Slide 01

ACCESSIBILITY - A Business and Market Imperative

Ray Ingram

The Productivity Works, Inc

April, 1998

Slide 02

There are 4 items we will be discussing

• Opportunity
• Legislation
• Accessibility - By Whom?
• Action Steps Everyone Should be Taking

Slide 03

OPPORTUNITY

To create products for the widest range of users and markets:

• Individuals
• Schools and Colleges
• Business
• Services
• Government

Accessibility is not for people with disabilities - it is for everyone

Without Accessibility, markets become restricted and limited

Slide 04

OPPORTUNITY

750,000,000 people with disabilities World-Wide

but

• How many people use the telephone?
• How many people wear glasses (especially bi-focals)?
• How many people drive cars or exercise?
• How many people are learning a new language?
• How many people cannot read?

All these people have SITUATIONAL DISABILITIES

Different interactions and different delivery modalities are required to match their needs

Slide 05

OPPORTUNITY

Access to Information should be a fundamental human right

Access to Information and Services through multiple modalities is required to support today's life-styles - You Cannot be Chained to a desktop or laptop PC

UNIVERSAL DESIGN - design for all users and modalities results in products for all market segments

Slide 06

LEGISLATION

Within the USA (a major geographic market)

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973)

• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (1986)

• Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) - U.S. Department of Justice Opinion (1996) that public accommodations must have accessible Web sites

• Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act (1996)

Slide 07

LEGISLATION

The (Telecommunications) Act requires manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment to ensure the equipment is designed, developed, and fabricated to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, if readily achievable

Slide 08

ACCESSIBILITY - By Whom?

Firstly, remember good Human Factors design already incorporates the needs of the audiences we have described

What types of disabilities are we referring to:

• Visual disabilities
• Hearing disabilities
• Physical disabilities
• Cognitive disabilities

Slide 09

ACCESSIBILITY - By Whom?

Everyone - different times, places, and situations

Providing access to Information and Services across these changing environments can double, or even triple, potential markets. Handling real and situational disabilities.

Slide 10

ACTION STEPS Everyone Should be Taking

Integrate issues of Universal Design into basic design and design verification processes

• Reference and review existing work that has been done
• Use existing expert resources (internal and external) to provide design feedback
• Conduct in-house workshops on accessibility

Review and participate in the work of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Slide 11

RESOURCES

• W3C and the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative: www.w3.org/wai/

• Trace Research and Development Center: www.trace.wisc.edu

• WGBH National Center for Accessible Media: www.wgbh.org/wgbh/ncam/ncamhome.html

• Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST): www.cast.org

• Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference Papers: www.dinf.org/csun_98/csun98.htm

• (US) More than Skin Deep: Toward Every-Citizen Interfaces to the Nation's Information Infrastructure: www.nap.edu/reading room/books/screen

• Preparing Canada for a Digital World: strategis.ic.gc.ca/ssg/ih01650e.html

• (US) Telecommunications Access Advisory Committee Report: trace.wisc.edu.docs/taac_final_rpt/taac_rpt.htm

• (US) Access Board Guidelines on Section 255: www.access-board.gov/rules/telfinal.htm

Slide 12

ACCESSIBILITY - A Business and Market Imperative