The Role of Testing in the Conformance Process

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Transforming the Workplace with New Technologies

Presented by Debra Ruh Founder
President TecAccess
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New Directions, New Possibilities

• Meet Rose!
• Though Rose cannot speak or use her hands, she
• travels the world
• participates in adventure sports
• has her own column in an Ohio
• newspaper
• is a high level manager

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Technology Makes It All Possible
TecAccess gave me my respect back,
TecAccess gave me my life back. Rosemary
Musachio

• Rose uses assistive technology
• Rose uses instant messaging, email, chat forums,
  and social networking
• Rose takes advantage of the movement towards
  greater accessibility in all EIT products and
  services

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New Directions, New Possibilities

• Meet Ed!
• Though Ed has traumatic brain injury, has
  suffered a stroke, and has limited use of his
  hands, he
• participates in marathons
• serves as an inspirational
• speaker
• enjoys SCUBA diving
• holds a senior IT position

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Technology Makes It All Possible
When I come to work, I know Im a part
of something bigger than me. Ed
Ziegler

• Ed uses voice recognition software to send
  e-mails and instant messages, surf the web, and
  create documents.
• Ed uses ergonomic seating and chairs.
• Ed seeks out businesses and organizations that
  recognize the value of accessible design and who
  have taken the necessary steps to purchase and
  use technology that work with his assistive
  technology.

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The Big Picture

• One in four computer users has a visual
  difficulty or impairment.
• One in four computer users has a dexterity
  difficulty or impairment.
• One in five computer users has a hearing
  difficulty or impairment.

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The Big Picture continued

• Our population is aging, and an increasing number
  of people are acquiring disabilities for the
  first time
  in their lives.
• An increasing number of disabilities and
  impairments are associated with the aging
  process.
• Disabilities are not confined to traditional
  definitions anymore.

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The Big Picture continued

• Accessible technology aids more than those with
  disabilities and the aging.
• Forrester Research Inc. (2003) studied the effect
  
• of accessible technology for the general
  population
• (those with and without disabilities)
• In the U.S. 60 (101.4 million) of working-age
  adults 18 to 64 are likely or very likely to
  benefit from the use of accessible technology.

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The Changing Face of Technology

• There is certainly a growing need for more
  accessible technology.
• With the number of people with disabilities
  growing, a clear market place advantage arises.
• Laws are being created, technology is being
  developed, and organizations are beginning to
  realize the benefits of making their technology
  easier to use by all people.

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The Evolution of Accessible Technology

• What was once philanthropic in nature moved to a
  legislative tone at the turn of the millennium.
• In the public sector, government technology
  regulations were increasingly adopted by state
  local government agencies and education.
• Now, however, the marketplace is driving
  accessibility.

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Todays Bottom Line

• Government and private industry now realize that
• when technology is not accessible
• There is the possibility of an ADA or Section 508
  lawsuit.
• There is a loss of procurement from the Federal
  Government.
• There is a loss of clients/customers.
• There are missed opportunities to serve
  citizens/customers.
• There is risk of poor public image/brand damage.

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Todays Bottom Line continued

• We now realize that it is more cost effective to
  retain skilled employees than to recruit new
  ones. By using accessible technology,
  organizations can keep aging employees in the
  workplace longer.
• Without accessibility strategies to attract or
  retain these workers, companies will have a
  significant loss in knowledge workers over the
  next 10 to 15 years.
• There is an increase in the number of people with
  disabilities who are just now graduating from
  major universities and training programs.
  Accessible technology is therefore more critical
  than ever before to enable these valued workers
  to contribute to the workforce.

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Pace of Innovation

• Meanwhile, the overall population also continues
  to depend increasingly on computer technology
• Sharing data between systems, departments
  companies.
• Powerful search capabilities are simplifying info
  retrieval.
• Becoming easier to build and manage teams that
  span the globe.
• Improved mobility allows business to happen
  almost anywhere.
• However, there is increasing difficulty for
  companies and workers, with and without
  disabilities, to keep up
• Email, instant messaging, text messaging
• Audio/video conferencing, online virtual meeting
  places
• Internet vs. Intranet sites
• RSS Feeds
• Blogging
• Etc.

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Pace of Innovation continued

• There is no sign the rate of change will slow
• Convergence of technologies enable new scenarios.
• New technologies replace existing solutions.
• Increased storage capacity speed delivered in
  smaller form factors creates new possibilities.
• U.S. consumers age 50 are helping fan the
  flames
• 32 of computer, and 31 of digital camera
  purchases in 2007 were made by consumers age 50
  (NPD Group).
• More than 77 of people age 55 to 64 have mobile
  phones, as compared to 86 of the entire U.S.
  population (M Metrics).
• In 2007, there were more Internet users age 55
  than age 18 to 34 (Nielsen Online).

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Whats Around the Corner?

• People with disabilities are gaining recognition
  as a significant and growing market for products
  and services. This will only strengthen as we
  turn the corner.
• People with disabilities are now making their
  needs and expectations known.
• Now that people with disabilities have emerged as
  an untapped spending and voting power, this
  population is directly positioned to lead the
  future development of accessible technology.

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The Future

• Ask a person with a disability! They hold the
  key.
• Disability can become ones greatest asset, as
  people with disabilities are now positioned to
  use their first-hand knowledge of facing
  accessibility challenges to in turn help make the
  world more user-friendly for all.

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New Possibilities!

• With new technology there are new possibilities
  and appropriately, people with disabilities are
  leading this change.

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Disability as Choice

• Unemployment, seclusion, doubt, and inactivity
  are indeed paralysis of the spirit.
• With improvements in technology, accommodations,
  and attitudinal barriers, we now can
  choose NOT to be disabled.

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Disability as Choice

• When faced with a disability,
• options are clear
• Find or create alternatives
• and
• Use assistive technology to take those abilities
  we do have to a higher level.

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The New Workforce

• In the past, employers typically would not
  consider people with disabilities in high-tech
  and management positions as an option.
• Yet research has unequivocally proven that people
  with disabilities can lead the way in all levels
  of management, especially in the accessible
  technology field.

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The New Workforce continued

• Personal computers (PCs) and assistive technology
  for people with disabilities are improving fast.
• The number of people with disabilities wishing to
  learn to use this technology is increasing year
  by year.
• Businesses are now implementing very simple and
  cost effective strategies to hire people with
  disabilities in anticipation of setting
  themselves apart, thus creating a market
  differentiator.

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Call to Action You Can Shape the Future

• Allocate resources appropriately
• Develop a plan (understand accessibility
  standards, perform assessments, set goals)
• Identify problem areas
• Implement guidelines
• Accessibility testing/track site progress
• Educate employees
• Integrate accessibility into quality assurance
  and content delivery processes
• Keep a historical view of your accessibility work

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Call to Action You Can Shape the Future
continued

• Get the right leadership involved
• Marketing
• Development
• Public Relations
• End Users
• Executive Management
• Operations
• Professional Development/Training

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Enable your Business Processes!

• TecAccess uses IDEAL Online Conferencing for
  internal communications collaboration, as well
  as delivering Professional Services to our
  clients
• Meets all pertinent Section 508 EIT
  Accessibility Standards. See VPAT
  http//tiny.cc/vpat
• A fully accessible, feature-rich online
  conferencing and collaboration system with
  thousands of users, including those with vision,
  speech, hearing, mobility and learning
  disabilities!
• Currently, successfully used for DVET Program
• Professional Development/Training

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Enable your Business Processes! continued

• IDEAL Online Conferencing features
• Tested and compatible with commercial assistive
  technology including JAWS, Window-Eyes, ZoomText,
  Magic, Dragon Naturally Speaking
• Audio is compatible with inductive loop-equipped
  headsets
• Interoperable and compatible with Remote
  Conference Captioning services
• Internal Document Control Center converts MS
  Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF files into
  accessible formats!

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What You Can Do!

• When you leave this presentation today, I
  encourage you to remember these success stories,
  and to look within your respective work
  environments.
• Think about what you can do for the field of
  accessible technology and find creative ways to
  make it happen.

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Where Does It All Lead?

• You Decide!
• Open discussion.
• Questions.

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Contact

• SOME OF OUR SERVICES
• Section 508 Compliance Assessment Planning
• Accessibility Testing
• Training
• Engineering and Reengineering Services
• Assistive Technology and Access Interfaces
• Focus Groups
• And much more!

• Debra Ruh
• Founder President
• TecAccess
• Rockville Commerce Center
• Building A, Unit 1
• 2410 Granite Ridge Road
• Rockville, VA 23146
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• www.TecAccess.net