W3C

WAI-AGE teleconference

28 July 2010

Agenda

Attendees

Present
Andrew, Shadi, Suzette, Kate, Michael
Regrets
Darren, Helle
Chair
Andrew
Scribe
Suzette

Contents


Developing Websites for Older People

AA: EO reasonably happy with introductory section but AA and Shadi have made some changes

<Andrew> http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/sites-older-users/Overview.html

AA: need to think about target audience

Shadi: to go section by section including title

suzette: how to distinguish diff docs esp this draft and WA&OP <http://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/>

AA: this draft is more for Web developers

Shadi: difference are subtle - but do we need repetition and avoid too much cross referencing
... this one aimed at developers who have been requested to develop website for older people
... the WA&OP is more general interest

Suzette: maybe we could have a more active opening to get developers to engage with the guidelines

<shadi> ACTION: consider "this document provides guidance for developers ..." [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action01]

AA: asks Kate

kate: agrees - developers just want to get on and do it

AA: moving on to next section

Kate: need to be more specific about disabilities

Shadi: agrees that physical decline is too broad a term

<AA> Andrew: consider mobility or dexterity instead of physical?

Suzette: do we need to start with health issues? the impairments are often mild (as per para 2) rather than disability
... I prefer not to define ageing by medical condition
... might start by "older people are very diverse"

Kate: agree somewhat

<shadi> ACTION: re-consider starting off the second sentence with the disability aspect (that sometimes has negative connotations) [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action02]

Kate: have to be realistic - just about life and not abnormal and avoid the negative element of disability

AA: because ageing is just 'normal' older people do not go looking for disability aids
... need to get developers to understand what is different without stigmatising it

Shadi: what about the third paragraph Studies also indicate..

Suzette:maybe starting from the sameness of interest - reliable, aesthetic, etc - but may have some impairments that limit their ability to access and process information
... continue with mainstream solution (rather than assistive tech or adaptive strategies)
... maybe diversity in a different way

Shadi: studies often talked about usability being important
... from trust, experience, etc

Shadi: Literature search revealed issues such as trust etc -

Kate: is there a need to mention usability as well as accessibility

AA: want to get people thinking about both - as shown in various studies

Suzette: with older people, it's sometimes 'mainstream' usability that makes the difference though there is a clear overlap

Shadi: hearing that maybe we've put too much emphasis on usability, even though vey important, especially for mild disabilities

Michael: usability might be emphasised because older people did not grow up with computers and the web - hard to learn the concepts - might change in the future

Michael: is usability issue more to do with older people who have come to computing late. Harder to learn the concepts.How much will this change in the future

AA: some are saying it could will change - but also how will the web adapt to. Concepts similar but practice is different

Michael: combining accessibility and usability helps with arguing the case with clients
... there is a lot of overlapping

AA: maybe he will work with Shadi to create a different approach

Suzette: in WA&OP seems to get the balance right - this doc seems to set us up for how older people might see the web, and not sure it's right
... in particular in relation to guidelines, less use of AT & AS is important, so leaning more to usability (and less technical solution) is required (e.g. text, colour, contrast)
... business case, overlapping needs, then what to look for - positive approach
... maybe need examples in our intro of what is important to older people with minor impairments, but isn't a technical issue for AT

<shadi> ACTION: consider providing a specific example to clarify the relevance of accessibility for older people [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action03]

Shadi: starting with an anecdote or story can also make it a bit more engaging

AA: moving on to next section About W3C WCAG

Shadi: to Michael as a developer how does this work

Michael: not bad!

AA: is there material here that would be useful to pass on to a designer who is new to this?

Michael: second sentence - maybe turn it around - primarily written with disability in mind, then ageing

<Andrew> [maybe change order of -- used to design websites that are more usable for older people, as well as people with disabilities]

AA: was just trying to emphasis the issue

Michael: recommends AA

Shadi: a difficult issue to push

michael: maybe can make it in a way that says - a reasonable target? depending on type of website

Shadi: might provide very simple qualification

Suzette: issues affecting older people seem more often to be AA or even AAA

Shadi: but these benefit all people - sometimes they may be advisory techniques
... may be more related to experience or down to bad design. Really just need to make it usable
... if you want to make a website more usable for older people, need to make it more usable for everyone
... getting the font size right affects everyone - it is a general usability issue.

AA: just becomes more critical... sometimes inexperience and sometime impairment

Michael: if we want to develop and design for all people may be right, but may not be helpful. Better the other way round by helping older people will have benefits for others
... issues such as font and contrast can more easily be named. Problems may be less easily visible but can be detected by watching people
... example of timing for instance
... some of the AAA requirement are quite easy to include

Andrew: Next section Applying WCAG 2 - [] links will be removed just there for reviewing
... Does the text from guideline help

Michael: Yes - but understanding success criteria is difficult to understand
... not a helpful place to send the developer
... keep the text; drop the understanding links

Suzette: say in intro 'specific benefits' for older people

<shadi> ACTION: consider examples to highlight relevance of the requirements for older people [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action04]

AA: Any final comments

Kate: for clearer language try and avoid so many 'success criterion'

<shadi> ACTION: consider avoiding over-use of "success criterion" (and other jargon) [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action05]

Shadi: 'some of the specific benefits for older people include....

<Andrew> some of the specific benefits for older people include ... (drop SC) in sentence

AA: may request some additional contacts over the summers as there are a number of docs nearing completion

Shadi: suggests that there will be available for summer holiday reading

 

Summary of Action Items

[NEW] ACTION: consider "this document provides guidance for developers ..." [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action01]
[NEW] ACTION: consider avoiding over-use of "success criterion" (and other jargon) [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action05]
[NEW] ACTION: consider examples to highlight relevance of the requirements for older people [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action04]
[NEW] ACTION: consider providing a specific example to clarify the relevance of accessibility for older people [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action03]
[NEW] ACTION: re-consider starting off the second sentence with the disability aspect (that sometimes has negative connotations) [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2010/07/28-waiage-minutes.html#action02]
 
[End of minutes]

Minutes formatted by David Booth's scribe.perl version 1.135 (CVS log)
$Date: 2010/08/02 08:03:22 $