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July 2002 Column ArticleHiSoftware on 508 Compliance
"Why should your Web site be Accessible" and how can you Incorporate Accessibility into your Development Practices?By Robert B. Yonaitis, HiSoftware Company
Introducing the ProblemThe Internet has become an increasingly easy way to publish and locate information. Most people use Web browsers to access the Internet; others must also use assistive technologies with their Web browsers. This information is translated by the assistive technology device to the disabled end-user. According to the US Census Bureau, December 1997 U.S. Census brief, one in five Americans have some kind of legal disability. (Source: December 1997 US Census Brief, "Disabilities Affect One-Fifth of all Americans," available at www.census.gov/prod/3/97/pubs/cenbr975.pdf... .) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments went into effect on June 21, 2001. The section mandates that United States federal agencies must ensure that all electronic and information technology purchased, maintained or developed meets the accessibility standards established by the U.S. Access Board. Although federally mandated, state governments and private organizations can benefit by adhering to these standards. These standards are in part based on guidelines that were developed and proposed by the World Wide Web consortium, ("W3C®"), WCAG 1.0. Accessibility standards are making Web-based information user-friendly for all users. Compliance with these standards, not only assists users of assistive technologies, but also can improve access to the Web for hand-held, wireless devices. While many of the laws directly benefit users with disabilities who might rely on assistive technologies to view information, the laws benefit everyone. Approaching accessibility as an afterthought is not an effective strategy. Rather, organizations that include accessibility management as part of their development plans and quality assurance and testing practices will have a tremendous economic advantage. According to a recent study by Forrester Research, the cost of retrofitting a Web site for accessibility can be from three to as much as ten times the cost of designing an accessible site from the ground up. (Source: December 2001 Forrester Research Report-Design Accessible Sites Now" available at: http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Report/Summary/0,1338,11431,00.html...) Why you should build accessibleDevelopers often ask, "Why should our site be accessible?" Aside from any legal or statutory requirements, the answer to this question is simple - offering equal access to disabled users is compelling, and for many reasons:
Disabilities addressed by the Accessibility StandardsIf you were to ask someone in your organization what an accessible Web site is they would probably reply that an accessible Web site is one that is usable by a blind person. In fact, an accessible Web site does aid in making the information on the site accessible to a blind person while also enabling people with a variety of other disabilities to do so. Some common disabilities:
If you look at the list of possible disabilities addressed by the accessibility standards you can gain a greater awareness as to the scope of the standards and their importance. The following is a list of disabilities, the common issues they present and/or solutions that can address access issues:
Using graphs as part of your accessible developmentOnce it is clear that "developing accessible" is achievable, affordable, and can provide a competitive edge, it will become common rather than the exception. The first step is to determine the overall accessibility condition of your Web site. Using readily available accessibility assessment tools, organizations can receive an instant snapshot of their Web sites accessibility. The Accessibility assessment is the most important phase in the development of your accessibility strategy. If you are not sure about the problem and how big it is you will not be able to provide the proper resources and planning necessary to come up with a solution. For a small Web site the assessment may be managed by
looking at each page to see where there are flaws. But for any site with more
than several pages of content, this method becomes very cumbersome, and even
unmanageable without an automated assessment tool. An automated assessment tool
can quickly scan your Web site and let you know immediately what percentage of
your site fails accessibility requirements. An assessment tool can further show
you important information about the accessibility standards with which your site
it out of compliance. Accessibility testing (commonly referred to as
verification) has two main components; automated and visual. Image 1 - Visual Warnings for page
x generated by
AccVerify Professional... Making your Graph or Chart AccessibleSo when we look at the above 3D graph, produced by AccVerify Professional it is clear what it is showing to the Accessibility worker. However, by following some simple constructs in placing this image into the HTML, it can also be made clear to the person who can not see it for one of the following reasons:
Making Sure your Graphs are Accessible in HTML
So Can I automate the Creation of Accessible Graphs?Simply put the Answer is yes. It is simple to automate the Alternative text creation as part of your report creation. Great alternative text is the best way to go, especially when all of the items are in memory already.
So in this source we created the Entire Image tag and
the alt text string (Altstr) programmatically. In the same manner you could
create the d-link and other pages or summaries as required. Industry and the future of accessible technologyThe future of Web accessibility is optimistic. Since federal accessibility laws have been adopted, technology corporations have publicly declared their commitment to these standards, even though they are not yet required to do so by law. Moreover, technology executives are collaborating on their visionary ideas for accessibility that extend far beyond legal requirements. Industry leaders have realized that the true power of the Internet lies in its ability to deliver information to all people. No one knows for certain how accessibility will be made possible in the distant future. Perhaps it will take the form of a dynamic browser, so that users will no longer need assistive technologies. Or maybe Web authoring software of the future will compensate for the current shortfalls of Web-based information. But until mainstream technology allows all users to access the same information, Web authors must make provisions in the source code of their Web documents so that Web information can be processed by assistive technologies. More ResourcesThere are many places where you can get more resources on developing web content and Applications that are accessible: The World Wide Web Consortium Requesting a copy of Section 508 HiSoftware
"Understanding Accessibility: A Guide to Achieving Compliance on Web Sites and
Intranets " from HiSoftware Company, is a guide to creating and testing Web
sites that are developed to the U.S. federal standards for accessible Web
content, and the World Wide Web, or W3C®, WCAG 1.0 accessibility guidelines.
This book introduces the accessibility initiative and its challenges and
provides a complete reference on accessibility remediation. It also provides
guidelines for accessible Web design, and information that will assist
organizations in integrating accessibility into their existing quality assurance
and content management practices.
For more information, about this publication visit:
http://www.hisoftware.com/uaccess/Index.html
for a no charge downloadable e-Book (pdf & M Reader format) please register and
download the book from
http://www.hisoftware.com/msacc/regbook.htm... |
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