How to Make Technology Work

Sat Feb 20 20:20:19 UTC 2010

Thanks for the article, Everett!  I just got around to reading it this
weekend.  Its a great read on how business meets accessibility design
and how things are changing in the future.

cheers,
Alistair

On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 9:18 PM, E.J. Zufelt <everett at zufelt.ca> wrote:
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "John
> Date: February 17, 2010 2:59:07 PM EST
> Subject: [Members] How to Make Technology Work
> How to Make Technology Work: A Study of Best Practices in United States
> Electronic and Information Technology Companies
>
> Anthony Tusler
> Coordinator, Technology Policy Division
> World Institute on Disability
> E-mail: anthony at WID.org
>
> Disability Studies Quarterly, Vol 25, No 2 (2005, Spring 2005
>
> Abstract
>
> This article documents the best practices in electronic and information
> technology (E&IT) companies to make their goods and services accessible to
> people with disabilities. The results of structured interviews were analyzed
> and grouped by themes. The research presents discrete best practices that
> emerged including the need for accessibility champions, the importance of
> valuing disability, and the value in transforming the company. A case study
> of AOL's success is included along with recommendations for people with
> disabilities who wish to advocate for more accessibility to E&IT products.
> Contributing to the bottom line was found to be the primary motivator for
> companies to include and maintain accessibility. This article is an
> abbreviation of the World Institute on Disability publication How to Create
> Disability Access to Technology.
>
> Keywords: disability, business, technology, universal design
>
> Introduction
>
> Since the 1970s, the world-particularly the United States-has experienced a
> subtle, yet profound, change. People with disabilities, who were once
> relegated to back rooms and second-class  citizenship, are now more visible
> and have secured basic civil rights. Although much work remains to be done,
> the built environment in particular has radically changed to include
> assistive listening devices, curb cuts, Braille, and more.
>
> Meanwhile, the digital revolution has dramatically changed the ways we
> access information, services, and goods. People with vision, hearing, and
> mobility limitations initially found computers moderately simple to use,
> making it easier for them to improve their lives through access to jobs,
> society, and citizenship. That access continues for some people with
> disabilities. The rise of instant messaging, for instance, has universalized
> text messaging far beyond the deaf community making communication between
> the deaf and hearing communities much easier. Unfortunately, other groups of
> people with disabilities are adversely affected by lack of access due to
> inaccessible interfaces and software. The increasing use of multi-media,
> which restricts people with visual or hearing limitations, or the
> miniaturization of buttons and displays on portable devices, which confounds
> people with dexterity limitations. Gaining access is increasingly
> intimidating, difficult, or impossible. The threat to some disabled people's
> ability to earn a living, communicate, be citizens, and participate in
> society
> is disquieting.
>
> In 2002, the World Institute on Disability (WID) held structured interviews
> and conversations with knowledgeable industry and disability activist
> experts to discover how leading electronic and information technology (E&IT)
> companies are successfully making technology accessible, usable, and
> valuable for people with disabilities. Dedicated to promoting the civil
> rights and full societal inclusion of people with disabilities, WID is a
> nonprofit public policy
> center and an international leader and advocate for increased accessibility
> to mainstream technology.
>
> The study and the resulting WID publication, How to Create Disability Access
> to Technology, were funded by the California Consumer Protection Foundation.
> This paper is an abbreviation of the longer publication. (The full report
> will be found in the Publications section of WID's Web site,
> http://www.WID.org/publications).
> The report cites best practices distilled from the WID interviews and
> illustrates them with extensive, anonymous examples. It reveals the
> experiences and
> lessons learned by these technology industry experts, who are charged with
> being internal advocates for disability access and concerns. We call them
> Accessibility
> Champions. This review of best practices is intended to encourage the
> technology industry and others to continue improving accessible products and
> services. As the economic, social, and moral incentives for disability
> access develop and become known, more accessibility will be created.
>
> One Accessibility Champion recommended that other Accessibility Champions
> "find true north and follow it." There is social good and profit to be found
> by including people with disabilities in the design, testing, and marketing
> of electronic and information technology to ensure accessibility and
> usability. That is the true north of this report.
>
> What Is Access?
>
> Although disability, as an inclusive term, is valuable when describing the
> social condition of people with disabilities, "impairments" is a better term
> for explaining specific access needs. There are five general impairments
> that should be taken into account when designing accessible products and
> services: mobility and dexterity; deafness and hearing loss; blindness and
> low vision; perceptual and cognitive limitations; and speech and language.
>
> A good explanation of creating disability access to E&IT can be found at the
> Web site of the U.S.-based Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).
> TIA's ACCESS-Resource Guide for Accessible Design of Consumer Electronics
> explains accessible design as:
>
> The term accessible design refers to maximizing the number of potential
> customers who can readily use a product. While no product can be readily
> used by everyone, accessible design can impact market size and market share
> through consideration of the functional needs of all consumers, including
> those who experience functional limitations as a result of aging or
> disabling conditions...(TIA, 1996).
>
> Accessible design also benefits individuals without functional limitations.
> Features that make products useful for people with disabilities and persons
> experiencing functional limitations normally make them convenient for
> everyone else. Closed captioning for television programs and voice
> recognition software are examples of design features originally intended for
> people with disabilities but frequently used by everyone. Remote controls
> that can be operated without looking at them will be appealing to anyone who
> likes to watch movies in the dark, not just to the visually impaired.
>
> Consider these examples of accessible E&IT product designs. A cell phone's
> visual display or other visual output is large enough, with enough contrast,
> so that people with low vision or in dim light could read the information.
> An automatic teller machine (ATM) uses voice prompts, increased size of
> print, simple fonts, high contrast, labels with icons or graphics, and
> progress displays to make it easier to use for someone with a cognitive
> limitation. Individuals
> with speech limitations may have difficulty using products that require
> voice communication, such as a telephone or other telecommunications
> systems. Designers of systems that require voice input should consider
> providing alternate methods of control.
>
> Cell phone voice-dialing has been added in the last few years to create
> hands-free calling. While it is valuable for people with manipulation
> limitations, the component is only available on the most expensive cell
> phones, putting it out of reach of most people with disabilities. Another
> problem is when the feature does not find acceptance in the mainstream
> market. People with disabilities do not have effective methods to inform
> E&IT companies about the value of technology product options. This leads to
> the loss of valuable features in the next version of a product.
>
> An advocate explained, "accessibility is another aspect of bringing the
> computer to the user-to anyone, at any time."
>
> From the Disability Perspective
>
> At the core of this study is the belief that the participation of those
> directly affected-that is, customers with disabilities-is essential to
> making products that are useful. When designing products, people often work
> from stereotypical and inaccurate beliefs about people with disabilities;
> they try to "help the handicapped" by alleviating the problems they imagine
> people with disabilities encounter. Unfortunately, such products often miss
> the mark because their designs are based on unexamined assumptions. Inquiry
> into the true nature of accessibility needs must include the input of people
> with disabilities. Otherwise, the solution does not solve the problem, and
> the problem solvers contribute unwittingly to the loss of autonomy and civil
> rights for people with disabilities.
>
> In addition, this WID study focuses on environmental solutions to
> accessibility issues. In the past, the more frequent approach to
> accessibility was to devise technological fixes specifically tailored to
> individual disabilities. By locating the problem in the limitations of
> people with disabilities, rather than in the environment, the solutions
> place heavy demands on the individual and are costly as well.
>
> During the 1950s and 1960s, the individual approach was preeminent, and as a
> result, many disabled people were excluded from schools, jobs, and society
> in general because their disabilities were not easily corrected by
> technology or the solutions were prohibitively expensive. Even today, most
> people, including the experts, do not look beyond these individual
> solutions. A more useful perspective defines the built environment as the
> problem. This idea arose from disability advocates and has since been
> refined by disability scholars (Center for an Accessible Society, 2004).
> Ultimately, environmental solutions are more cost-effective and help far
> more people in the disability community and in general society.
>
> This paper highlights the environmental strategies used in the E&IT industry
> because they do the most good for the greatest number of people and have
> been the least documented.
>
> What Is a Best Practice?
>
> In one of the few best practices reports on disability, Timothy L. Jones
> noted in 1993,
>
> The fundamental idea is to create an approach for meeting the [Americans
> with Disabilities Act (ADA)] requirements that does not compromise sound
> human resource policy but enhances it, that does not thwart
> productivity but unleashes it, that does not burden managers but empowers
> them. This is what characterizes best practices under the ADA (Jones, 1993).
>
> Jones' comments on the ADA and employment reinforce WID's belief that
> disability perspectives will make technology more usable and accessible to
> both people with and without disabilities, and therefore more profitable for
> businesses.
>
> For this research, we defined a best practice as a business
>
> . process,
> . procedure,
> . system, or
> . perspective
>
> that results in increased accessibility and usability of E&IT for people
> with disabilities.
>
> Another criterion we used to validate a best practice was whether parallel
> practices in other fields have resulted in accessibility. We also
> investigated whether companies' practices and procedures included culturally
> competent disability perspectives, that is, the views of those directly
> affected-people with disabilities.
>
> Accessibility Champions
>
> To successfully bring accessibility to a company's products and services, a
> central person or unit in the company must articulate and advocate for
> disability access and inclusion across all its divisions and activities. The
> term Accessibility Champion is rarely used as an official title, but it is a
> useful descriptor for the person who has this pivotal role. One person WID
> interviewed for this study described himself as the Chief Accessibility
> Evangelist.
>
> The Accessibility Champion's role is not to perform the work of other
> departments but to act as a resource, cheerleader, and goad, articulating
> the need to provide accessible solutions for all the company's offerings. He
> or she must provide one consistent voice and a clear vision for disability
> inclusion. Consistency and perseverance will effect change.
>
> The Accessibility Champion (AC) serves as a common point of contact for
> accessibility issues, such as letters from customers regarding their
> satisfaction with the accessibility of products. The position should have
> high visibility and carry the authority to resolve accessibility questions
> and concerns.
>
> Too often the ACs are isolated within their companies. The majority allude
> to how little progress and how much more needs to be done to make their
> companies' product accessible beyond that required by the law requiring the
> U.S. Federal government to purchase accessible E&IT products (Section 508).
> The ACs often reported how quickly their companies added accessible features
> to their products. Few of the ACs were able to point to how accessibility or
> recognizing the disability market has contributed to their companies' bottom
> line. The concepts and strategies are still too new to have been
> demonstrated. Nonetheless, Accessibility Champions, on the whole, are
> optimistic about the fundamental changes they are beginning to implement.
> These are documented in this paper.
>
> One AC explained: "The group [accessibility unit] works with all areas to
> address concerns ranging from support networks to the availability of
> adaptive equipment to the development of emergency evacuation procedures. It
> is also a clearinghouse of information for people with all types of
> disabilities, including visual, hearing, and physical impairments." Another
> AC described his role as "empowering champions and infecting people."
>
> The ultimate goal is to incorporate accessibility so deeply into all aspects
> of the company that there is no need for an AC, but until accessibility
> becomes second nature, such an advocate will be needed.
>
> Best practices of value here are to:
>
> find someone with passion to be the Accessibility Champion.
> . use the Accessibility Champion to coordinate work between the internal
> divisions and disability informants.
> . use the Accessibility Champion as a mediator and translator between the
> advocacy groups and the company.
> . learn about disability.
> . use community-organizing strategies to create change.
>
> Value Disability and People with Disabilities
>
> Most people-disabled and nondisabled-are somewhat disconcerted when they are
> asked to value disability, because disability is perceived to be tragic and
> negative. But people with disabilities often report that their lives have
> been enriched by their experience. They dislike the poverty, exclusion, and
> hassle, but recognize that disability is an inevitable aspect of being human
> and growing older. They know, as playwright Neil Marcus says: "Disability is
> not a
> 'brave struggle' or 'courage in the face of adversity.' Disability is an
> art. It's an ingenious way to live."
>
> The challenge of being successful, while having a devalued identity, has led
> many people with disabilities to be skillful problem solvers and
> consumers-making them valuable assets for companies that wish to be
> successful.
>
> Strategies to value disability and people with disabilities were found to:
>
> . include people with disabilities at all stages of product life and at each
> step of the design process.
> . use internal employee groups and external advisory committees to
> understand the needs and concerns of the disability community.
> . be sophisticated about choosing consultants and informants.
> . guard against designing by mistaken assumptions about disability.
> . include disability with other diversity efforts.
>
> Recognize the Disability Market
>
> Three major factors are gathering momentum to create an unprecedented market
> force for making goods and services accessible for people with disabilities:
> the existing population of people with disabilities, an aging consumer and
> workforce base, and disability rights laws. The number of adult Americans
> with disabilities-currently more than 18 percent of us-is expected to grow.
> By 2020, 80 million people will be over 65 and an estimated 51% will have
> disabilities.
>
> The demographics of the Baby Boom generation will help drive access for
> decades to come. We know much of what will be needed. There is every reason
> to begin planning and providing accessibility and usability features today
> (AARP, 2002). Those who are just now reaching age 60 are wealthier and more
> active than previous generations. Throughout their lives they have had high
> expectations for their quality of life. Their youthful idealism lead to the
> Vietnam era demonstrations just as their career paths lead to the
> consumerism of the 1980s. How Baby Boomers will characterize their
> identities as they gain disabilities has yet to emerge. This aging and the
> resulting disabilities will create an opportunity for disability activists
> to influence that perception and for the consumer market to include
> disability access to its goods and services. Too few businesses have
> recognized this emerging market, and awakening their companies to the
> profits to be had in producing accessible goods and services is one of the
> chief tasks of Accessibility Champions. Unfortunately, few ACs report that
> they are gathering statistics about their customers with disabilities. Such
> data is sorely needed. As one AC noted, "people with disabilities are not
> just somebody to help; they contribute to the bottom line."
>
> The Best Practices for this section are:
>
> . identify current, accurate statistics to help define the disability market
> for the company.
> . use current laws to motivate the company to create accessible goods or
> services.
> . demonstrate the profitability of access.
> . tie access to mainstream product needs.
>
> Transform the Company
>
> The primary goal of everyone who wants to see his or her company succeed
> with the disability market is to make accessibility and disability awareness
> integral to all aspects of the company. As one Accessibility Champion urged,
> "Try to weave accessibility into the DNA of the company." Whether it is in
> marketing,
> research and development, or product documentation, the needs of the
> disability community should be included.
>
> Update the company's mission, goals, and culture to include accessibility
> and disability. The vision and values of the company may implicitly include
> the needs of people with disabilities, but that's not enough; make them
> explicit. Show senior management how accessibility supports the company
> mission. Educate them when the company's mission statement mentions
> accessibility, but company practices do not reflect this commitment.
>
> One school of thought believes it takes seven years of advocacy for social
> change to occur. To value disability and accessibility is a significant and
> profound change for a company. Some changes can come quickly, but to
> transform the whole company to support accessibility and disability
> diversity will take time and sustained effort.
>
> Companies have found that the following are the keys to changing the company
> environment:
>
> . develop a strategic plan for building awareness and implementing
> accessibility.
> . modify strategies to fit the company's culture, values, and structure.
> . involve senior management in accessibility efforts.
> . address accessibility efforts to all divisions of the company.
> . pay particular attention to recruiting the marketing department.
> . programmers and engineers are key.
> . develop accessibility expertise across the company through education and
> training.
> . hire people with disabilities both in the accessibility unit and
> elsewhere.
> . use publicity and the court of public opinion to influence the company.
> . develop strategies to sustain accessibility.
>
> Incorporate Accessibility and Universal Design
>
> The designed world should work for everyone, including people with
> disabilities. Design specifications for all new and revised E&IT products
> should include requirements that the product "be usable by all people to the
> greatest extent possible" (Mace, 1997). This phrase is the core of the
> Universal Design (UD) concept. According to North Carolina State
> University's Center for Universal Design, "The intent of universal design is
> to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the
> built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no
> extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities"
> (Mace, 1997). The Trace Center, at the University of Wisconsin at Madison,
> has embraced UD for its work to make E&IT more accessible to people with
> disabilities. Both centers have extensive resources on the UD concept and
> practical suggestions for its implementation.
>
> UD is a powerful tool to convince people within a company to consider
> expanding the ease of use and accessibility of their products and services.
> It also provides concrete examples and guidelines that help ease the
> uncertainty of tackling a new subject.
>
> A good example of UD implementation is Java. Java is a cross-platform
> programming language that can be used to create everything from a small
> animation on a Web site to full-blown word processing applications. The
> American Foundation for the Blind gave Sun Microsystems its Access Award in
> 2001 "for making accessibility an integral part of the Java platform. The
> Java Accessibility API software interface allows assistive technologies to
> communicate with programs written in the Java programming language. This
> company guides its efforts by its Universal Design philosophy-addressing the
> accessibility needs of all people in the workplace."
>
> To include everyone in E&IT product design companies have used the following
> Best Practices:
>
> . create an implementation plan.
> . create clear documentation of accessibility features for programmers and
> engineers.
> . develop an internal argument for including accessibility.
> . integrate accessibility into the existing company practices.
>
> Market Accessibility
>
> Creating access isn't enough. Companies must tell people about it. They must
> market the accessibility of their products and services to customers. Only
> as a result of effective marketing will accessible products and services
> contribute to a company's profitability.
>
> At the same time, Accessibility Champions must market accessibility
> internally to assure that it is valued and sustained throughout the company.
>
> This study identified the following as best practices:
>
> . inform customers and potential customers with disabilities about
> accessibility efforts;
> . give customers a way to provide direct feedback on accessibility needs and
> issues;
> . understand the disability market;
> . stick with core competencies when making accessibility-marketing choices;
> . be careful with images;
> . use accessibility features as a selling point;
> . publicize accessibility efforts internally;
> . develop and use a simple message;
> . develop plans and strategies that can maximize opportunities;
> . institute rewards for good work;
> . document the progress of accessibility efforts.
>
> The Future
>
> What is the future of E&IT? If the past 20 years are any indication, it will
> be a future of profound change. We will rethink the role of technology and
> communication. It could be an exciting time of even more access and
> opportunity for people with disabilities. But the door to education,
> employment, and civic involvement could also slam shut if accessibility is
> not built into the core of the new technologies.
>
> Just as we will rethink technology, we will see disability differently. As
> young people with disabilities become employed and aging Baby Boomers delay
> retirement and gain disabilities, they will challenge our conceptions of how
> a worker should look and act.
>
> Baby Boomers have demanded to be engaged and influential in shaping their
> world. As they age they will surely experience disability. Workers in the
> U.S. are finding that they need to delay retirement and continue working.
> There is every reason to think that Boomers will continue to reshape the
> world to suit themselves as they gray.
>
> The world has been changed already by people with disabilities. A mundane
> but important access feature is the curb cut. Curb cuts, or curb ramps, make
> everyone's life easier. All sorts of wheeled vehicles, from wheelchairs and
> baby strollers to rolling luggage and delivery hand trucks, go easily from
> the sidewalk to the street and back up again. All new construction includes
> curb cuts because they are required by Federal and local laws. Lobbying and
> advocacy by disability groups forced the creation of these statutes because
> people with disabilities argued that their civil rights were being abridged
> by a lack of access. The unintended consequences of the creation of curb
> cuts everywhere are legion, including faster, more efficient deliveries and
> the use of rolling luggage. Curb cuts have also created a natural crossroads
> where able-bodied and disabled people meet. The term "electronic curb cuts"
> was originally coined to describe the need for accessible Web pages. The
> phrase is now used as an analogy for the need to have all E&IT products be
> accessible to people with disabilities. In the built environment curb cuts
> have become useful to so many segments of the population. There is some
> evidence, for example, captioning of television broadcasts, that "electronic
> curb cuts" will also be invaluable to everyone.
>
> As people with disabilities gain their civil rights and place in the work
> force, there is a shift in general society in how people with disabilities
> are seen. Rather than being a liability, people with disabilities are assets
> to society and the workplace. This will help people of the greater populace
> see themselves and their own limitations more positively. This will be a
> profound shift for a society inundated with images of thin, beautiful, young
> people.
>
> E&IT continues to be innovative and fast-paced with rapid turnover of
> products. People with disabilities have been the early adopters of some
> products. The blind were quick to purchase the then expensive cell phones as
> they came to market. Electric wheelchair users were not far behind. With the
> fast pace of product design, it has been difficult for people with
> disabilities to influence the refinement of interfaces and features. As the
> E&IT industry matures, though, increased standardization of the interface is
> likely. After all, most of the world has an assigned place for the brake,
> accelerator, and steering wheel. As standardization of controls comes down
> the pike in E&IT they must have Universal Design to include a large
> percentage of consumers. When standardization in E&IT becomes ubiquitous it
> is critical that the MP3 player, FAX machine, and the yet-to-be-invented
> gizmo have standardized buttons, switches, and displays
> which are accessible. E&IT needs to be easy-to-use for everyone, including
> people with disabilities.
>
> Easy-to-use is the central idea of Universal Design (UD). The
> premise of UD is that "the design of products and environments be usable by
> all people, to
> the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized
> design." (Mace, 1997) UD is needed because many products are designed for
> people who are like the designers. Because the designers are young,
> able-bodied engineers, their designs work for a small subset of the general
> population.
>
> For years, women have joked and complained about the height of kitchen
> countertops. Because the architects and contractors were generally men and
> generally taller than women, they designed and installed countertops that
> worked for them with little regard for the end user.
>
> The designer and marketing ranks need to include a more diverse group that
> will take into account the graying of America. There needs to be more
> designers with disabilities in E&IT companies. The design cycle continues to
> be so focused on rushing new and revised products to market that little or
> no time is spent developing thoughtful, effective interfaces. Even Apple's
> MP3 player, the iPod, with its innovative sleek industrial design and
> easy-to-use interface lacks accessible design. Its small screen and lack of
> a large print option makes iPods difficult for many people to use.
> Unfortunately Apple's competitors are failing to leapfrog Apple's design to
> produce an even better interface that might include features valuable for
> people with low vision pointing out the need for people with disabilities to
> be involved in all cycles of design.
>
> The aging of America and the increase in disabilities will drive E&IT
> manufacturers to pay more attention to Universal Design. It will not work to
> design and market products specifically for people with disabilities. The
> marketing and distribution cost will be prohibitive.
>
> The marketing departments of E&IT companies will demand ease-of-use from
> their engineers and designers. Marketing staff will develop strategies and
> campaigns to sell easy-to-use, accessible products to the broadest possible
> market-a market that includes the aging, and people with disabilities.
>
> After all, older people and people with disabilities buy and use products
> for the exact same reasons as the young engineers. The need and desire to
> communicate, create, and be entertained is universal. Companies who survive
> and prosper will pay attention to universal needs of all.
>
> References:
>
> American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). (2002). In brief: Before the
> boom: Trends in long-term supportive services for older Americans with
> disabilities.
> Retrieved May 3, 2004, from
> http://research.aarp.org/health/inb60_trends.html.
>
> Center for an Accessible Society. (2004). The 'new paradigm' of disability.
> Retrieved March 16, 2005 from
> http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/demographics-identity/newparadigm.ht
> m.
>
> Jones, T.L. (1993). The Americans with Disabilities Act: A review of best
> practices, New York: American Management Association Membership Publication
> Division.
>
> National Organization on Disability and Harris Interactive. (2000). National
> Organization on Disability/Harris survey of Americans with Disabilities.
> Sponsored
> by Aetna, Inc., and the JM Foundation. New York: Harris Interactive.
>
> Mace, R. (1997). Definition. The Center for Universal Design web site.
> Retrieved May 3, 2004 from
> http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/univ_design/ud.htm.
>
> Telecommunications Industry Association. (1996). Resource guide for
> accessible design of consumer electronics. Washington D.C.: Electronic
> Industries Association
>
> and the Electronic Industries Foundation. Retrieved May 3, 2004, from
> http://www.tiaonline.org/access/guide.html.
>
> Vanderheiden, G.C., & Vanderheiden, K. R. (2002). Product accessibility and
> the technology industry. Proceedings of 2002 RESNA Research Symposium on
> Universal
> Design, Minneapolis MN.
>
>
> http://www.dsq-sds.org/article/view/551/728
>
>
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