with front line service delivery staff – through to citizen-led service re/design. At the heart of the approach is a move towards user-led process design, possibly also leading to a user-led approach to the delivery of services. This report brings together the different experiences and perspectives of Smart Cities partners who have used different forms of co-design.
his report summarises the e-government context in Kortrijk, based on interviews with staff from the city, and identifies factors that they feel shape their local e-government context and their involvement in the Smart Cities project. The local e-government environment varies tremendously across the North Sea Region of the EU, with municipal strategies being shaped by very different national, regional and local policy contexts and political and technological agendas. This is the fourth of a series of six reports summarising the local e-government environment in six municipalities from six different countries who are participating in the Smart Cities Interreg IVb project.
his report summarises the e-government context in Karlstad, based on interviews with staff from the city, and identifies factors that they feel shape their local e-government context and their involvement in the Smart Cities project. The local e-government environment varies tremendously across the North Sea Region of the EU, with municipal strategies being shaped by very different national, regional and local policy contexts and political and technological agendas. This is the third of a series of six reports summarising the local e-government environment in six municipalities from six different countries who are participating in the Smart Cities Interreg IVb project.
Let's dive deeper into the world of ODC! Ricardo Alves (OutSystems) will join us to tell all about the new Data Fabric. After that, Sezen de Bruijn (OutSystems) will get into the details on how to best design a sturdy architecture within ODC.
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.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into 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.
"Impact of front-end architecture on development cost", Viktor TurskyiFwdays
I have heard many times that architecture is not important for the front-end. Also, many times I have seen how developers implement features on the front-end just following the standard rules for a framework and think that this is enough to successfully launch the project, and then the project fails. How to prevent this and what approach to choose? I have launched dozens of complex projects and during the talk we will analyze which approaches have worked for me and which have not.
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on the notifications, alerts, and approval requests using Slack for Bonterra Impact Management. The solutions covered in this webinar can also be deployed for Microsoft Teams.
Interested in deploying notification automations for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
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91mobiles recently conducted a Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey in which we asked over 3,000 respondents about the TV they own, aspects they look at on a new TV, and their TV buying preferences.
Smart TV Buyer Insights Survey 2024 by 91mobiles.pdf
Smart Cities- Impact of web accessibility on e-service design
1. The impact of
web accessibility
on e-service design
Smart Cities Brief
No.16
1. Introduction
This report gives some background information about web accessibility
– an approach to designing web sites, e-applications and services so
that they work well for people with disabilities. It covers information about
what accessibility means, what regulations there are in the different North
Sea Region countries; suggests how to set up an accessibility project and
provides guidelines and links to other resources.
The importance of the web as an information source has rocketed over
the last 10 years and is still growing. With this, development focus is
now starting to shift from technical and aesthetic features to also include
good usability, for which accessibility is an important factor. For people
who don’t fully understand the importance of good usability, it might (in
some cases) seem like taking a step back. Good accessibility is all about
making things simple – going back to basics in many cases. It is good to
remember that if a product is not usable, it will not meet its objectives and
therefore could be a waste of time and money.
No report on accessibility could ever be made without mentioning the
importance of the World Wide Web Consortium, W3C1. The W3C is
leading the web accessibility initiative, WAI2. The collected resources
and guidelines provided by W3C and WAI are internationally recognised
as the standards for any work with e-inclusion. Useful resources and 1
http://www.w3.org/
relevant links to these are provided at the end of this document. 2
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
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2. 2. Difference between Usability and Accessibility
The definition of usability is relatively precise and widely accepted:
“The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve
specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified
context of use”.
For accessibility the definition is less clear. One way to describe web
accessibility is:
“…that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact
with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web” (http://www.w3.org/WAI/
intro/accessibility). It is also important that web accessibility “encompasses all
disabilities that affect access to the Web, including visual, auditory, physical,
speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.”
In the literature there are different opinions about what accessibility is and its
scope. Some writers feel that accessibility is distinct from usability, while others
see it as a subset of usability, meaning that accessibility is specific types of
usability problems (Thatcher et al, 2003). Shneiderman (2003) introduced
another term – ‘universal usability’ arguing that “Universal usability goes one
step further [from accessibility], striving to make the content and functionality
accessible and usable by all”. Petri and Kheir (2007) believe that “accessibility
and usability problems can be seen as two overlapping sets, which would
include three categories:
• Problems that only affect disabled people; these can be termed “pure
accessibility” problems;
• Problems that only affect non-disabled people; these can be termed “pure
usability” problems;
• Problems that affect both disabled and nondisabled people; these can be
termed “universal usability” problems.
Regardless of how it is defined, accessibility and usability are important
elements in web design. Both accessibility and usability should be implemented
in a well designed product. Interaction design is all about putting humans rather
than technology first. To achieve this there are some key concerns that needs
to be considered - these are usually referred to as Accessibility, Usability,
Acceptability and Engagement.
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3. Usability
Usability describes how efficient and effective an interactive product is. To
achieve usability, you need to set a number of usability objectives. Usually these
objectives include:
Efficiency – how quickly can a user perform a task?
Learn-ability – is it easy to use the first time?
Memory – Can people remember how to work the product next time they use it?
High utility – The product does the things that people want to get done
Effectiveness – Does it have the right functions and information content and are
these well organized?
Accessibility
Design for accessibility should take usability objectives into consideration and
make sure that they also enable people with different types of disabilities to use
an interactive product.
Acceptability
To achieve acceptability you need to take into consideration the context in which
the product will be used. Key features might be political, cultural and social
habits, convenience and economic. For example a product that makes noises
when used might not be acceptable in a library.
Engagement
A well design product should also be engaging to use, in order to be enjoyable,
rewarding, memorable and satisfying. In its essence engagement is about
ensuring that the interaction flows.
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4. 3. What is accessibility?
Accessibility stands for something that should be easily obtainable, approached
or entered. In usability terms, accessibility refers to the degree to which an
interactive product is usable by people with disabilities.
According to Benyon, Turner & Turner (Designing Interactive Systems,
2004), there are two main approaches to designing for accessibility; Design
for all (a.k.a. universal design, see Appendix 1) and inclusive design. While
‘Design for all’ goes beyond the design of interactive systems and applies to
all design endeavours, ‘Inclusive Design’ takes a more pragmatic approach.
The advocates of inclusive design argue that there will often be technical and
economic (etc.) reasons why total inclusion is unattainable. Benyon, Turner &
Turner state that inclusive design is based on four premises:
1. Varying ability is not a special condition of the few but common
characteristics of being human and we change physically and intellectually
throughout our lives.
2. If a design works well for people with disabilities, it works better for
everyone.
3. At any point in our lives, personal self-esteem, identity and well-being are
deeply affected by our ability to function in our physical surroundings with a
sense of comfort, independence and control.
4. Usability and aesthetics are mutually compatible.
They continue by suggesting that in order for designers to be able to ensure an
accessible system they should:
• Include people with special needs in requirements analysis and testing of
existing systems.
• Consider whether new features affect users with special needs (positively or
negatively) and note this in the specification.
• Take account of guidelines and include evaluation against guidelines.
• Include special needs users in usability testing and beta tests.
Web accessibility, or e-inclusion as it often is refereed to, is more specifically
targeted at online services and information provision, but the same basic design
guidelines described above are applicable. ‘Design for all’ is also the basis for
the W3C’s work on creating a web accessibility standard.
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5. 4. Web accessibility
First, let make clear what is meant by online services, information provision and
mobile devices.
Online services
Online services could range from e-banking, e-commerce, e-learning, providing
website hosting, chat rooms etc..
Electronic information provision
Providing information online in some form, usually via downloadable documents
like *.doc, *.pdf or the publication of text on a website. The information should
of course be accurate and reliable and should be provided equally to all
members of the community.
Mobile devices
A mobile device could be a mobile phone, a hand-held computer or any other
hand-held device. The great advantage of these devices it that they can be
used where traditional computing would be impossible. With the development of
cheap, mobile broadband connection, this form of computing has become very
popular. These devices are often a fraction of the size of a ‘normal’ computer or
laptop, so it is important to include mobile devices when testing your service.
Web accessibility is all about enabling people with disabilities to interact with
websites, online services etc.. To have a fully accessible website or e-service, it
should enable disabled people to:
• perceive
• understand
• navigate
• interact
with the service that’s being provided. Web accessibility should also make sure
that there will be no:
• visual
• auditory
• physical
• speech
• cognitive
• neurological
hindrance to accessing the website or service.
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6. 5. People with special needs
According to WHO (World Health Organization) some 750 million people around
the world have some kind of disability. But what exactly are those impairments,
and how would their needs present themselves in this context?
According to Rogers, Preece and Sharp (Interaction Design, 2007), a person is
considered to be disabled if:
• They have a mental or physical impairment.
• The impairment has an adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal
day-to-day activities.
• The adverse effect is substantial and long-term (lasted 12 months, likely to
last more than 12 months or for the rest of their life).
However, people may be temporarily impaired through different stages in life, for
example by breaking an arm, catching a disease etc – these and other short-term
disabilities affect the way a person can interact with a website or other interactive
product. Examples of other specific needs are people with dyslexia or colour
blindness (which affects about 8% of the male and 1% of the female population).
That is approximately 240 million men to take into consideration. To make a web
site accessible for this group of people takes just a few simple adjustments.
Apart from physical and mental disabilities, Benyon, Turner & Turner (Designing
Interactive Systems, 2004) suggests it is good to consider not excluding people
because of any of the following reasons:
• economic (i.e. they cannot afford the technology required)
• cultural (e.g. they don’t understand metaphors or complicated language
being used),
• social (i.e. they cannot understand the particular social mores or inferences
of messages).
More specifically, this could include people that:
• Have impaired vision and need help to enlarge the text and improve contrast.
• Are blind and need to hear instead of reading the text.
• Have trouble reading which must be helped with clear language and a
thought through layout.
• Have a mental disability which demands easy to read text with simplified content.
• Have a physical disability and thus having problems using the mouse and
other pointers.
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7. • Are deaf and need information in signed language.
• Using an old version of a web browser.
• Have a slow internet connection.
• Are using new technical platforms such as mobile phones or iPad.
To create a truly accessible e-service, whether it is a website, on a mobile
device or any other interactive product, you need to take all this into
consideration. It’s not just a person’s physical or intellectually needs, but also
consideration of their economic, cultural and social situation.
6. Accessibility laws in the NSR
All of the countries in NSR have signed the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, although not all of them have ratified it. The purpose
of the convention is
“to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote
respect for their inherent dignity”.
By doing so, the NSR countries all agree that discriminating disabled people by
not providing them with the means to a normal life, is not acceptable. More so,
all of the NSR countries also have national policies and resolutions that state
the importance of e-inclusion, but only UK, France and Germany have laws
supporting this.
The EU currently has no encompassing legislation that relates solely to web
accessibility. Despite this, all the member countries of the EU have agreed to
comply with W3C’s guidelines on their national, official websites. The guidelines
created by W3C’s WAI (Web accessibility initiative) are recognised as the
international standard for accessibility.
These facts lead to a conclusion that all of the NSR countries have similar
views on accessibility. However, since some countries have chosen to legislate
on accessibility, it might indicate that they feel more strongly about the issue.
There might be other ‘reasons’ to why some countries, like Sweden for example,
have not yet passed a law that covers web accessibility. There is a fear that
legislation would constrain the development of new software and e-services and
that this could be used by big actors in the market to enforce their standards as
something that others must follow.
All the NSR countries seem to have similar views on the importance of creating
accessible websites and other e-services. They all recommend the use of the
guidelines presented by WAI and by doing so they all stand behind WAI as the
leader of developing standards for web accessibility.
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8. 7. Different laws in NSR countries
It was difficult to find out what legislation was applicable in Norway, Denmark
and the Netherlands. It is advisable that representatives from these countries
further investigate the situation for each country.
Belgium
Belgium ratified the UN treaty in 2009. Although having a national accessibility
law, nothing is found on e-services specifically.
Sweden
Ratified the UN treaty in 2008. Has a discrimination law but no specific
web accessibility law at present. Suggestions are being reviewed by the
Swedish government.
Denmark
Ratified the UN treaty in 2009. No web accessibility law at present.
Norway
Have signed but not ratified the UN treaty. Has a discrimination law but no specific
web accessibility law at present. Suggestions are being reviewed by the government.
United Kingdom
Ratified the UN treaty in 2009. The UK also has a national law against
discrimination, the DDA or Disability Discrimination Act of 2005. This law
gives disabled people rights of access to everyday services such as web
sites. Service providers have an obligation to make reasonable adjustment to
premises or to the way they provide a service.
Germany
Ratified the UN treaty in 2009. Germany has a relevant law – the “Act on Equal
Opportunities for Disabled”, Bundesbehindertengleichstellungsgesetz, BGG.
From this extract below3 it is clear that web sites could be included as a “system
for information processing” or “visual information source”.
“Section 1 also contains a definition of barrier free access (§ 4).
According to this definition infrastructures and devices are barrier free if they are
normally accessible and usable for people with disabilities. As “infrastructures and
devices” are determined: built and other constructions, transportation, technical
equipment, systems for information processing, audio and visual information
3
http://braillenet.org/colloques/policies/documents/WallBruch.rtf
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9. sources and communication facilities and other built living environments. What
is meant by “normally” in the definition is described as “usual, without significant
increase of difficulty and in principle without assistance”.
Section 2 of BGG describes the obligation for equal treatment and barrier
free access with the objective of “Anti-discrimination in interaction with
public administration/ authorities” at a federal level. Four fields are further
described: § 8 Barrier free building and transportation, § 9 Sign language and
communication aids, § 10 printed official information and forms, § 11 Barrier
free Information Technology – BITV.”
Netherlands
Has signed but not ratified the UN treaty.
France
Ratified the UN treaty in 2010. In 2005, France extended its national
accessibility law to include electronic communications and Web sites. It also
states that e-government web sites should conform to international standards
by December 2009.
8. Making websites accessible
Some advice when setting out to make your website accessible.
Create a web accessibility team
It is advisable to create a team within the organization that will make sure that
a certain level of web accessibility is enforced. One of the team members
should be appointed to keep track of any new development in the area of web
accessibility and report back to the group. Another should be designated to inform
the rest of the organization about web accessibility etc.. The team would ideally
include people that work with web design, usability, marketing and support.
Decide the extent of your accessibility
Ask yourselves if it possible for you to design to cater for all disabilities? What/
who is your main audience? Make a list of what is most important vs. less
important. Remember that accessibility also benefits people without disabilities.
Laws and regulations
Are there any laws or external or internal policies for your organization that
should be taken into consideration?
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10. Involve usability designers and developers from the start
As with all usability work, the result will be most cost effective and thorough if
it is implemented from the beginning of a project. It enables the project to ‘go
down the right path’ from the start and unnecessary development costs, due
to changes in implemented code, can be avoided. If you are about to make
changes to an existing website, make sure to do an evaluation to map out what
changes need to be made.
Involve users with disabilities
It is a good idea to get into contact with disabled users right from the start. This
enables you to get first hand input from them on different disabilities and to
involve them in testing of prototypes and finished product.
Use WAI’s guidelines throughout your project
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), are the founders of the Web
Accessibility Initiative, WAI. WAI is working with countries around the world
to develop support materials, guidelines and other resources to make the
web accessible to people with disabilities. All of the member countries of
the EU recognise the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, to be the
best current standard for web accessibility. Use this powerful resource to get
your web accessibility on the right track. Relevant links to this information are
provided at the end of this document.
9. Different levels of WAI guidelines conformance
W3C have defined a set of accessibility levels to categorise the level of
conformance to their WACAG 2.0 guidelines (you can find reference to WACAG
2.0 at the end of document). Below is a short description of these levels of
which Level A is described in more detail.
Level A is the minimum level of conformance. A simplified list of requirements
that can be found on the WAI web page would be:
1. Use alt tags/attributes.
2. Don’t depend on color to show anything of importance (eg. red images for
warnings).
3. Use clear and simple language.
4. Use language mark-up for foreign words.
5. No flickering or blinking.
6. For html tables, identify row and column headers.
7. Check that your page looks OK with its style sheets missing.
8. Provide an auditory description of the important information of the visual
track of a multimedia presentation.
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11. 9. For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation),
synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of
the visual track) with the presentation.
10.Provide client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except
where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
11.Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation.
12.Check that your page is still usable if all the fancy bits don’t work, for
example the JavaScript, applets and multimedia elements.
13.If, after best efforts, you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link
to an alternative page that uses W3C technologies, is accessible, has
equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as often as the
inaccessible (original) page.
10. Examples of disabilities and web accessibility
implementation
Colour blindness
Make sure you use sufficient colour contrasts. For example; black text on white
background is good whereas grey background and light blue text is not good.
Using red text to indicate an error may not be recognised by a person with
colour blindness.
Use style sheets throughout the site. This way a user can apply their own style
sheet and enhance it in a way that suits their needs. The use of style sheets is
also a necessity to help people with poor vision.
Hand and arm injuries
If a person has problems using their hands and arms then speech recognition
could be used. In this case the person might use a voice browser and the
website must have full keyboard navigation support. Examples of keyboard
support could include designing site navigation so it is made up of text links
which can be selected using the tab key on the key board. Examples on key
board short-cuts and how to use them can be found at http://www.google.com/
support/chrome/bin/answer.py?answer=95743
To help further, you could add the ACCESSKEY=xx feature to the site’s html code.
This means that when the user press, in this example, the ‘x’ key, he will jump to the
feature on the web page with ACCESSKEY=x implemented in the code.
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12. Deafness
Any audio material should be captioned. Any videos should also have text
descriptions. This will also help people that are hard of hearing.
Blindness
Blind people can use a screen reader to interpret the text on a screen. This will
generate a combination of speech and Braille output. The Braille is read by
using a separate device.
Make sure that it is possible to tab the navigation on the website and that any
html tables have column and row headers. If you use frames, these should
also be captioned with meaningful titles. Images should have alternative text
descriptors (ALT=xx attribute). For acronyms and abbreviations, use the ABBR
and ACRONYM html attributes to help screen readers.
Deaf-Blind
See the above sections on Deafness and Blindness.
Difficulty reading e.g. due to dyslexia
People with trouble reading might find it easier to use a speech reader to
combine reading and hearing. To enable this, look at the Blindness section
above. For people that find it difficult to focus on the text, it might help to use
a lot of images incorporated in the text, however animated graphics have the
opposite effect. Make sure that any visual or audio elements can be turned off.
Since it might be difficult for people with focusing problems to search masses of
text or complex navigation, a search engine could prove very useful. Make sure
that the search function has added functionality so that users can refine the
search – commonly called ‘advanced search functions’.
Cognitive disabilities
Some might find it difficult with abstract concepts, reading and doing
calculations. They may find it helpful to have images that describe the product,
scenario etc. Searchable material could help in finding information; see
the ‘Difficulty reading’ section above. Use consistent design and navigation
throughout the web site or it might get confusing. Avoid complicated language;
make text as clear and simple as possible.
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13. Seizures
Avoid the use of flashing graphics or video as this can trigger seizures for
people with photosensitive epilepsy.
As one can see, there is not one solution for each disability, but a combination
of these adjustments enables web accessibility for many different users. There
might also be people with a combination of disabilities that will benefit from all
of the above adjustments.
If these suggestions are implemented, they do not only enable people with
different disabilities to use your web site or application, they also make it easier
for all users. It might also give you the added bonus of high ranking in search
engines like Google since all of your content is searchable and easy to index.
If more people are being able to use your web site and also linking to it, this too
will add to the possibility of getting high up in the ranking.
11. Accessibility on mobile devices
The main challenge when developing websites for mobile devices would be to
keep the product standardized, simple and efficient. The differences between
developing an interactive product for a desktop computer vs. a mobile device
are mainly defined by the specification of the mobile device and the context
in which it will be used - how it handles images, content, scripts and plug-ins,
colors etc. For example, on a traditional mobile phone you might want to develop
for navigation via a numeric key pad instead of via a mouse, so you might want
to enable the user to ‘tab’ their way through the site’s content etc.. You need to
put a lot of thought into how to arrange the navigation to keep it simple. Mobile
device users are usually easily distracted, so you need to make sure that the
interaction is simple, efficient and quick or you will “loose” this user.
You might want to have an exact replica of your desktop version, but this might
not always be possible. For example, on a mobile device you are more limited
in screen size, navigation options and bandwidth. Your accessibility goals might
not be met if you do a direct adaptation of your standard product.
Some main considerations to keep in mind are:
Complexity
Complex menu structures and navigation options might cause difficulties for mobile
users. Simplicity is a key element. For example make sure that tab-navigation is
done in a logical order, don’t use frames, and preferably no overly complex tables.
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14. Content
Images, video and other content might not be usable on a mobile device due to their
size and format. Check current recommendations at WAI to get it right. Contrast in
color might also differ from desktop PCs and this needs to be considered.
Scripts and plug-ins
Make sure that the scripts, plug-ins, character encoding and any other programs
and protocols that are used in your website are supported by the mobile device
you are targeting.
Cost
Cellular network connectivity is commonly charged in terms of data volume. The
size of images and other content should be kept to a minimum.
Memory and battery
Battery capacity, processing capability and working memory are all very
constrained on mobile devices.
A more thorough explanation on issues to consider as well as technical
specifications can be found at WAI’s webpage where they have a section of
“Mobile best practices” (http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/).
12. Resources and recommended reading
Nielsen, J., Pernice, K. (2001) Making the Web Easy to Use for Users with
Disabilities. Norman and Nielsen group, USA.
Petri, H. And Kheir, O (2007) The relationship between Accessibility and
Usability of websites
CHI 2007, Empirical studies of web interaction, San Jose, USA.
Shneiderman, B. (2003). Promoting universal usability with multi-layer interface design.
Proceedings of the 2003 Conference on Universal Usability (CUU 2003). New
York: ACM Press.
Thatcher, J., Waddell, C.D., Henry, S.L., Swierenga, S., Urban, M.D., Burks, M.,
Regan, B. and Bohman, P .
Constructing accessible web sites. (2003) San Francisco: glasshaus.
www.smartcities.info
15. Peter Abrahams, Practice Leader - Accessibility and Usability, Bloor Research
http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=9258
A power point presentation by Mike Davies, senior developer at Yahoo! Europe.
http://www.isolani.co.uk/presentations/wsg/wsg-webaccessibility.pdf
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
The WAI website is the ideal place to find out more about the ongoing work of
making the web more accessible and to find guidelines for creating accessible
websites.
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components.php
The W3C code validation toolbox should be used to check whether your website
is up to standard. If not, users might have problems accessing your website.
http://www.w3.org/QA/Tools/
Link to WAI latest accessibility guidelines, WCAG 2.0
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
Disability laws for different countries:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/
UN
Find more information about UN’s disability work and the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Accessibility: A guiding principle of the Convention
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/disacc.htm
Enable - Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
Un’s web site for the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities
http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?navid=15&pid=156
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16. Other resources
More about the UK DDA Law
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Disabledpeople/RightsandObligations/
DisabilityRights/DG_4001068
Lynx
If you have the possibility to install Lynx, you can test your web page in a text
based web browser.
http://lynx.browser.org/
Create accessible pdf documents
http://www.adobe.com/enterprise/accessibility/pdfs/acro7_pg_ue.pdf
Learn about Braille
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille
Example of speech reader
http://www.naturalreaders.com/
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17. Appendix 1
The Principles of Universal Design
Version 2.0 - 4/1/97 Copyright 1997 NC State University, The Center for
Universal Design
Compiled by advocates of universal design, listed in alphabetical order: Bettye
Rose Connell, Mike Jones, Ron Mace, Jim Mueller, Abir Mullick, Elaine Ostroff,
Jon Sanford, Ed Steinfeld, Molly Story, and Gregg Vanderheiden
Universal design
The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the
greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
The authors, a working group of architects, product designers, engineers and
environmental design researchers, collaborated to establish the Principles
of Universal Design to guide a wide range of design disciplines covering
environments, products, and communications. These seven principles may be
applied to evaluate existing designs, to guide the design process and to educate
both designers and consumers about the characteristics of more usable
products and environments.
The Principles of Universal Design are presented here, in the following format:
name of the principle, intended to be a concise and easily remembered
statement of the key concept embodied in the principle; definition of the
principle, a brief description of the principle’s primary directive for design; and
guidelines, a list of the key elements that should be present in a design which
adheres to the principle. (Note: all guidelines may not be relevant to all designs.)
Principle 1 - Equitable Use
The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
Guidelines:
1a. Provide the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible;
equivalent when not.
1b. Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users.
1c. Provisions for privacy, security, and safety should be equally available to all
users.
1d. Make the design appealing to all users.
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18. Principle 2 - Flexibility in Use
The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
Guidelines:
2a. Provide choice in methods of use.
2b. Accommodate right- or left-handed access and use.
2c. Facilitate the user’s accuracy and precision.
2d. Provide adaptability to the user’s pace.
Principle 3 - Simple and Intuitive Use
Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience,
knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
Guidelines:
3a. Eliminate unnecessary complexity.
3b. Be consistent with user expectations and intuition.
3c. Accommodate a wide range of literacy and language skills.
3d. Arrange information consistent with its importance.
3e. Provide effective prompting and feedback during and after task completion.
Principle 4 - Perceptible Information
The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user,
regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.
Guidelines:
4a. Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of
essential information.
4b. Provide adequate contrast between essential information and its
surroundings.
4c. Maximize “legibility” of essential information.
4d. Differentiate elements in ways that can be described (i.e., make it easy to
give instructions or directions).
4e. Provide compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people
with sensory limitations.
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19. Principle 5 - Tolerance for Error
The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or
unintended actions.
Guidelines:
5a. Arrange elements to minimize hazards and errors: most used elements,
most accessible; hazardous elements eliminated, isolated, or shielded.
5b. Provide warnings of hazards and errors.
5c. Provide fail safe features.
5d. Discourage unconscious action in tasks that require vigilance.
Principle 6 - Low Physical Effort
The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.
Guidelines:
6a. Allow user to maintain a neutral body position.
6b. Use reasonable operating forces.
6c. Minimize repetitive actions.
6d. Minimize sustained physical effort.
Principle 7 - Size and Space for Approach and Use
Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and
use regardless of user’s body size, posture, or mobility.
Guidelines:
7a. Provide a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or
standing user.
7b. Make reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user.
7c. Accommodate variations in hand and grip size.
7d. Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal
assistance.
Note that the Principles of Universal Design address only universally usable
design, while the practice of design involves more than consideration for
usability. Designers must also incorporate other considerations such as
economic, engineering, cultural, gender, and environmental concerns in their
design processes. These Principles offer designers guidance to better integrate
features that meet the needs of as many users as possible.
Copyright 1997 NC State University, The Center for Universal Design
This report was prepared for Smart Cities by Maria Lindström from Karlstad
University http://www.kau.se
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20. www.smartcities.info
www.epractice.eu/community/smartcities
The Smart Cities project is creating an innovation network between cities and academic
partners to develop and deliver better e-services to citizens and businesses in the North
Sea Region. Smart Cities is funded by the Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme of the
European Union.
Smart Cities is PARTLY funded by the Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme of the
European Union. The North Sea Region Programme 2007-2013 works with regional
development projects around the North Sea. Promoting transnational cooperation, the
Programme aims to make the region a better place to live, work and invest in.
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