Presentation given by Jonathan Hassell (Director of Hassell Inclusion and lead author of BS8878) at UK-UPA 'Call to action: Designing inclusive user experiences' event London, Sept 2011. Covers: what accessibility is really all about (inclusive UX); how BS8878 helps organisations understand the business case for accessibility; how to embed accessibility in their business-as-usual; how different job roles each contribute to whether a product includes or excludes disabled and elderly people; how policies can facilitate or inhibit accessibility; now to make good decisions about accessibility; how to ensure you have the right user-research so your decisions are made on facts not assumptions; what BS8878 enables UX staff to do more easily; how hassell inclusion can help you move forwards in implementing BS8878

1. Providing better scaffolding - how BS8878 affects people designing inclusive user experiences Prof Jonathan Hassell Director, Hassell Inclusion ltd. Chair, BSI IST/45 UK-UPA Call to action: Designing inclusive user experiences 16th September 2011

3. aim shouldn’t be accessibility… or even usability… but a great user experience for disabled and elderly people

4. whether they can get the right value out of what you create

5. exactly what you aim for, for every other audience

6. you don’t want to exclude 10m+ people from using your products…

8. gives advice for how to embed accessibility strategically within an organisation

9. shows a process which identifies the key decisions which are taken in a web product’s lifecycle which impact accessibility

10. recommends an informed way of making these decisions…

11. and a way of documenting all of this to ensure best practiceOrganizational Web Accessibility Policy WebProduct Accessibility Policy WebProduct Accessibility Statement

12. The accessibility of your web productsis in all these people’s hands… SnrMgrs Legal Finance Marketing Strategy Project Mgrs Product Mgrs Developers Designers Research & Testers Writers

14. Or just use a business case for the top level and set policy top to bottom…

15. check out OneVoice business cases…SnrMgrs Legal Finance Marketing Strategy Project Mgrs Product Mgrs Developers Designers Research & Testers Writers

17. Make sure they delegate (and monitor results) well

18. Make sure those delegated to are trained in their responsibilitiesSnrMgrs Legal Finance Marketing Strategy Project Mgrs Product Mgrs Developers Designers Research & Testers Writers

20. including where accessibility is embedded in:

21. web procurement policy

22. web technology policy

23. marketing guidelines

24. web production standards (e.g. compliance with WCAG, browser support, AT support)Project Mgrs Product Mgrs Developers Designers Testers Writers

26. and bringing in concepts of user-personalised approaches…From: ISO/FDIS 9241-210 Human-centred design for interactive systems

27. Yes,there are16steps(sorry…)

29. so every decision should be:

30. recognised as a decision

31. have all options and implications considered

32. made based on justifiable reasoning

33. noted in the Web Product’s Accessibility Policy for transparency

37. lack of ability to download & install plug-ins or browser updates

38. IT policy restrictions in offices, colleges preventing use of browser preferences, installation of assistive technologies

39. strong platform preferences due to worries of cost/complexity/security

40. will impact on technology choice, platform choice, reliance on ATs to mediate website experiences

41. cf. rich-media technologies like Flash and ‘alternative versions’

44. technically accessible

45. usable

46. satisfying/enjoyable

47. an example for online Pacman:

48. Technically accessible = can control Pacman using a switch

49. Usable = have a chance of winning as the ghosts adapt to the speed of interaction of my switch

50. Satisfying = have the right level of challenge (not too easy or too hard)

51. define the aim for each combination of user group and user goal

53. useful research to have:

54. are you in control of which platforms your users will use your product on?

55. no, if it’s available publicly via a browser

56. yes, if it’s an intranet or only available as an app

57. are your users likely to have a preference on the platforms on which to use your product?

58. options for degree of accessibility to aim for across different platforms?one accessible product for desktop, hope standards will make it work on other platforms as (1) but with UI tweaks (device detection) and accessibility testing on other platforms versions optimised for each platform, including appropriate UI and functionality subset, fully tested

59. BS8878 Product process -3rd stage: production, launch and maintenance

61. which testing methods will be used…

62. at what points of the production process…

63. sticking to the plan

64. finding out whether you are achieving your target degree of UX

65. when the ideal isn’t possible… Cost

67. achieving the minimal viable product and managing accessibility risk

68. communicating all those decisions & compromises to your audiences…

69. in an easily found accessibility statement on your website

70. which your audiences can understand…Confusing help text: A number of sites accessed by participants provided help pages which were so technical that they were practically useless. Mention of plugins and cookies resulted in complete confusion by the users and apprehension about whether they were able to follow the instructions given.

72. you’ll be in a team where each member knows what accessibility expects from them

73. they’ll ask you to follow a user-centred design process(like I guess you want anyway)

74. they’ll ask you for/give you real-world user-research to help good decision making

75. you’ll be empowered to make decisions re accessibility, as long as you can justify them, and write them down

76. you’ll have the freedom to create product variations where users’ needs diverge

77. you’ll have a place to find best practice help for accessible design beyond the web

78. you’ll be asked to test products for accessibility, alongside usability, to the level the budget will allow (and they’ll be aware of the limited benefits of cheap options)

80. Standards for the next generation of accessibility - BS8878 Jonathan HassellChair, BSI IST/45Head of Usability & Accessibility, BBC Future Media BTAT Technical Swapshop 11th February 2011 e: jonathan@hassellinclusion.comt: @jonhassellw: www.hassellinclusion.com