Rethinking Web Services Accessibility as a main factor 12 December 2013 Claudio Morgia, IT Chief, UNECE

What is accessibility Accessibility as a non-technical factor Accessibility as a technical factor Practical accessibility

Accessibility is not compliance

Accessibility is a continuing communication process

Accessibility is the result of a collaborative, inclusive process

Everybody will benefit from accessibility

Accessibility is AWARENESS Accessibility is the result of a collaborative effort of all the people involved in the design and implementation of web contents It is about having a better understanding of the human cognition and perception It is about translating this knowledge into technical assets consumable by everyone

From the technical standpoint, accessibility is: guiding principle design techniques architectural style assistive technologies

Set of 21 guidelines distilled by W3C from practical experiences Based on principles and NOT on technology Not an all-inclusive list of issues facing web users with disabilities Internationally recognized and adopted standards

1.Perceivable –Text alternatives, captions, different renderings and assistive technologies 2.Operable –Keyboard based, longer times, improved navigation 3.Understandable –Readable text, predictable content 4.Robust, maximize future compatibility

Organized into three levels of conformance –Level A – the most basic web accessibility features –Level AA – deals with the biggest and most common barriers for disabled users –Level AAA – the highest level of web accessibility, that many websites cannot reach

Accessibility is not just a technical test before the web site delivery Accessibility is a principle since the beginning Experience disabilities as a driving force Include potential users It’s not different than the “plain old way” of designing user experience LISTEN TO YOUR USERS