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WAI: Strategies, guidelines, and resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities

Analysis/Requirements and Changelog for:
"Developing Websites for Older People:
How Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Applies"

Page Contents

Published Version: http://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/developing


About

In some situations, developers are tasked to create Web sites optimized for older users. Often they are not aware of the relationship between the accessibility needs of older users and the needs of people with disabilities. In fact, they may not even be aware of the existence of standards for Web accessibility at all. This resource would explain to them how they could benefit from implementing existing Web accessibility guidelines, and how to use them to create accessible Web sites for older users.

Scenarios

Purpose, Goals, Objectives

Rationale:

Objective:

Audience

Primary:

Secondary:

Scope

Will:

Will not:

Approach

Initial outline and ideas:

Title Options

WCAG for Older Users (technical page):

EOWG Brainstorm (technical page OR landing page)

See also title ideas for Older People land page below

References

WAI-AGE task force and EOWG Discussions:

Related documents:

Open Issues

ChangeLog

Changes 22 September 2010

Changes 9 September 2010

Changes 6 September 2010

Changes 13 August 2010

Changes 10 August 2010

Changes 4 August 2010

Changes 21 July 2010

Changes 29 June 2010

Changes 23 June 2010

Changes 16 June 2010

Changes 1 June 2010

Changes 26 May 2010

Changes 25 May 2010

Changes 20 May 2010

Changes 12 May 2010

Changes 6 May 2010

Background from WAI-AGE Deliverables:

Rationale:
This document describes how to use existing Web accessibility guidelines to create Web sites for older users. It highlights the relationship between the accessibility needs of older users and the needs of people with disabilities, and guides the readers to more in-depth resources such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, the WAI-AGE Literature Review documents, or other relevant resources.
Proposal:
In some situations, developers are tasked to create Web sites for older users. Often they are not aware of the relationship between the accessibility needs of older users and the needs of people with disabilities. In fact, they may not even be aware of the existence of standards for Web accessibility at all. This resource would explain to them how they could benefit from existing Web accessibility guidelines, and how to use them to create accessible Web sites for older users.

Requirements Groupings option

A second attempt to organise material by the types of needs older users have, then show how WCAG 2.0 meets those needs. Trying the approach and presentation style used in Shared Web Experiences: Barriers Common to Mobile Device Users and People with Disabilities.

Groupings based on WAI Guidelines and Older Web Users: Findings from a Literature Review plus meeting identified impairments. Techniques drawn from early draft of Developing Websites for Older People (June 2010). Need to emphasize that any success criteria not listed still need to be met!

Questions:

  1. Is this 'requirements' approach working? Is the organisation/categorisation good? (Too many? Too few?)
  2. Is the level of explanation of each requirement sufficient?
  3. Might it be appropriate to link to the Lit Review for each requirement?
  4. How best to include success criteria that don't readily fit into the proposed categories?
  5. @@

--- start requirements groupings trial ---

Perceivable

definition: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. end definition

Text size

Many older people experience declining eyesight that requires larger text within web pages.

WCAG 2.0 requirements:

Techniques to consider:

Text style and presentation

A number of studies recommended specific preferred text presentation styles for older people; other approaches identified here will make text easy to read.
[@@ a number of studies have identified that overly decorated text can be difficult to read ]

Open items:

  • bold and underline - ??

WCAG 2.0 requirements:

Techniques to consider:

Color and Contrast

Many older people experience changing color perception and sensitivity, and loss of contrast sensitivity.

WCAG 2.0 requirements:

Techniques to consider:

[@@ visible links - include elsewhere? ]

Multimedia

Older people commonly experience declines in vision and hearing and require alternatives such as captions, transcripts, and/or audio description.

WCAG 2.0 requirements:

Techniques to consider:

Speech synthesis

Some older people are using text to speech (speech synthesis) software, which is becoming increasingly available in browsers and operating systems.

WCAG 2.0 requirements:

Techniques to consider:

CAPTCHA - Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart

Many studies have identified that CAPTCHA presents a significant barrier for some people.

WCAG 2.0 requirements:

Techniques to consider:

Operable

definition: User interface components and navigation must be operable. end definition

Potential groupings:

XX

@@

WCAG 2.0 requirements:

  • @@

Techniques to consider:

  • @@

Understandable

definition: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. end definition

Potential groupings:

Robust

definition: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. end definition

Grouping:

--- end requirements groupings trial ---


Presenting the Success Criteria (or Guidelines) within Impairment & Needs Groupings

A first attempt to organise material by the types of needs older users have, then show how WCAG 2.0 meets those needs.

Advantages of this approach:

Disadvantages of the approach:

Groupings might be:

--- start impairments and needs groupings option trial ---

Addressing the Declining Eyesight/Vision of Older People

[[ @@ short introductory blurb about age-related vision decline and requirements of older people ... possibly break into text, images, design, multimedia issues, other ... ]]

[[ @@ none of the rationales have been rewritten to suit this approach as yet ]]

[[ Editor's note: the linked numbers in brackets below that currently link to the Literature Review are provided to assist technical reviewing of this document - they will be removed before publication. ]]

Guideline 1.1 Text Alternatives

Information rendered in electronic text can be presented in whatever form best meets the needs of the user. It can also be easily enlarged, or spoken aloud, so that it is easier for people with reading disabilities to understand.

1.1.1 - Non-text Content (A)

This success criterion includes addressing CAPTCHAs which can pose a readability barrier for many, including older people with declining vision [03]

Guideline 1.2 Time-based Media

Older people commonly experience a decline in vision [03] (as well as a significant decline in hearing [02]). Providing alternatives for video-only and multi-media files through captioning, transcripts, and/or audio description helps older people better understand time-based media.

The following success criteria for Guideline 1.2 will increase the accessibility of multi-media for older people with declining vision:

Guideline 1.3 Adaptable

This guideline ensures that all information is available in a form that can be perceived by all users, for example, spoken aloud, or presented in a different or simpler visual layout.

1.3.1 - Info and Relationships (A)

Older people whose color perception and contrast acuity declines significantly with older age [03] will benefit from the following technique:

1.3.2 - Meaningful Sequence (A)

Older people experiencing a decline in vision [03] who may use the browser zoom feature or operating system text enlargement to adapt the page and make it easier to use may benefit from this success criterion.

1.3.3 - Sensory Characteristics (A)

Older people experiencing sensory declines [05] and may not see (or hear) well will benefit from this criterion.

Guideline 1.4 Distinguishable

This guideline is concerned with making the default presentation as easy to perceive as possible to people with disabilities. The primary focus is on making it easier for users to separate foreground information, be it visual or audio information, from the background.

1.4.4 - Resize text (AA)

This success criterion will increase readability for older people experiencing a decline in vision [03]

1.4.5 - Images of text (AA)

Enabling more flexibility in text enlargement, or color and contrast modification, for older people experiencing a decline in vision [03] is a benefit of this success criterion

1.4.9 - Images of Text (No Exception) (AAA)

This success criterion increases accessibility for older people experiencing a decline in vision [03]

1.4.8 - Visual Presentation (AAA)

Older people can experience declining cognitive abilities [07] and declining vision [03] making many aspects of the visual presentation of text important for readability. Readability can be enhanced through techniques such as:

Guideline 3.1 Readable

Making websites that are readable and usable by older people with vision impairments [03] (or declining cognitive abilities [07] ) can be enhanced by incorporating many of the advisory techniques about text presentation covering issues such as:

Guideline 3.2 Predictable

This guideline helps users with disabilities by presenting content in a predictable order from Web page to Web page and by making the behavior of functional and interactive components predictable. It is difficult for some users to form an overview of the Web page. Users with vision or cognitive limitations, including older users, may become confused if components appear in different places on different pages.

3.2.5 - Change on Request (AAA)

Older people experiencing vision [03] (and cognitive [07]) declines, and especially "change blindness" [06], will benefit from this success criterion.

--- end impairments and needs groupings option trial ---

Alternative Success Criteria Rationale Expressions

Examples of different ways of expressing the SC rationale - 'meeting this criterion will ...' vs. putting the impairment and implications first.

Option 1: Meeting this SC will ...

Sensory Characteristics - Success Criterion 1.3.3 (A)
Timing adjustable - Success Criterion 2.2.1 (A)
On Focus - Success Criterion 3.2.1 (A)

Option 2: Older people experience X with Y implication, so do Z

Sensory Characteristics - Success Criterion 1.3.3 (A)
Timing adjustable - Success Criterion 2.2.1 (A)
On Focus - Success Criterion 3.2.1 (A)

--- end Alternative Success Criteria Rationale Expressions ---

 

Landing Page for Older Users

Published: http://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users

Purpose:

Audience:

References:

Title considerations (landing page):