UX and A11Y: How a wake-up call “Flipped It”

Driving UX with Accessibility

UPA 2012, Las Vegas, NV

Me, in a nut shell

• UX Consulting and design • Web Accessibility Advocacy and Consulting • UX Architect • C.U.A. and M.F.A. • Focus Areas: Inclusive Design, Accessibility,

Systems Approaches, UX Infrastructure • Instituted a Web Accessibility Program at a

Fortune 100 Health Insurance Company

The UX Honeycomb

Usability and accessibility are both components of the User Experience Honeycomb* But accessibility is often a “nice to have.”

useful

desirable

findable

valuable

credible

usable

accessible

*attributed to Peter Morville

Photo: www.wikipedia.org

Inclusive Design Approach Lots of carrots!

Then came a wake up call

“We need to confirm your site meets our federal accessibility requirements.”

I’d been handed a stick

Accessibility is now a legal requirement.

The honeycomb had shifted

usable

useful

desirable

findable

valuable

credible

accessible If you can’t access it, You can’t use it.

I realized it could flip it

• UX now part of A11y • A11y was a driver • User-centered

standards • Testable as

requirements

Mapping UX to A11Y

– Equitable use – Flexible in use – Simple and intuitive – Perceivable info – Tolerance for error – Low physical effort – Size and space for

approach and use

– Perceivable – Operable – Understandable – Robust

Inclusive Design Principles: WCAG 2.0 Guidelines:

Keeping the focus on users

• Technical compliance is not enough • Must test on real users with disabilities, using

assistive technologies • Invite developers to watch disabled users

testing the pages • Take stewardship of accessibility to avoid

code-centered accessibility

Collaborating and partnering

Potential advocates: • IT • Sales & Marketing • Legal & Compliance • Purchasing

How big is the problem?

Now fix it!

•Pressure helped me •Resources were made available •I had authority I’d never had before! •IT was teaching me how to write standards so that they could interpret them

•Partnerships paid off

Cross-referrals

Photo: www.captmondo.com

While we’re under the hood . . .

Now, how to build these pages?

•Steep learning curve •All team members required training, especially developers

•UX collaborated closely with IT •Accessible code libraries and code standards were created

•Each consecutive site would be easier and faster to create, and require less testing

Did we do it right?

No wake-up call at your company?

• Even if you’re not in a high-stakes game with the government, this approach can still be relevant

• There’s a big wave coming that can help you make your case

Getting Started

• Socialize “Silver Tsunami” concept – 72 Million Boomers are at or near

retirement age – They have a lot of buying power – Very comfortable online – Don‘t think of themselves as disabled – Opportunity to lay a foundation to

support these users

Getting Started

• Assess and scope • Get professional help • Talk to people who have done this before • Get involved in the a11y community:

– Twitter: #a11y – Web Axe blog & podcasts: webaxe.blogspot.com – Annual CSUN Conference: www.csun.edu/cod – AccessU: www.environmentsforhumans.com

Thank you!

Lisa Barnett Lisa.barnett@cummins.com