US vs. THEM: Impacts of Web accessibility standards in the Web design industry

1. US vs. THEM: Impacts of Web accessibility standards in the Web design industry a11yCampTO 2012 – Impacts of a11y standards Denis Boudreau, DEQUE Systems / +1 (514) 730-9168

2. @dboudreau • www.deque.com • #a11y • #w3c • #eowg • #a11yChat • #sgqri008 Denis Boudreau

3. www.a11yMTL.org “Accessibility, mobile web and UX: designing adapted and adaptive interfaces”

4. Challenge: diverging viewpoints… • Expectations of policy makers • Expectations of public administrations • Expectations of people with disabilities • Expectations of web industry professionals

5. The policy makers’ angle • Follow the golden rules • Checklists seen as Holy Writs • Compliance over user experience

6. The public administration’s angle • Accountability on imposed requirements • General feeling of helplessness • User experience through compliance

7. The people with disabilities’ angle • “Nothing about us without us!” • Fundamental right to access information • User experience over compliance

8. The web professionals’ angle • Provide the best quality possible • Remain profitable despite requirements • Compliance and user experience are equally important

9. 12-Step Program to Web Accessibility • Inclusion • Participation • Standard • Obligation • Expectation • Implementation • Adaptation • Procurement • Training • Planning • Testing • Cost

10. 1. Inclusion ///////////////////Provide end users with inclusiveand accessible online services.

11. 2. Participation ///////////////Ensure all citizens canactivelyparticipate to society, whether or not they have a disability.

12. 3. Standard ////////////////////Various normative frameworks for all types of Web sites and applications, based on WCAG 2.0 (aka ISO/IEC 40500:2012).

13. 4. Obligation //////////////////Recommendations turned into mandatory requirements with responsibility for accountability.

14. 5. Expectation /////////////////Public administrations want to be able to rely on the expertise of hired professionals to achieveWeb accessibility.

15. 6. Implementation ////////////Conformance does not happen by accident – it is achieved through empowerment of all stakeholders and Web professionals.

16. 7. Adaptation //////////////////Accessibility calls for profound change management and cultural shifts in the organization – helping people view change as an opportunity for greatness.

17. 8. Procurement ///////////////Consider accessibility beforebuying the solution or software and do this as early as possiblein the project to avoid retrofits.

18. 9. Training /////////////////////Training may be expensive, but lack of training leads to incompetence, which is much more expensiveand hurtful to an organization.

19. 10. Planning ///////////////////Successfully planning accessibility means making sure the right questions are being asked at the right time by the right people.

20. 11. Testing /////////////////////Involve end users in the testing process and rely on tools that will help you become as efficient as possible.

21. 12. Cost /////////////////////////Pay attention to cost overestimation, justified by the lack of adequate skills – avoid openly admittinga lack of competence.

22. Towards a better, more robust and inclusive Web for all.

23. Denis Boudreau, Web Accessibility Avenger DEQUE Systems Inc. // +1 (514) 730-9168 // db@deque.com // www.deque.com // @dboudreau Thank you!