A centre of expertise in digital information management Accessibility and NOF-digi Support: The Lessons Learnt Brian Kelly UKOLN University

A centre of expertise in digital information management

www.ukoln.ac.uk

Accessibility and NOF-digi Support: The Lessons Learnt

Brian KellyUKOLNUniversity of BathBath

[email protected]

UKOLN is supported by:

About The Speaker

Brian Kelly is a Web adviser to UK HE/FE and MLA communities.

Brian has been active in promoting best practices for Web sites for over 10 years.

Brian works closely with the JISC-funded TechDis service.

Brian was the project manager for the NOF-digi Technical Advisory Service.

Brian works for UKOLN, a national centre of expertise in digital information management.

About The Speaker

Brian Kelly is a Web adviser to UK HE/FE and MLA communities.

Brian has been active in promoting best practices for Web sites for over 10 years.

Brian works closely with the JISC-funded TechDis service.

Brian was the project manager for the NOF-digi Technical Advisory Service.

Brian works for UKOLN, a national centre of expertise in digital information management.

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/seminars/net-gain-2004-06/http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/seminars/net-gain-2004-06/


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NOF-digitise TAS

NOF-digitise Technical Advisory Service (NOF-digi TAS):• A technical support service for the NOF-digitise

programme• Provided by UKOLN and AHDS (Arts & Humanities

Data Service)• Worked closely with BECTA (compliance checking)

and NOF-digitise team

NOF-digi TAS provided:• A Technical Standards framework• Support on implementing the framework• Workshops, email, FAQs, support, occasional site

visits, etc.


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NOF-digi Standards Framework

The Technical Standards framework:• Aims to provide:

Widespread accessibility Platform and application independence Long-term access to digitised content Coherent and extensible technical framework

which provides scope for interoperability and re-use of resources

• Based on open standards philosophy• See <http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/content/technical.asp>

The standards framework provided the basis for many successful projects, which can be accessed from the EnrichUK portal

The standards framework provided the basis for many successful projects, which can be accessed from the EnrichUK portal


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Challenges

Although open standards appear to provide clear benefits their deployment can raise some challenges:

Immaturity of standards Poor support for standards Costs of implementing standards Lack of expertise in use of particular standards Possible danger that standards may fail to gain

widespread acceptance

How should we respond to these challenges: Ignore issues and force projects to implement the

standards, with financial penalty clauses for non-compliance?

Abandon commitment to open standards and leave issues to the market place?

Develop an acceptable compromise?


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Addressing The Challenges

NOF-digi TAS:• Implemented reporting mechanism for deviance

from use of open standards or best practices

• Provided an FAQ which sought to illustrate acceptable and non-acceptable deviations

• Explanation had to be approved by the funders• See <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/nof/support/help/faqs/complete_faqs.htm#migration>

(a) Give area in which compliance will not be achieved(b) Explain why compliance will not be achieved (including

research on appropriate open standards) (c) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of your proposed

solution (d) Describe migration strategies to ensure compliance in the future (e) Describe how the migration may be funded


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QA Focus

QA Focus:• Funded by the JISC to support JISC's digital

library programmes• Remit to develop quality assurance methodology

to help ensure that projects' deliverables are:• Functional• Widely accessible• Interoperable• Easy to deploy into service

• See <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/>

NOF-digi had a compliance checking regime, whereasQA Focus's approach is based on self-assessment

NOF-digi had a compliance checking regime, whereasQA Focus's approach is based on self-assessment


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Matrix For Selection Of Standards

QA Focus deliverables:• QA methodology based on:

Documented policies Systematic compliance checking Self-assessment (but documented, so documents

could be audited by funders, etc. depending on funding regime)

• Support materials: 60+ briefing papers (brief focussed advice) Case studies (descriptions of how projects implemented

best practices, and details of lessons learnt) Matrix For Selection Of Standards (briefing-31)

Although funded by JISC to support JISC's digital library programmes the methodology and materials are freely available to all

Although funded by JISC to support JISC's digital library programmes the methodology and materials are freely available to all


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Accessibility

How does this relate to accessibility?• WAI WCAG acknowledged as key guidelines• DRC report of 1,000 Web site indicates:

• Lack of motivation to implement guidelines in some areas (design-driven Web developers?)

• Possible difficulties with the WCAG guidelines• Other factors:

• Need to address usability (sometimes forgotten due to emphasis on accessibility, DDA, etc.)

• Need to provide user testing (not just Bobby!)• Possible conflicts between WAI's philosophy

(must use W3C formats for WAI AAA) and user-driven needs

• Aspects of WAI WCAG too theoretical


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Common Misconceptions

Some common misconceptions:• If I have a text-only version my site is accessible

No! WAI says "Content developers should only resort to alternative pages when other solutions fail …"

• I must provide pages with large font sizes No! You should use CSS so users can change the font size

• Several blind users have tested my Flash pages and said it's OK – so I can add a WAI AAA logo Testing is great - but what about other disabilities? And WAI

AAA does not allow proprietary formats

• Bobby approves my site so I'm OK • No! You still need to check your page manually

• I should add Bobby/WAI logos on my page


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Accessibility Logos

Should you provide a logo?• Bobby is just one testing tool – and has limitations. • What is the scope implied by a logo: the page,

project area, entire (Council?) Web site, …• Do you have QA procedures to ensure that the

resource is accessible today and tomorrow?• Do you go for WAI A, AA or AAA? What about

WCAG 2.0, with its new categories: A+• Having a logo may imply a higher level of

accessibility than you provide, and could lead to greater exposure to legal threats

A list of accessibility auditing tools is available at <http://www.science.plym.ac.uk/warp/eval/evaluationtools.html> - but such tools must be used in conjunction with policies, manual testing, …

A list of accessibility auditing tools is available at <http://www.science.plym.ac.uk/warp/eval/evaluationtools.html> - but such tools must be used in conjunction with policies, manual testing, …


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Holistic Accessibility

TechDis & UKOLN are developing a holistic model for (e-learning) accessibility which includes:

• WAI WCAG and wider accessibility issues

• Usability issues• Needs of the learner / user• Infrastructure issues

(security, performance, management, …)

• Local, regional, domain, etc. factors (legal framework, political imperatives, …)

• A quality assurance framework which provides policies and procedures for the above areas


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Flash – An Example

Macromedia's Flash format:A proprietary format which we should avoid when

building open extensible resources (and avoid dependencies on commercial vendors cf. GIF)

A widely used format for developing richly interactive, user-friendly resources

An accessibility nightmare, rightly disapproved of by W3C WAI WCAG guidelines

A format which is being made accessible and which is endorsed by RNIB

There is no simple right answer. If you are considering using Flash you should address the broader issues – and ensure that you document your decisions and policies

There is no simple right answer. If you are considering using Flash you should address the broader issues – and ensure that you document your decisions and policies


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Accessibility – New Devices

Note that making use of (X)HTML and CSS will provide additional benefits

• Access on PDAs, etc.• Access on digital

TV devices (cf Netgem.com)

• Access by automated robots

• Ease of addressing (URI for individual resources & resource fragments)

EnrichUK Web site viewed on Netgem digital TV box (£64.50 for Linux box!)

EnrichUK Web site viewed on Netgem digital TV box (£64.50 for Linux box!)

It would be wise to seek to use open standards by default

It would be wise to seek to use open standards by default


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A Self Assessment Toolkit

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/toolkit/http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/toolkit/

QA Focus has develop toolkits to help projects in their self-assessmentNote:

• Answers not stored• Highlights issues &

gives examples – doesn't give an solution for your project

• Answers should be documented for internal project documents, for use with collaborators, for possible checking by funders and defence against legal threats

QA Focus has develop toolkits to help projects in their self-assessmentNote:

• Answers not stored• Highlights issues &

gives examples – doesn't give an solution for your project

• Answers should be documented for internal project documents, for use with collaborators, for possible checking by funders and defence against legal threats


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Organisational Issues

Involvement in digital library project activities:• Provides valuable opportunity for organisations

and staff to develop skills and expertise in new areas

• Provides an opportunity to gain experiences in use of standards and best practices which can be reused in mainstream council, etc. activities

• Provides opportunity to learn from and engage with one's peers (related organisations, etc.)

• Provides opportunity to learn from previous activities (NOF-digi programme, etc.) and from other sectors (e.g. JISC, EU, …)


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How UKOLN Can Help

UKOLN:• Has experience of supporting MLA's and JISC's

digital library programmes• Has developed wide range of support materials

which are freely available on Web• Will continue to develop resources and services

(e.g. online toolkit) to support its communities• Will address mechanisms to support community

building (e.g. online support forums)• Will work closely with MLA and Regional Agencies

to develop scaleable support infrastructure


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Conclusions

To conclude:• You must have an accessibility policy (your

defence against legal threats will be weak without one)

• Your policy should be realistic and achievable• You should have systematic mechanisms which

allow you to check your compliance• These mechanisms should involve manual

testing and not just automated tools• This approach can be deployed in other areas• You are not alone!


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Useful Resources

NOF-digi Technical Advisory Service (archive)

<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/nof/support/>

NOF-digi Technical Advisory Service FAQs

<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/nof/support/help/faqs/>

QA Focus

<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/>

QA Focus Toolkit

<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/toolkit/>

QA Focus Documents

<http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/>