Accessibility

You are not the user

Table of Contents

Why Care?
Why even discuss accessibility at all?
 

The Law
The current and future legal implications in RSA
 

Bolted on Solutions
The dangers of thinking about accessibility as an "extra"
 

Tools and Testing
Why interface design is not graphic design.

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🤔 Why Care?

Why even discuss accessibility at all?

Hello. Who dis?

“The power of the Web is in its universality.
Access by everyone regardless of
disability is an essential aspect.”

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Creator of the Mother-Flippen Internet!

Do U Even 🖤 Bro?

“For all of us working with digital platforms, it’s a good idea to rethink how we approach projects. Either you can choose to do so out of fear of a bad reputation, lawsuits, or fines, or you can do it because you want to be the reasonable person.”

Trine Falbe
Martin Frederikson
Kim Anderson
Ethical Design Handbook (2020)

Ethical Designers

“ Some relate to the conduct of the designer, which can include a code of conduct related to research practices, interaction with clients, environmental impact, and so on. [...] In these cases, ethical design might be defined as creating products that respect the people who use them, with everything that that implies [...] Businesses, products, and services that grow from a principle of fairness and fundamental respect towards everyone involved.”

Trine Falbe
Martin Frederikson
Kim Anderson
Ethical Design Handbook (2020)

The Stakes are Increasing

“Companies, organizations, and the public sector have also become online services, so much so that everything we do is, to a greater or lesser extent, digital activities. In some countries, you can get a divorce online, which in a way is the most impersonal way to end the most personal relationship you can have with another human being.”

Trine Falbe
Martin Frederikson
Kim Anderson
Ethical Design Handbook (2020)

Invest in Your Own Future

"The U.S. Census Bureau says that over 47 million Americans have a disability of some kind. The UN and the World Bank say this adds up to 650 million people worldwide. [...]  At some point in our lives, disability will affect most of us, no matter who we are, especially as we get older. By the time we retire, over 30% of us will have some disability, even if it is minor."

                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

The Legal Side

"The digital environment does not currently have an equivalent to the rigorous building codes and legal requirements of civil engineering and architecture. [...]  As we all come to appreciate the impact of digital products on health, safety, and general welfare, we are likely to see more interest in standards and certification in this area."

                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

  👮‍♀️ The Law

The current and future legal implications in RSA

Letter of the Law

"No person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds in terms of [disability]. National legislation must be enacted to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination.”

Bill of Rights

The South African Consitution (1996)

The Equality Act

"'discrimination'' means any act or omission, including a policy, law, rule, practice, condition or situation which directly or indirectly A) imposes burdens, obligations or disadvantages on; or B) withholds benefits, opportunities, or advantages from any person on one or more of the prohibited grounds”
 

Open Gazettes South Africa

Government Gazette #20876 (2000)

Our Track Record

"At a time when questions are being asked as to the enforceability of many laws being passed by parliament, the question obviously arises as to whether these new cyber crimes will be enforceable? [...] These are extremely wide and the question, which begs to be asked, is how long the arm of the South African law can and will be when we are struggling to combat basic everyday crime within our own borders? [...] To date, no cyber inspectors have been appointed”

Michalsons

Cybercrime Law in South Africa Explained (2009)

Across the Waters

"In 2017, the first web accessibility ADA [ Americans with Disabilities Act]  lawsuit concerning went to a full federal trial. Juan Carlos Gil, who has a vision disability, sued supermarket chain Winn-Dixie because screen-readers wouldn’t work with their website and won.”

Essential Accessibility Institute

Web Accessibility Lawsuits (2020)

An Upwards Trend

"In 2019, according to an analysis by international legal firm Seyfarth Shaw, web accessibility federal lawsuits hit record numbers, with 11,053 suits filed in federal court, an 8.8% increase from 2018. California led the way with 4794 web accessibility lawsuits, which may be in response to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which reversed a federal judge’s 2017 dismissal of a case against Domino’s Pizza.”

Essential Accessibility Institute

Web Accessibility Lawsuits (2020)

  🔩 Bolted On Solutions

The dangers of thinking about
accessibility as an "extra"

Rory Preddy

Microsoft Developer Advocate

@rorypreddy

When It Works

When It Doesn't Work

Accessibility as a Quality

"accessibility is a quality—in this case, it means how easily and effectively a product or service can be accessed and used. Physical and cognitive ability occur along a spectrum. Everyone has a limit as to what they can physically accomplish and intellectually comprehend."

                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Some Examples

Embedded in Process

"accessibility is not approached as a last-minute checklist of additions that are piled onto the product, but rather a set of features that are designed in place from the start [...] In many cases, accessibility is often considered only at the end of the development process, typically during quality assurance or even after launch. Resolving accessibility issues on a finished product often yields unsatisfying solutions, for the designer and the user."

                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

Approach as Solution

Actively Breaking Things

"Accessibility is broken by bad decisions, not created by good ones [...] Standard HTML elements are accessible by default and by design. It’s when we try and do something fancy or custom that we break things."

                      Steve Barnet
                      User Experience Designer

When You Need to Bolt On

As Enhancement

Nochnoy Dozor (2004)

Better General Experience

"Empathy should be at the heart of all User Experience design. The first step to building it is to think about the times when you’re not able to do the tasks you typically can. [...] Inclusive Design isn’t solely about making sure a small percentage of the population can use your product. It’s about making sure anyone, in any situation, can use your product. And that benefits everyone. "

                     Antonio Holguin
                     Digital Arts Magazine (2018)

  🧤 Tools and Testing

Let's get our hands dirty!

WTF is WCAG?

"WCAG 2.0, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is a standard published by the W3C. That means it was created with input from people around the world and reflects the best international consensus."

                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

WTF is A, AA and AAA?

WTF is ARIA?

"Accessible Rich Internet Application Suite: Framework for adding attributes to web documents in order to make actionable elements accessible to people using assistive technology."
 

                                     Sarah Horton & Whitney Quesenbery
                                     A Web for Everyone (2014)

WTF is A11y?

"Accessibility is often abbreviated as the numeronym a11y, where the number 11 refers to the number of letters omitted. This parallels the abbreviations of internationalization and localization as i18n and l10n, respectively."

Computer accessibility
Wikipedia

The A11Y Project

"“Their website is easy to navigate, and it includes resources such as a WCAG checklist, information about assistive technology, articles about accessibility, and resources for teaching web accessibility. [...] Within their website, they have links to a11y software, books, blogs, podcasts, articles, and other resources for people teaching web accessibility"

                     Emily Miller
                     The A11y Project (2019)

Super Fresh! 🍕

"The project has faithfully provided information and advice for over 7 years. It has focused primarily on development and design, with much of its content discussing technical nuance. [...] As more and more services go online, the ability for anyone—regardless of device, circumstance, or ability—to be able to use digital products and services becomes vital. It is our sincerest desire that we help turn the industry away from accidental and intentional exclusion, and instead embrace an open, intentional, and inclusive world."

The A11Y Project
2020 Redesign (2020)

A Journey of a 1000 Steps

• Consulting real users with have impairments. 
   
• Self-testing. For example: using only your keyboard,  using with extreme glare, using only one hand while wearing mittens, blurring eye-sight. Screen readers ( JAWS, NVA, or built-in/extension for browser) or Empathy Prompts.
   
• Digital emulation. For example: Switching to grayscale mode in OS settings, ANDI, aXe, Color Contrast Checker, Dyslexia Simulator.