Usability and accessibility: are they two sides of the same coin and does it matter anyway?

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Usability and accessibility are they two sides
of the same coin and does it matter anyway?

• Penny Garrod
• UKOLN
• University of Bath
• Bath, BA2 7AY

Email p.garrod_at_ukoln.ac.uk URL http//www.ukoln.ac
.uk/
UKOLN is supported by
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Contents of session

• Warm up exercise (10 minutes)
• What do we mean by Accessibility?
• What do we mean by Usability?
• Do we need to differentiate?
• Discussion which guidelines? RNIB/NLB W3C
  Government guidelines Ch.14 of Resouces Manual
  of Best Practice (VIPs) etc.
• Evaluation Tools for testing the Wave Bobby
  Lynx Viewer.
• Advice from other organisations and usability
  guruse.g. Microsoft HE sector Jakob Nielsen.
• Conclusions and list of resources

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Accessibility v. Usability

• Accessibility
• Technical guidelines
• Adapting a visual medium so that everyone can use
  it
• accessible to wide range of disabilities e.g.
  dyslexia colour blindness sensory and physical
  impairment not all disablities are visible
• Also benefits non-disabled users e.g hands busy
  situations

• Usability
• A measure of how easy is it for users to find
  their way around your website
• (APLAWS desk top study)
• can task be effectively carried out and
  information found?
• User testing required
• involve users from outset design in stages
  test-evaluate-improve cycle

Universal accessibility serving largest possible
audience using broadest range of systems needs
of users with disabilities considered
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Guidelines and advice

• What have you used and found useful?
• What do OeE advise?
• Be both acessible and usable
• Enable citizens to find what they want and what
  theyre interested in.
• Legal imperative DDA EC resolution (E-Europe
  2002 adopt WAI guidelines at all levels of
  government)
• UK Government policy Level A WAI conformance
  (likely to be AA soon)

RNIB
A-AAA conformance
OeE website guidelines framework for local
government Illustrated Handbook for web
management teams
Best Practice manual
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Guidelines and advice from OeE

• Content ask users to test it and find out if
  they can find, understand and use all your
  website offers
• Advice from user research use plain language
  short, scannable text with subheads bulleted
  lists
• PDF documents provide alternatives e.g. HTML
  and plain text
• Branding consistent look and feel throughout
  helps users design features to give local,
  non-government feel
• Avoid reproducing documents aimed at internal
  audience on public website
• See section 2.4 of illustrated handbook building
  in universal accessibility section 2.5 on
  browsers long checklist provided
• Special needs technophobic socially excluded
  older people non-english speakers
• use W3C accessibility guidelines and quick tips
  minimum A (priority 1 items) rating required

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Guidance from RNIB

• Blind people use IE screen reader keyboard
  (tabenter keys) - not mouse
• Personalised settings peoples needs change
  from day to day so not good idea to set these
• Plug-ins need installing, seen as barrier to
  users problem with silent pages (images only)
  Flash software not liked by RNIB (there are
  accessibility kits available from Macromedia)
• Forms these should work in linear style for
  screen readers
• Images alt-text tag is essential functional
  description or null text for non functional
  images
• Do not recommend separate text only site

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Other sources of advice

• from Resources Best Practice Manual ch. 14
• Stick to the official W3C web content
  accessibility guidelines
• Use Lynx Viewer to see how page looks with text
  only and how it will be interpreted by screen
  reader
• Use W3C HTML validator service to check code
  against version used
• Use cascading style sheets to separate content
  from display structure
• Techdis http//www.techdis.ac.uk/ (good
  resources aimed at HE but generally useful)
• APLAWS http//www.aplaws.org.uk a desktop
  study of usability issues for web site design
  lists key resources useful info on CSS, frames,
  screen resolutions etc.
• Trace center (University of Wisconsin- Madison,
  USA) Designing more usable websites
  http//www.trace.wisc.edu/world/web/index.html

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Evaluation Tools for testing

• the Wave from Pennsylvania Institute on
  Disabilities (free)
• Bobby - from Watchfire (test one page free pay
  for downloadable version to test entire site as
  batch c.99)
• Lynx Viewer (free)
• Vischeck (from Stanford University) simulates
  colour blindness and Daltonize which corrects
  images for colourblind viewers (both on Vischeck
  site)
• Questions
• How useful are these tools?
• How reliable are they?
• Do they take too much time and effort to use and
  interpret results?

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Web-based tools the WAVE

• Pennsylvanias Initiative on Assistive Technology
  from
• http//www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave
• Wave cant tell you if page is accessible - no
  automated tool can
• adds icons and text to help you judge if page is
  accessible provides information to help you
  exercise judgment
• downloadable tutorial
• Incorporates browser check e.g.
• I'm using a recent browser (Internet Explorer
  5, Navigator 6, Opera 4 or higher)
• Analyze No-Frame Version
• Downloadable Wave button (like Google)

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(No Transcript)
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Wave analysis of Hampshires entry point
http//www.hants.gov.uk
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http//bobby.watchfire.com/
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Bobby Browser compatibility test
http//bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/advanced.
jsp
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Lynx Viewer
http//www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html
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Saga home page www.saga.co.uk/
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Saga site viewed with Lynx Viewer
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Vischeck www.vischeck.com/
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Advice from other organisations and gurus

• Jakob Nielsen (2000) Designing Web usabilitythe
  practice of simplicity. Indianapolis,Ind.New
  Riders.
• His web site http//www.useit.com/
• the book useful tips e.g. content should
  account for 50 of page- preferably 80
  navigation lt20 use resolution independent
  design (use percentages of available space) as
  most people still use small monitors (800x600)
• suggests you identify top 3 reasons why people
  come to your site simple things should be simple
  to do remember users are goal-driven
• Website very useful resource re Flash usability
  age related stuff e-commerce usability etc.

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Where else can I find advice?

• Microsoft http//www.microsoft.com/enable/
• Lists assistive technology for different
  categories of disability tutorials for Microsoft
  users e.g. windows users with visual impairment
  adjusting computers for mobility needs.
• Techdis http//www.techdis.ac.uk/ designed for
  HE community but includes database of 2,500
  items of assistive technology applies to all
  learners
• How People with disabilities use the web (W3C)
• http//www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/Overvi
  ew.html
• APLAWS A desktop study of usability issues
  for web site design www.aplaws.org.uk
• - concise, clear, collation of much of what has
  been written to help local authorities avoid
  common mistakes
• lists of resources

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W3C Ten quick tips for accessible websites
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www.ukonline.gov.uk - normal view
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Easy access version of UKonline
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Conclusions? What do you think?
'image www.freeimages.co.uk'