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How organizations implement accessibility

How organizations implement accessibility. Chris M. Law School of Business Information Technology RMIT University. Outline. 1. Background and impetus 2. Organizational responses 3. Resources used 4. Practical implications of different types of responses 5. Preliminary conclusions.

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How organizations implement accessibility

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  1. How organizations implement accessibility Chris M. LawSchool of Business Information TechnologyRMIT University Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 1

  2. Outline 1. Background and impetus 2. Organizational responses 3. Resources used 4. Practical implications of different types of responses 5. Preliminary conclusions Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 2

  3. 1. Background Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 3

  4. Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 4

  5.   Consultant(s) Designer(s) Guidelines Committees Accessibility Program Offices   Key We know a lot End-User(s) We know little Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 5

  6. Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 6

  7. website inaccessible Make our website accessible? ... not on list Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 7

  8. Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 8

  9. Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 9

  10. 1. Start thinking about accessibility 2. Consider options 3a. Conclude, decide on design path product development context 3b. Review, decide on revisions 4. Commit to decision Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 10

  11. Research studies on organizational responses • National Council on Disability, USA • 2004 report: "Design for inclusion: Creating a new marketplace" • 6 technology industry companies • Universal Design in Practice (UDiP) • 3 year project at Georgia Tech, USA • 4 technology industry companies, 4 government agencies • Business decision making and accessibility • My current PhD study, completed / scheduled so far: • 12 organizations with goods / services available to the public • 4 disability access organizations • 12 experts Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 11

  12. 2. Organizational responses Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 12

  13. Business Decision Making and Accessibility (Australia) 1 NCD: "Several" Organization X UDiP: "Several"  Executives Development:  Design  Programming NCD: 4 of 6  Management UDiP: 7 of 8 UDiP: 1 of 8  Marketing 1  Others   Customer Service  Sales 2 6 Organizational structure  Accessibility Consultant  Accessibility Consultancy  Accessibility Point-Person (APP)  Accessibility Program Office (APO)  Disability Organization None: 2 Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 13

  14. Organization X  Executives Development:  Design  Programming  Management  Marketing  Others   Customer Service  Sales APP/APO (stand-alone)  APP / APO 20/26 18/20 Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 14

  15. Organization X  Executives Development:  Design  Programming  Management  Marketing  Others   Customer Service  Sales APP/APO (integrated) A A A  APP / APO A A A A A 1/20 successfully completed 1/20 currently attempting Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 15

  16. 3. Resources used Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 16

  17. Universal Access Guidelines & Tools  APP/APO Programmer(s)   Questions ?  Recommendations Software Development Accessibility Evaluation  Feedback & Data  End-User(s) Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 17

  18. Internal & External Accessibility Resources (Consultants, Guidelines, Tools, Websites, Books etc.)  Support & Advice Rest of Dev't team Interface Designer(s) and Programmer(s) Accessibility Team     Questions ?  Recommendations Software Develop- ment Accessibility Evaluation  Feedback & Data  End-User(s) Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 18

  19. 4. Practical implications of different types of responses Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 19

  20. Accessibility in the organization is... • Ingrained, or marginalized? • Everyone's responsibility, or a select few? • Part of the mission, or a hassle? • Well planned, or haphazard? • etc. etc. • Customers are taken care of, or seen as a nuisance? Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 20

  21. Staffing and skill-sets • A possible problem... • Who do you hire to address accessibility problems? • start with consultants • hire a person or a team of people • they know about technology and accessibility, but not necessarily about design, manufacture, programming, management, etc. • but they have to then convince all of the people in those other roles of what to do for accessibility Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 21

  22. 5. Preliminary conclusions (and further work) Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 22

  23. Preliminary conclusions • Rarely about money • Often about Australia's position in the marketplace • e.g., computers post-508; buses post-ADA; telephone hardware design limitations • Organizational responses rarely planned • even with Disability Action Plans • more evolutionary and dependent on organizational structure and staff Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 23

  24. Resource gaps • Establishing what is possible is difficult for novices • Resources not really designed for the observed organizational responses • Design guidance and standards in universal design - there are a number of unresolved problems • The business case is not well documented Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 24

  25. The ideal response? • Take time to find out what's physically, technologically and sociologically possible in all areas • Consider how to make the organization's accessibility message consistent • e.g., Architecture and technology priorities • Conduct training, set internal 'best practice' guides • Better if it is everyone's responsibility Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 25

  26. Thanks! chris.law@rmit.edu.au www.udprojects.com Acknowledgments:Funding provided by - Media Access Australia - Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship - Victoria ICT Scholarship Chris M. Law, WANAU meeting, RMIT University, March 26, 2007; Slide 26

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