Tutorials

This tutorial provides a practical approach for organizing and implementing accessibility programs. Gain a real-world understanding of the organizational strategies for developing an accessibility compliance program. Learn about the logistics for setting up an accessibility compliance initiative, implementing the process, and conducting usability studies that incorporate accessibility concerns.

PARTICIPANT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE EXPECTED

No specific participant knowledge or experience is required for this tutorial.

Learning objectives:

My goal is to help participants ramp up quickly on accessibility compliance issues and provide them with a practical approach for organizing and implementing an accessibility compliance program.

Participants will learn how to

1. prepare for an accessibility initiative,
2. perform a high-level accessibility compliance check,
3. develop a strategy outline for implementing an accessibility compliance program (class exercise), and
4. understand the implications of accessibility issues for usability testing.

After completing the course, participants should understand how to initiate an accessibility compliance initiative in their own organization, and they should have a fundamental understanding of how to evaluate websites for accessibility.

How tutorial will be conducted:

The session will include a combination of lecture, website demonstrations using a screen reader, video clips of users interacting with screen readers, group discussion about accessibility strategies and compliance approaches, and class exercises on evaluating websites for accessibility and developing a corporate accessibility compliance program.

Detailed Description of Material Covered by Tutorial

Overview of web accessibility issues (30 minutes)

After a brief introduction about my background and session schedule/logistics, we will take the time for participant introductions. This was helpful last time (UPA 2002) because it gave the group personal contacts for future collaboration. Also, it provided each participant an opportunity to vocalize what he or she hoped to gain from the workshop.

In addition, I'll provide an overview of the tutorial topics and address why accessible design is important (for the disabled as well as for emerging technologies). The overview will include:

• Statistics on the disabled user population
• General background information on the types of disabilities (including blind, low-vision, colorblind, deaf, physical impairments, and cognitive impairments).
• Relevant Accessibility Legislation
• Brief video clip that demonstrates how a user who is blind interacts with a website using a screen reader technology.

Preparation for an Accessibility Initiative (45 minutes)

The discussion will focus on the following topics:

• Role of Usability Specialists as accessibility advocates--includes a group discussion: How might usability specialists act as advocates in participants' organizations?
• Organization considerations and the importance of champions and advocates for accessibility
• Resources for getting started—helpful accessibility websites, books, and newsgroups
• Overview of guidelines—W3C's Web Accessibility Content Guidelines (WACG), Microsoft, IBM, etc.
• Strategies for implementing a compliance initiative:
• Approach 1: Develop internal expertise to address accessibility compliance.
• Approach 2: Use external accessibility consultants to set up the strategy for the organization.
• Pros and cons of this approach will be discussed.
• Group discussion: Participants' experiences using these two approaches; lessons learned in different kinds of organizations.
• Take away: Participants have the opportunity to hear how participants from different kinds of organizations have successfully (or unsuccessfully) raised the visibility of the usability specialist's role as advocate for both usability and accessibility. Also, participants will gain insights about which approach might work best in their organization.

Detailed Accessibility Compliance Process for Websites (1 hour and 45 minutes)

Overview of how to identify website accessibility issues

• A web-based search product will be used as a case study to demonstrate how the process works.
• Process for conducting the initial evaluations: What to look for at a high level, e.g., alt text on images, presence of skip navigation links, redundant color-coding, frame & page titles, table headers, use of JavaScript, etc.

Class Exercise (30 minutes): Participants will be asked to identify accessibility issues using a Section 508 checklist. Participants will be split into small groups, if necessary.

Take away: This class exercise is intended to encourage discussion about the specific standards, and give participants an idea of what's really involved with designing and evaluating sites for accessibility.

Description of how to organize the work based on the initial findings

• Importance of forming a core accessibility team that consists of product & project managers, Human Factors Engineers, usability specialists, web designers, and software engineers/developers.
• Issues involved with lining up resources and funding, as well as obtaining support from other organizations.
• How to establish a strategy for an on-going compliance maintenance program. Describe the pros and cons of utilizing an in-house accessibility compliance officer vs. relying on external consultants.
• Criteria for selecting an appropriate consultant for the organization and the level of work that is needed.
• Group Discussion: Brainstorm alternative ways of setting up a compliance program in different kinds of organizations. We will discuss what has and has not worked in participants' companies.

Class Exercise (30 minutes): Develop a strategy (outline) for implementing an accessibility compliance program. Participants will be split into small groups and each group will select one of the participants' organizations for the exercise. The groups will then work on developing an outline of an accessibility compliance implementation strategy or plan.

Take away: This class exercise will give participants an idea of what is really involved with developing an accessibility compliance initiative.

Discussion of the verification process

• Why it is important to have a formally agreed-upon verification process. Describe how to set up a verification process.
• Advantages of creating product documentation for accessibility compliance efforts, including Customer Service documentation.
• Issues involved with developing a corporate accessibility compliance statement.
• Group Discussion: Brainstorming on the effectiveness of the proposed verification process in participants' organizations.
• Take away: Participants will have a better understanding of how to answer the question: How do we decide that our product is compliant?

Accessibility and Usability (30 minutes)

Discuss the following topics:

• The relationship between usability and accessibility testing. For users with disabilities, accessible websites are a prerequisite for usability, while that isn't always the case with non-disabled users.
• How might usability specialists adjust a traditional usability test plan to gather data from users who are disabled.
• Pros and cons for including users who are disabled in usability tests or conducting a separate usability test for users with disabilities.
• Topics for research in this evolving area.
• Group Discussion: Participants' experiences conducting usability testing with users who have different kinds of disabilities.
• Take away: Practical observations and tips on usability testing with users who are disabled and valuable information for making the decision on how to include users with disabilities in product evaluations.

Handouts

• Summary of major legislation and guidelines
• Checklist showing the relationship between Section 508 provisions and WACG checkpoints (this handout will be used in one of the class exercises)
• List of accessibility resources (updated and expanded version from UPA 2002)
• Sample of completed initial evaluation
• IBM Home Page Reader tips and tricks
• Verification process, checklist, and template for documenting compliance
• Samples of accessibility compliance statements
• Sample test plan for testing with users who are sightless

Speaker Biography

Dr. Sarah J. Swierenga, Ph.D., C.P.E. holds a joint appointment as a professor in the Department of Psychology and senior research psychologist the University of Dayton Research Institute's (UDRI) Human Factors Group. She is both an experienced researcher and a practitioner, who has almost 20 years of experience in the scientific study of users in both commercial and military environments. At UDRI, Dr. Swierenga provides expertise in usability and accessibility testing for commercial applications. She led a corporate accessibility compliance initiative, providing technical consulting on over 50 products and creating an organizational strategy for implementing Section 508 standards. She also co-authored a book entitled, Constructing Accessible Web Sites (glasshaus, 2002). In the Psychology Department, Dr. Swierenga teaches graduate courses in human-computer interaction and human factors psychology. Her research programs focus on accessible web design and e-learning effectiveness.  She received her Ph.D. in Human Factors Psychology from the University of South Dakota.