Disability Dialogue with Bill

Ask Questions to Help Others and Promote Intuitive Software User Interfaces

I hope you, your family and friends have an enjoyable and healthy New Year in 2025. As we celebrate the opportunities in 2025 do not forget to think about and reach out to the less fortunate and those who may be alone or struggling. In addition assist at promoting accessible and usable digital technology to reduce unneeded struggling or barriers to happiness and productivity. In my profession when I am assisting software designers and developers to teach them about accessibility and about people with disabilities including those who use assistive technology I encourage my audience to ask questions. I let them know as a person who is completely blind and uses a screen reader that no question will offend me. Also nobody can learn in a silo without asking questions to increase one’s education quickly and successfully.

Let us help to increase accessible, usable, equitable and intuitive software and digital technology user interfaces to assist at allowing all to contribute equitably.  To accomplish developing an accessible, usable and intuitive interface design will require you not to be afraid to ask critical questions and do the research required to come up with an equitable design for all. As part of this process before moving the digital technology to production, you should perform automated accessibility and manual accessibility evaluations by people with a broad range of disabilities using a variety of assistive technologies and resolve all issues detected.  

Being technically accessible such as conforming to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 is a great start although it should be thought of the bassline for accessibility and does not mean the digital technology will be usable by all people. Therefore, it is required to go beyond being technically accessible and expand the digital technology to be usable with an intuitive user interface.

Thank you for your support for accessible, usable and intuitive digital technology including software. Also, if you are aware of someone who is alone or struggling reach out to them and do not be afraid to ask caring questions to see if you can assist with anything.  Most people who may need help will not reach out to others since they believe they are a burden to others and the others are too busy to help. Also if they are promised help that never happens they just give up asking for any help. Additionally, the person needing help is so overwhelmed at attempting to just get by has no time to reach out for assistance.

Do you have any suggestions on how to celebrate the New Year and to include those who might be alone and may be struggling? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to promote usable and intuitive software interfaces that are usable and accessible to a broad range of people  to help alleviate the need for digital technology isolation? Since some people are timid about hurting people's feelings preventing them from asking critical questions do you have any suggestions on how to allow more people to ask questions without fear of hurting somebody's feelings?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. If you have any comments or feedback, please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Have a wonderful and caring new year.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

X - Formally Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton 

Avoiding Health Consequences Related to Accessible Digital Technology

If you have been in the accessibility digital  profession for a while, I am assuming you have heard that  we are making positive progress in digital accessibility. Despite this encouraging news there is still a lot that needs to be accomplished  to increase accessibility and create an equitable experience for all without causing unneeded stress and medical issues for the people doing this valuable work. If a person attempts to do everything  to help increase this goal by themselves, they could work 24/7 which could lead to serious health conditions .

Some people may have even said directly that these practices of pursuing digital accessibility and equity may cause serious medical conditions or even worse death by  attempting to do everything themselves.

I have been told this by one person and have heard it from several others. Unfortunately, I have even witnessed a person dying from this work/life imbalance issue (although this cannot be proven).

I  will not give up educating others and pursuing digital accessibility for all. When a person thinks about it, changing technology to increase equity and inclusion in concept is much easier than changing people’s thoughts and feelings about it. However in the real world we live with little time and being pressured to do more with less people unfortunately the first thing that sometimes gets lowered on the list of priorities is accessibility for digital technology. Accessibility professionals like me understand that this only compounds the problem because digital accessibility was not planned. This causes accessibility issues which the owner of the technology has to resolve and are much more complicated, time consuming and costly than If properly planned and accessibility was baked into the design and development process.

When procuring accessibility services from vendors a well-documented statement of work with a list of requirements is needed. Without these procurement requirements, goals  and deliverables, whoever is managing the project of rolling out these services will more than likely have difficulty delivering services that will be beneficial to the stakeholders.  The upfront work of documenting what is required  needs to be done before talking with the vendor. If one does not find out what they are going to deliver, more than likely it will not turn out the way it is expected to solve the issue one is procuring the services for.

Tips To Assist at Reducing Stress and Promote Health:

• Get high level support for an accessibility program with enough resources and skilled people in it to allow it to be successful and not overwork the team.
• Avoid working 24/7 since this could lead to long term medical conditions. However, if you are like me and love your profession you might be tempted to do so.
• Do not skip the planning stages of any project when working with vendors that pertains to digital accessibility. It will compound the problem and take longer to implement and potentially result in something that is not effective and will add unneeded stress to the project team.
• Incorporate digital accessibility as early in the process as possible in the design and development phase. Include a diverse set of people in this process including people with a broad range of disabilities and those who use a variety of assistive technologies. This early planning will help avoid unpleasant user experience which can cause more stress for all involved.
• This process should also include evaluating and resolving accessibility issues with automated tools and manual evaluation using people with a broad range of disabilities using a mix of assistive technologies. This will reduce the workload than if left to just a few to do the accessibility evaluation without leveraging tools to assist.
• If giving a presentation to stakeholders or executives about goals for projects for digital accessibility  take time to prepare even though some might tell you just talk off the cuff. Do not do this. Spend time crafting your message to maximize the positive outcome from your presentation. Although this will take more time this step will help to reduce stress since you have planned in advance. You will be able to deliver the message succinctly and be more relaxed. In addition you may never get another chance to talk to a potential sponsor therefore give it your best.
• Take breaks from work and take time to visit with family and friends which will reduce stress.
• Read books, listen to music, go on walks and do other things to help relax from a stressful situation which can lead to a better night’s sleep.
• I smile when I can imagine the benefits of my work and I can make another person smile since they are able to use and interact with accessible digital technology effectively which reduces my stress.

I am  not a medical expert therefore my  recommendations are  from my own personal experience. I do, however, recommend seeing a professional if medical assistance is needed.

Does anyone have any tips to help us regarding this topic or any success stories to share? Do you have any other additional ideas regarding the critical project management skill I discussed in this area around procurement?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. If you do have any comments, please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

X: http://twitter.com/wdtipton 

Human Exclusions for People with Disabilities is More Difficult than Digital Technology Accessibility

As a person who is blind I am grateful I have the ability to leverage assistive technology to access and interact with digital technology (software, webpages& documents). When I experience digital technology that is accessible to people who are disabled including those who use assistive technology following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 it makes me very happy.

It is encouraging that some organizations have realized in order to compete successfully in the competitive global marketplace, accessibility for digital technology is becoming more critical as just one of many components in creating an equitable and inclusive environment for everyone.

 

Impact of Digital Technology with Accessibility Issues

Digital technology with accessibility issues not only creates barriers to equal participation for some users it also causes added stress and frustration. Accessibility issues also have these same effects on everyone who is in contact with the person who experiences these barriers such as co-workers, spouses, family, friends and others.

To heighten these accessibility issues not everyone may believe the user when they say that the issue they experience is a technical accessibility issue. One misunderstanding for example is when someone who is not knowledgeable in the technical aspects of accessibility and not knowing any better may tell a user who is experiencing an accessibility issue that their issue is not a technical accessibility issue. They may believe the issue is due to lack of training. They may also tell the same user that they are not experiencing a technical accessibility issue since they may be able to get past the issue by counting keystrokes. For example the user is told to attempt to get to a particular location in the digital technology and type or interact with it with little or no awareness of where they are. Or someone might say the user should attempt to activate hyperlinks on words or sentences that are not coded correctly for assistive technology users to know that they are hyperlinks until the user finds an active hyperlink that works.

This extremely challenging experience of hunting around and interacting with user interactions that do not work is like using a computer or mobile device with a shattered display or one that is extremely dim preventing someone from seeing the complete screen. Also it is like using a keyboard with some of the keys broken causing errors in typing.

No Time for Improvements

Fortunately I have been working in the accessibility field for many years and have been using assistive technology for over 20 years. I am also a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies  by IAAP. I can explain and demonstrate the technical accessibility issues with the application or web page owner. However for those who have similar skills as I do certain application or web page owners might think it is too time consuming and not worth the effort to make a needed accessibility enhancement .

When someone is being excluded due to accessibility issues because no one has the time or wants to prioritize resolving the issues, it makes the person feel like they have two disabilities.

1. For example a disability which requires assistive technology and the issue is caused by the digital technology not being accessible to the users of assistive technology causes a barrier. This is also true for people who do not use assistive technology and experience accessibility issues.
2. Several people not understanding the broad range of disabilities people have and not taking any action to remove the inclusive or misunderstood barriers could be the second disability. This exponentially compounds the problem of just the initial accessibility exclusion and makes these people feel like they are not worth the effort to be equitably included.

 

Solving Human Exclusions for People with Disabilities is Difficult

Creating an equitable environment for all requires passion, empathy and a willingness to take the time needed  to learn and understand everyone’s unique and beautiful differences .

This is just one reason why solving one aspect of inequalities  of people in the world is more difficult than creating accessible digital technology. This reason is because we  cannot force people to change attitudes or influence people to take needed time to understand people with disabilities using technology like we can do for solving the digital technology accessibility issues.

When we think about disabilities we need to be sure to include people with a broad range of visible disabilities as well as hidden disabilities.

This attitude or lack of knowledge regarding the people side of how and why to create equitable environments may be a result of the times we live in today such as the need to complete things more quickly with fewer people and less support. Also, another issue in today’s world there is very little or a complete lack of verbal communication between real people and doing more online without any verbal communication. However I know that on-line communication is extremely beneficial for people who may have voice disabilities, hearing disabilities, other disabilities or challenges.

Also unfortunately to save time I’ve noticed that people do not take as much time to talk on the phone and prefer to send instant messages.  Not holding personal two way conversations does not have the same person to person interaction requiring interpersonal communication skills which can lead to solid friendships, partnerships or productive collaboration.

Fortunately  These Exclusions  Can Easily be Overcome

These exclusions can easily be overcome with consideration. I feel if everybody had the option to slow down, listen to others and care about what might be preventing every person from participating and having a happy and fulfilling life we would all be better off. I believe this kind of attitude would go further for making  positive progress in this fast-paced world we live in today when peoples’ first thoughts are of how to cut corners, which can exclude certain people.

Although there could be many solutions to some of the equity issues one thought that comes to mind to help would be to get a Chief Accessibility Officer to oversee everything regarding accessibility if these issues were within a organization or company. Also if these issues were within an organization or company people would need to be trained on the technical aspects of digital accessibility so people experiencing accessibility barriers would not be falsely accused of doing something wrong when in reality the issue is actually a technical accessibility issue. Also if this is in a controlled environment such as an organization or a company providing detailed training on a broad range of disabilities and empathy is another solution to some of these equity issues.

If you are experiencing any of these obstacles in your career aspirations or personal life  try to stay positive and assist where you can with improving equality issues for the disabled.

Does anybody have any thoughts or comments about how we can slow down and not exclude people because of time constraints or misunderstandings? Has anyone experienced similar interactions? Any recommendations on how to resolve exclusions for people  with disabilities which is a problem that I believe goes far beyond accessibility issues with digital technology.

Thank you and stay positive, keep a smile on your face, slow down, talk to others, leverage accessible digital technology and most important utilize all peoples’ unique skills. Together we will spread happiness and understanding.

If you have any comments or feedback can you please send an email to Bill Tipton since unfortunately the comments are closed to my blog site.

Bill

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton 

Reach Out to the disAbled for Assistance to Design and Develop an Intuitive and Accessible Application or Web Page

Are you responsible for the application or web page development cycle? Is one of your goals for it to be intuitive and accessible for everyone to use efficiently?  You could be designing or developing an enterprise application installed on a server accessed by a browser by anyone over the internet. Maybe you are designing or developing a consumer or an enterprise application installed on a computer, mobile device, or a web page. Or you may be deploying a digital service and have these same goals of equal access.

As part of your careful design and development process you may have implemented user interface (UI), User Experience design (UX), accessibility and usability techniques to help with this goal. 

One valuable resource you may have overlooked to assist is getting some guidance from people with disabilities. Since they may use a variety of assistive technologies, they could provide excellent feedback on User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), usability as well as accessibility. To be sure you are evaluating for a broad range of assistive technology (AT) I suggest you at least have people evaluate with screen magnification, screen readers and voice recognition AT. Also people with disabilities have other unique and valuable skills that could be beneficial to your design.

Although other people with disabilities or challenges can assist just as well as I can, I will explain some skills a person who is blind may have that can relate to assisting with developing an organized and accessible user interface with some added accessibility tips.

Since I am completely blind it is helpful to keep track of things around the house and in my office. To assist with this goal I attempt to keep things in a familiar and organized location. This organization allows me to easily and quickly locate what I am looking for by utilizing landmarks by touch alone.

The way I locate things and get around in my physical world could be compared to designing a user interface in the digital world where all aspects of the application or web page are usable and accessible. This includes all user elements in the application or web page.

Some examples of user elements are hyperlinks, buttons, radio buttons, check boxes, drop down lists, form fields, navigational elements and additional user elements.  This design includes insuring text and all user elements has sufficient contrast in an organized well-designed user interface where all actions can be performed by a keyboard. This user experience design and development attention along with accessibility techniques will aid in creating a positive user experience to help prevent frustration and unintentionally excluding some users.

One example from the physical world might be how some people who are completely blind walk down a hallway. They could know when they reach the fifth doorway on the right side of the hallway from cane tapping, sound differences as they pass doors or if they use a guide dog.  If they have been in the room before they may know what the layout of the room is based on past experience. If you translate that to user interface design in the digital world you could think of each doorway as navigating down to the third heading level and know what is within that heading based on the text of that heading and the text of the second level heading.

Another way you can think about designing an effective user interface and creating a positive user experience is by being able to find your way around no matter where you are located within the application or webpage. For example from the physical world if I drop something on the floor and I hear it bounce or slide far away from where I am located I listen for it hit the floor. As it either bounces or slides across the floor I focus on where it stops making the noise to give me an idea of where it might be. I can then locate it by feeling navigational landmarks on the floor such as furniture to help me avoid obstacles and guide me to what I have dropped. This is similar to designing an effective user interface with key landmarks on it that will guide the user to sections, user controls, form fields or other user interaction types.  This design will help the user to intuitively use the application or web page successfully.

Another example from the physical world. Just think of a completely blind person attempting to walk alone without the aid of a long white cane or a guide dog in an unfamiliar area. Their chances of locating a glass of water they were told would be on one of the tall cabinets in one of the rooms could be difficult or time consuming.

If you label all like user element types the same throughout the application or webpage and have sufficient descriptive landmarks this will assist users in effectively knowing how to interact with the user elements and move around the user interface with ease.

In addition to the Design, Development and Accessibility Section further down I have a few accessibility and usability tips below. If I use HTML terminology please translate these to whatever coding language you are using.

• Insure every user element in your application or webpage is accessible by a keyboard because not everyone uses a mouse. Designing for keyboard accessibility not only helps the disabled who use specific types of assistive technology it also will help the keyboard only users who do not have a disability.
• Be sure all essential graphics have alternative description to enable the screen reader users to understand the complete content and interact with all user controls.
• Insure all hyperlinks describe the destination and are descriptive when reading out of context and none of them have duplicate names if the destination page is not the same.
• Be sure the tab order and on-screen focus is correct. When you use your tab key to navigate through the interface the focus should mirror the visual order of navigation, links and controls on the page with sufficient visual indication of focus. 
• Insure any tables are accessible by identifying the row and column headers and use captions if needed.
• Be sure all aspects of the application or web page have sufficient contrast to help all users.
• Insure like user controls are named the same within the same application or group of web pages that have the same topic to help the user from getting confused. Example: Do not use both buttons and hyperlinks if they both act like hyperlinks.
• Use headings and utilize other landmarks to assist with navigating the user interface to speed up navigation for all keyboard, voice recognition such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, and screen reader assistive technology users.
• The use of proper headings will not only help screen reader users, these will also assist keyboard only users and help with the structure and visual layout.
• Headings will also assist people who use voice recognition assistive technology such as Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) since some of the DNS users could speak the concise heading name to jump from heading to heading.
• Leverage proper semantics or the equivalent in your application or web page. If you cannot incorporate HTML in your application utilize the equivalent of semantic elements that are available in HTML in the specific technical requirements for your technology you are using to develop your application.  Also use semantic elements when developing webpages.  By leveraging semantics you can provide meaningful information regarding the user elements or page structure to the web browser thus to assistive technology users to assist them in using the product effectively.
• Developing a usable and accessible application or webpage does not only assist the disabled it helps everybody. For example you may have heard of people without any disability talking about an application or web page where they were so confused attempting to interact with it they had no way of intuitively knowing how to use it. This leads to extreme frustration and loss of valuable time.

After you complete your design and have a functioning product you are ready for your first pilot and to receive feedback. If you know of a person who uses assistive technology such as a screen reader, screen magnification or voice recognition ask them to try out your application or web page and provide their valuable feedback. If you do not know of anyone, contact a professional accessibility evaluation company to assist. You could also contact a non-profit organization related to people with disabilities and they may be able to get you connected with a person who can assist. In my opinion if they are located near you, you might even watch them use the application or web page in person over having them perform the evaluation remotely since this will benefit you in at least two ways.

• You will see any difficulties they may be experiencing first hand to allow you to resolve the issues in the next revision or better yet on the fly when you are with them.
• You will see a big grin on their face if you’ve developed and designed the application or webpage well and they can easily navigate it. I know personally I have a great big smile on my face if I am using an application or a webpage that is accessible, designed and functions well.

To learn about how people who are blind access information on their PCs or mobile devices read Understanding Assistive Technology: How Does a Blind Person use the Internet and How People Who Are Blind Can Orientate Themselves Using a Screen Reader.

Resources to Assist with Design, Development and Accessibility

User Interface Design Basics-Usability.gov

A Beginner’s Guide to User Experience (UX) Fundamentals-General Assembly

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1

Does anyone have any tips for User Interface designers, User Experience designers and developers for applications and web pages to help us design more effective applications or webpages that will result in a user friendly experience instead of a user unfriendly experience? Do you have any resources to share that will help us all in designing more effective and accessible user interfaces or techniques to design more intuitive and less cluttered user interfaces?

We all look forward to hearing your valuable thoughts, resources and any other information you want to share to help everyone to showcase talents equally and effectively without artificial limits.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton

Resolving Accessibility Barriers in Isolation: Achieve with Kindness

Are you older and have found using some technologies such as web pages, web applications, standalone applications on your mobile device or computer difficult to use if not impossible? Are you disabled and use assistive technology on your mobile device or computer and find using these same technologies not possible?  Do they not react the way you believe they should compared to similar technologies you have successfully used? Are you disabled or have short- or long-term challenges and do not use assistive technology and find using these same technologies difficult?

Although you may have never heard of usability or accessibility, these issues you are experiencing could be related to accessibility or usability.

If the designers and developers leverage the accessibility recommendations documented in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2. and other guidelines/recommendations the accessibility issues you may have experienced could have been avoided.

If the technology owners are not aware of the positive Business Case for Digital Accessibility (Web Accessibility Initiative) WAI/W3C) they may find this resource beneficial to influence accessibility.

Have you experienced and reported accessibility obstacles and felt like you were working to resolve the issues in isolation? If you have felt or feel this way, I encourage you to never give up hope to not only to help yourself, but to assist the many other people who are experiencing the same barriers as you are. One or more of the many points below and others you find elsewhere may assist you at being successful at working on resolving accessibility issues with kindness.

• When contacting the product managers, designers and developers with kindness keep in mind, they may not have intentionally excluded any person. If you do find a person who has not heard of accessibility and does not understand it, explain how if they would have leveraged the documented techniques and requirements that are available some of the barriers encountered could have been avoided.
• After providing valuable accessibility education some developers may enjoy making the necessary modifications to incorporate accessibility and inclusion.
• Subsequently after receiving accessibility education some may also recognize the benefits of including accessibility in the upfront design and development plans to save time and money over retrofitting for accessibility after the technology has been released to customers and users start reporting the barriers preventing them from using the technology.
• During the process of resolving accessibility issues some owners may offer alternatives that may work to accomplish the task the person was attempting to do when they experienced the issue.  Although these suggestions may not be an efficient or effective solution and will take much longer for the end user to accomplish the task compared to if the technology was accessible.  
• Some may discourage you from doing what you need to accomplish to enhance your personal life or to advance your professional career instead of modifying the technology to incorporate accessibility.
• When someone discourages you from fully utilizing technology this may make you feel like you’re not worthy of participating in certain technology activities that other people who do not run into accessibility challenges are able to do anytime they feel like it without waiting for external assistance instead of implementing the needed accessibility technology enhancements.
• You may hear that it costs too much money to modify the technology after you submit your issue. Therefore, the owner may elect to sacrifice the ability for all people to use the technology over costs to retrofit the technology for accessibility. If you find you need to wait some time before they possibly address your issue keep in touch with the owner you took valuable time to locate and develop a positive relationship with as they incorporate accessibility in their next release.
• It is best to keep in touch from time to time with the person you reported the issue to since if you do not check in the enhancement request may drop off the enhancement list due to other priorities.
• When talking with some developers or others you may hear them say a person with a disability will never use my technology. You might also hear some developer say this hardware is locked up in a closet and only one person has access to it and that person does not have a disability therefore it does not need to be accessible. You may gently remind the developer it is possible that person who has access to the hardware may no longer be available and you may have another extremely qualified candidate to take over that job function who has a disability. Therefore, you would have been better prepared by making the hardware accessible to be ready for such personnel flexibility. Also, all the software to manage the hardware should be accessible since people anywhere in the world are able to access hardware over the Internet or Intranet using the latest technology.
• Some developers or others may tell you this technology is only for managers, scientists or other professions.  You may need to gently remind them that many people with disabilities hold a large variety of positions and are highly successful in their professions.  
• Subsequently after you communicate an issue you may hear back from the owner that this technology is not theirs and they procured it from an outside vendor. If you have a relationship with the person you contacted, they may be in a better position to influence accessibility enhancements on your behalf if this occurs.
• Although bullying or shaming people into making technology accessible may seem like a good short-term solution it is never ever a positive long-term solution for forming mutual exclusive valuable partnerships. At some point you may require their assistance again and if you did not treat them with respect and kindness in the past, they will be less likely to engage with you the next time you need them.   
• Be patient and listen as you educate the designers and developers regarding accessibility. Treat them with kindness, compassion and respect as you teach them about the technical aspects as well as the value of accessible technology to increase their customer base and customer satisfaction.
• I encourage you to not feel discouraged. Pursue ahead to help the product managers, designers and developers understand how they can improve their technology so it works for all people equally and not just certain people. Also remember it does take time to resolve accessibility issues once they are reported therefore be patient and understanding.
• Although at times you may feel frustrated and discouraged at your progress towards increasing accessibility, think about the countless others you are not aware of who do not have accessibility skills to resolve the issues themselves that you are helping to be more productive.
• Never stop partnering with others to increase accessibility with a kind and understanding attitude.
• At times during the process of resolving an accessibility issue you may feel discouraged, sad and tempted to give up. However, it is best to pursue ahead otherwise progress will not be made.
• If you submit an accessibility enhancement request and do not get a response or updates on progress do not be completely discouraged and feel as if you are resolving accessibility barriers in isolation. Although this is an example of poor customer service, it is possible the people you reported the issue to are making progress “in silence” without responding to you with an update.

Do you have any suggestions for people who are working on resolving accessibility issues in what seems like isolation? Do you have any tips for product managers, designers and developers to encourage them to work on accessibility in the design phase instead of waiting for users to become excluded from using the technology they develop? Do you have any tips to assist those who are new to accessibility so they feel more comfortable at providing accurate and actionable suggestions to developers in order to help them resolve any accessibility issue they report?

Also do you have any suggestions on how to help the user so they do not feel discouraged and frustrated when working on accessibility issues on what seems like their own?

We all look forward to hearing your valuable thoughts and comments to help increase accessibility thus enabling inclusion.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton

 

Why People Who are Blind May Make Better Project Managers

As a person who has been completely blind since May of 1999 I believe my senses have been enhanced in a variety of beneficial ways.  I have found that my newly acquired skills and senses have helped me to be a better Program and Project Manager which I have been doing for nearly two decades.

After becoming blind my organizational, planning and interpersonal relationship skills have also been heightened. I found I now have enhanced abilities to sense a person’s feelings and trustworthiness which can assist in my leading projects. These enhanced abilities benefit in other professions as well.

Below are a few examples of the enhanced skills I gained after becoming blind that could assist in being an effective Program or Project Manager that other blind or visually impaired people may also have.

• I have the ability to adapt and learn quickly with tenacity and resilience. After suddenly going blind I was in a coma for three months. After being in the hospital for seven months I was finally able to be released. I then had the opportunity to learn the required blindness related skills I needed to accomplish tasks as a newly blind person. Besides learning on my own I also reached out to others and organizations to help educate myself to enable me to return back to work quickly. These tenacity and resilience skills can be helpful in any project a person is managing.
• I have the ability to laugh at myself which can help reduce stress in projects I manage. One of many examples is when I was writing my Lemonade on the Road to Recovery story that was published in the Blind Californian. In it I talk about some rehabilitation after I had not taken a drink of cool liquid in approximately five months, I laughed a few times when writing the story, although some might think the story was tragic or sad.
• I have the ability to quickly make course corrections for successful results. An example is, I may drop something and listen to the sounds as the object bounces and slides across the floor. The ability to locate the object being completely blind is an enhanced skill that can make course corrections in projects relatively easy compared to locating something in complete darkness.
• I have learned to be patient and flexible. Another example is when I was pushed into a waiting area in the hospital during my seven month stay I waited for hours and hours by myself for a procedure while sitting in a wheelchair. Not being able to see anything around me and not knowing when anyone would show up forced me to learn the value of patience which is a valuable trait when managing projects and teams.  
• I have the ability to increase my network opportunities by communicating with organizations I interact with which enables me to be around other people who are blind, in addition to people with many other types of disabilities. This first - hand education enables me to have a diverse perspective when managing programs and projects with people with a valuable diverse skillset. This also enables me to equally value the diverse perspectives of others to deliver unique and inclusive projects.
• I have a can-do attitude. An example is I always find a way to accomplish a task. Many people who are disabled run into accessibility/usability barriers and find unique methods to overcome these barriers. This provides excellent education for overcoming obstacles or perceived barriers within project teams.
• I have the ability to overcome the incorrect attitudes about abilities of the disabled. One example, is when somebody assumes a person who is completely blind makes mistakes when dialing a phone number or following text directions in an email message. When these inaccurate assumptions are presented it gives me the opportunity to educate everyone in the project team while respecting with kindness the people who are unaware of the successes and abilities of blind people. With proper assistive technology and accessible tools blind people can accomplish most anything a non-disabled person can do which will assist their team in succeeding. These misunderstandings also give me opportunities to learn when it's best to let things go or attempt to educate those who are not aware.
• I have the ability to work virtually as if I am in person. Since I do not see anything, it does not matter if I am sitting across the table with the person or group I am working with or they are half way around the world. I can sense if the person or group I am talking with understands me from listening to their voices, including speech tones, pitches, volumes, and sensing emotions.  By using these abilities I am able to sense others reactions to my conversation which enables me to make any course correction in my communication style for maximum effectiveness.  This skill assists to deliver successful projects.
• I have a better understanding of demonstrating the value of partnerships and leadership. Because of strategizing and tactical skills I possess I may have authority and solid facts to back up my actions. Although sometimes it's best not to take all actions that I am able to take because this brute force method might actually inhibit relationships that may impact the project and long-term credibility for ethical and compassionate behavior.
• I have enhanced leadership skills which are demonstrated when working with a diverse team of employees, contractors and others who I am not directly responsible for. It is beneficial for me to leverage my enhanced senses to act as an ethical leader to assist in getting the project completed even though I do not have authority.
• I have a more accurate sense of timing based on how difficult each component of the project is and the ability to gauge the skills of each team member and their perceived commitment to success. This skill helps me better understand when to launch each component of the project to improve the chance for a successful outcome for all components to be delivered on time and within budget.
• I have learned to be grateful, value family, co-workers and relationships every day. Without going through extreme struggles at times that my wife and I endure by ourselves without any help I would not be able to help out others by leading and participating in valuable projects and programs.

Although I explained some skills that I have these are not unique to me alone. I believe all people with disabilities harness similar skills who have a variety of disabilities that can be leveraged to help companies progress in their goals to assist their customers.

Does anyone want to share other examples of skills people who are disabled have that can aid in project or program management roles? Can you share other unique and valuable skills people with disabilities have, other than blindness or low vision, that can assist them in all professions?

We all look forward to hearing your valuable thoughts and comments.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton

 

Lack of Awareness Can Result in Accessibility Obstacles

Has anyone ever heard discussions about people with disabilities not necessarily needing or requiring access to particular applications, web pages or documentation because they assume people with disabilities will never use them?

Or, maybe you have experienced people displaying a lack of awareness of what skills disabled people have to offer? Others may not be willing to fully utilize the valuable and unique skills people with disabilities have. Maybe that is because they are unaware of how effective assistive technology can be at levelling the playing field and assisting employees to be as effective as anyone not using assistive technology. Some uninformed people may assume no disabled person could be a people manager or a leader of others. Therefore, their thought process is that applications needed to perform that job function is not required to be accessible since no disabled person will use those particular applications, web pages or documentation. This thought process unfairly restricts promotional opportunities for the disabled.

It is also possible you may have heard someone tell a person with a disability that they do not need to use that application therefore it does not need to be made accessible. Perhaps you have also overheard the excuse that it is not likely a person with a disability who uses assistive technology is going to become a system administrator, therefor that function of the software does not need to be made accessible.

I know of people who are disabled and use assistive technology successfully who perform very technical roles. For example, database administrators, system administrators managing systems locally or remotely using software, application developers and scientists as well as others working in many other highly successful professional roles including managers.

To increase accessibility/usability I feel it is not beneficial to make assumptions on who will use a product. It is far easier to design and develop all applications, web pages and documentation to be accessible and usable to all people. This best practice will also save valuable time and money if a person reports an accessibility issue that requires the developer to immediately drop everything and retrofit the product for usability/accessibility after the product has already been designed, developed and released to the public.

Has anyone ever experienced any of the awareness or stereotypical challenges I talk about above regarding accessibility? Does anyone have any ideas of how to break the assumptions that people with disabilities should not be restricted to certain jobs or professions despite their education and skills?

Does anyone have any thoughts on the value of accessibility and the benefits of demonstrating inclusion and valuing all people equally? Has anyone experienced any positive examples regarding this topic that you might want to share? 

Lastly, does anyone have other tips or success stories to help educate us all on the benefits of fully utilizing the complete talents of people with disabilities instead of restricting their professional or personal progress?

We all look forward to hearing your valuable comments and tips.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

https://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wdtipton                

Documentation Accessibility: Consider Usability as Well

Are you a developer or designer of software (standalone or web based) and would like to develop a product to enable as many people to effectively use it successfully?  

To assist in increasing customer satisfaction do you develop your product to be as usable and accessible as possible? Do you follow and conform to such guidelines as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1) and the Revised Section 508 standards and Section 255 of the Communications Act?  

You may also follow up by performing the necessary automated and manual accessibility evaluations enabling you to review the results of the evaluation reports and correct anything before going live. Since all accessibility evaluation reports you received were positive you felt comfortable everything was addressed to help insure your product was as accessible as possible. To help assure all users would be able to read your documentation you followed procedures on how to make your user documentation accessible such as the procedures in Make Your Word Documents Accessible - Office Support and Create and Verify PDF Accessibility - Adobe.

Since software may have many options and screens to interact with it and operate all controls, a clear, concise and accurate user documentation is required to learn the product. Also it may have a user interface that is not intuitive to a new user.  Because of this complexity without clear and correct user documentation a new user may not be able to teach themselves all aspects of the product, preventing them from using the software.

After all of the careful planning and your software product went live you received some feedback from a customer stating they could not use the software with a screen reader (assistive technology).  Receiving such a comment made you wonder what you may have missed in your vigilant plan to launch an accessible software product. Could it be the user documentation?  

Although I talk a little bit about usability for software this blog post focuses on documentation.

A Few Tips to Assist in Developing More Usable User Documentation:

• Follow all vendors’ procedures that describe how to develop accessible documents using the application used to develop the document.
• Insure the user documentation uses the exact words that are in the software user interface.
• Use the correct terminology for each user interface element contained in the software so it matches the documentation since some assistive technology like screen readers read these controls. A few examples are drop down menu, hyperlink, and button and...
• Do not use orientation words in the documentation such as “refer to the upper left-hand corner of the screen”. Screen reader users who are blind cannot easily reference within an application using spatial references with no text or user control element landmarks.
• Do not rely on color alone when providing guidance. Describe the text user interface controls in detail. A poor example is “Click on the red image”.
• After every software modification update the user documentation if the update changes the user interface or landmark words you used in the past versions.
• Not all users use a mouse therefore include all equivalent short cut keystrokes to perform all mouse tasks.  
• If alt attributes (alternative text) were used to specify an alternate text for images in the software, be sure the text that was used for the alt attribute matches the user documentation. This is especially important if an alt attribute happens to be on a user control.  
• Perform automated accessibility evaluations and manual evaluations following well designed scripts by people with disabilities who use a wide range of assistive technology.
• Get feedback from people with disabilities who use a wide range of assistive technology.
• Lastly, it is possible the software is accessible. However, without accurate and complete user documentation a user who uses assistive technology could get lost attempting to learn a new non-intuitive software product without accurate documentation designed for all users.

Although my short list is not inclusive, if one thinks about these tips they may assist in developing more usable and accessible user documentation. This will help users who use assistive technology to use the software effectively.

Since I am completely blind, use a screen reader plus have many years of experience in accessibility, often people ask my opinion on accessibility.  When a person asks me if a certain software application I have used is accessible sometimes I'm reluctant to answer because I do not have enough information to tell if it is accessible. This may be because I do not know how to use the software well enough since the user interface is complicated and not intuitive allowing me to learn without accurate user documentation. In these instances the user documentation may be the problem and not the software unless I immediately find obvious accessibility issues which even excellent user documentation cannot overcome.

When developing software it is extremely beneficial to incorporate accessibility in the design and developmental phase due to the expense of going back and retrofitting accessibility after it is developed and launched to the public. Plus, if it is launched with accessibility issues a developer may receive negative customer feedback which impacts customer relations. Developing accurate, accessible and usable user documentation is critical in completing the accessibility experience.

If you develop accurate and accessible documentation it may also help you from receiving comments regarding users stating they cannot use the software due to accessibility issues when the issue could be with the user documentation and not with the software. As I stated in my introduction to this topic this could have been the case why a screen reader user reported an accessibility issue preventing them from using the software just after the product went live.

Do you have any tips to help develop more accurate and usable user documentation? Would you like to share any success stories? Any other thoughts that come to mind that may help our conversation after reading this?

We all look forward to hearing your valuable thoughts and comments.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton

Home Maintenance: Disassembling Wooden Frames Without Eyesight

Have you ever wondered how a completely blind person is able to accomplish home maintenance projects; for example disassembling somewhat large wooden frames around raised vegetable garden beds by touch and sound only?  I would not think most of you have thought about such things therefore I will explain for those interested in learning one person’s technique and strategy.

Why: Over 25 years ago before I went completely blind I built three redwood raised vegetable garden beds in the house we rented.  Over each of the beds I built large redwood frames where I placed weather resistant sun filtering cloth that allows air through but blocked out direct sunlight. I could then manually roll out  the sun filtering  cloth over the frame as needed to protect the plants from the intense direct sun. Since I lost my eyesight in May of 1999 the two remaining garden beds and the frames covering them had developed a desperate need of repair. To start the needed transformation   and the required repair of my vegetable garden area I planned to remove the two frames around each bed that were  left to allow the vegetables to  grow in natural unfiltered sun.  My plan is to recycle and reuse the wood from the frames for plant stakes as well as other uses for the wood around our yard thus preventing the waste of valuable wood and trees.

Strategy: I figured out all the tools I would need ahead of time to complete this project. Since I walk with two canes, one support cane and one long white cane for navigation, I have no extra hands to carry anything when I walk which makes planning crucial. After I located  one philips screwdriver, one flat blade  screwdriver, needle nose plyers, regular plyers, hammer, a plastic bottle of water  and my trusty  Huntsman version of a Swiss Army knife (my go to knife when I used to backpack) I was prepared. My loving wife Kathy set up a chair where I could sit as I worked on my project. Kathy also brought me all the tools I listed including an empty coffee can. This can was used so I could place any hardware in it during the disassembly process. I carefully placed my tools and coffee can near the right side of my chair so I could find everything more easily. Once Kathy had dragged each frame with some difficulty over to me one at a time I was ready to begin my fun.

Fun: As I sat in the chair with  the frame resting  across my legs with it’s four legs pointing in unknown directions I explored all sides of the frame with my fingers and hands to determine the layout  in my minds-eye and as to how I assembled it many years ago. After I had the image of how the frame looked I then determined the best approach to disassemble it. Then I felt around at each joint to determine if I used screws or nails as fasteners.    From feeling small indentations at the center of each fastener with my finger tip I determined they must be screws that held down each metal bracket.  These L-brackets attached each leg to the top square frame I had assembled with the same style brackets. I then selected my Swiss Army knife’s small screw driver and started to remove each screw. Some screws were extremely tight which required me to position myself in my chair in a way to maximize leverage.  This tactic allowed me to keep the required pressure on the screw as I removed each one. After removing a leg of the frame I found a short piece of wood that was connected to it. By feeling no indentation in the top of the fastener on this short piece of wood I determined I had put in nails which held the short piece of wood to the leg.  These short pieces of wood connected each leg on two sides to the top of the frame at 45 degree angles reinforcing each leg. After removing the short pieces of wood by pulling them off by hand or prying them off with the claw end of the hammer I used my plyers or hammer to pull out each nail. To keep my work space organized as I disassembled each section I stacked the shorter pieces of wood to the left of my chair, the longer leg pieces to my right in the corner resting up against the fence and placed all screws, nails and brackets in the coffee can.

When I was working on the second frame I noticed for some reason the screws did not turn, therefore did not loosen. This difficulty made me wonder if these were nails preventing my Swiss Army knife screwdriver from biting in the head of the screw as I attempted to twist it out. I then cheated and asked my wife Kathy if the screws were philips or straight blade types since I could not determent what they were by touching them with my fingertips. After Kathy looked she found some were phillips and others were corroded therefor I switched to my longer handled screw drivers to get more leverage. When I made this minor adjustment I was again well on my way to completion of this project. After removing many screws, nails, and all brackets I was pleasantly surprised when I reached down towards my feet and in front of me where I would keep the frame pieces that still needed work and found nothing but air as I grasped around with outreached hands. I also double checked by kicking out my feet keeping them low to the ground searching by touch and sound for them to connect with something solid  just in case a piece of frame landed out of hands reach during   the disassembly process. I was happy to discover that this test failed to locate any stray pieces, therefore I called Kathy over (she was working in some other area of the yard) to confirm I did not miss any. After verifying with Kathy that the first frame was completely disassembled she dragged the second one over for me to disassemble. When I had completed the second frame and had Kathy confirm that I had, she told me I did not miss disassembling a single piece of wood, removing a screw or any nail. This made me smile with joy.   When I had completed this project I then organized my longer pieces of wood that I placed to my right against the fence to later saw off the damaged parts to prepare each piece for a new life.

What I learned from this simple project:

• Overcoming the thought of completing a project like I describe and doing something that requires more exertion than one is accustomed to or have ever attempted before may be the most difficult part. Because of these challenges it is best to just plan and get started.
• Despite any challenge or disability if one plans thoroughly it is possible to participate in or complete many projects on your own.
• Although disassembling a large wooden frame like I described may be difficult or awkward with challenges such as being blind which is the equivalent of wearing a blindfold or walking around using canes, the satisfaction of completing a project is worth the challenges.
• If assistance is not available and you are forced to improvise and utilize work-arounds, it is still possible to complete projects.
• Being prepared with everything you may need before you start will help reduce the stress of having to stop in the middle of your project to locate something you may need or even worse find out you may be missing something required to complete the project.
• Keep a positive attitude and if you are outside, take advantage of relaxing in the sun, listening to the birds, the wind rustling through tree leaves, breathing fresh air and the joyful sounds of neighbors experiencing life. Pace yourself and enjoy the option to be outdoors.

Does anyone have any stories to share that explain projects you have attempted or completed where you overcame any challenge you may have? Do you have any tips for me and others to help us overcome what some people perceive as challenges to fully participate in projects and life? Any ideas to increase the probability of completing projects when help is limited or not readily available?  Any other experiences you want to share to help us take the required steps to experience all aspects of life, including the uncomfortable, unfamiliar or challenging aspects of enjoying life?

We all look forward to hearing from you.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton

Ripple Effect of Inaccessible Tools and Potential Dollars Lost

Some of you may understand the direct relationship accessibility has on the effectiveness of people using assistive technology with the tools you develop or deploy from practicing techniques or objectives in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2), Revised 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines, ETSI - EN 301 549 or other guidelines and requirements. It is less likely some of you may understand the ripple effect of inaccessible tools, (software, hardware, web pages, services and processes) have on potential dollars lost or time wasted. Others who use assistive technology and experience accessibility barriers first hand can understand the negative impact inaccessible tools have on their productivity.

I am grateful several developers and some individuals who procure tools understand the benefits of incorporating accessibility into the developmental processes or tools they deploy. This minimal amount of attention to quality goes a long way to assist in reducing barriers resulting in increased customer base, customer satisfaction and effectiveness.

If you are unfamiliar with assistive technology or how a person who is completely blind uses a PC and experiences some of the accessibility barriers I will be describing later in web application number one and two the short scenario below may assist you in understanding the concepts. As a screen reader (one type of assistive technology) user I attempt to do some on-line shopping for groceries in a very simple web application. Once I start to process my order I quickly find the drop down list to select the method of delivery cannot be activated by keyboard commands (screen reader users generally do not use a mouse) or the results are not read to me as I scroll through my possible choices. Therefore I cannot choose how I want my order to be delivered. I also find when I tab to three different form fields I am not able to determine what I am to enter into these unlabeled form fields or even if these fields are required since they are not properly labeled with a description of what I am to enter. As I had to skip these unlabeled form fields since I was not sure what they are used for I wondered if one of them was for me to type in what I wanted to order, although I did not want to guess and pay for something I did not want therefore I continued. I did find a form field which was labeled for a telephone number, although the form field element did not specify the format I was to use (e.g. use dashes in between area code and.. or leave out dashes or include the country code). Due to these accessibility issues I was prevented from proceeding to place my order because I was not able to fill out all of the required fields or enter the telephone number using the correct format, therefore, I was not able to receive the groceries I needed.

Some developers, businesses and corporations might think it is too costly to develop tools that are accessible or usable. However, developing accessible tools can go beyond helping the employees or customers to be more productive, self-supportive and effective. Accessible tools can also potentially save money if one considers the ripple effect of inaccessible tools.

Below is just one of many possible examples:

Web Application Number 1:

• A person using assistive technology attempts to enter time critical data into a simple web application with just a few user interface elements (e.g. form fields, drop down menus, user notifications and a submit button) and found the application had accessibility barriers preventing them from accomplishing the task themselves.
• The affected person then locates anyone they can find who can help enter the data into the web application on their behalf.
• Although they did find assistance, the person they found was unfamiliar with the application. Therefore they did not notice an issue with entering the data and thought all was submitted without issues since the web application submitted the data without errors or alert messages.
• After the data was processed the result did not get processed as expected resulting in a missed deadline.
• Subsequently the person who had assisted went back to verify that the data they entered was correct, entered on time and was not processed as expected.
• The next step was that the affected person now was required to submit a help ticket to attempt to correct or explain the issue generated by web application number one.

Web Application Number 2:

• The affected person who uses assistive technology then attempted to enter a help ticket into a very simple web application with a few user interface elements to request help and found this help system also had accessibility issues preventing them from entering the case effectively.
• Then the affected person who uses assistive technology found another person who was unfamiliar with application number two to request help on their behalf to enter the help ticket regarding web application number one.
• Since the process for receiving an answer to the submitted help ticket using the fictitious accessibility work-around was becoming very time consuming the affected person contacted the person waiting for the information generated by web application number one and others affected by the delay in a resolution.
• After the help ticket generated by web application number two was received by an agent they found the request was unclear. This required a few back and forth conversations by email to attempt to resolve the issues since the help desk person could not be contacted by telephone to quickly explain the issue verbally to help overcome any language differences or barriers.
• This lack of resolution resulted in yet another group getting involved to help resolve the issue generated by web application number one.

Although what I describe above should have been a quick task of entering very little data into a simple web application with just a few user interface elements that could have possibly been resolved by the developer utilizing resources like "Labeling Controls- Forms WAI Web Accessibility Tutorials” it had become a long process. By the time the issue was resolved at least six people over several days were involved. This could have been avoided if the people who procure tools insured they procure accessible tools or if one web application developer or their team incorporated accessibility into their web application.

If end users, businesses or corporations could capture the potential dollars and time lost for every one of these individual ripple accessibility obstacles affecting many people I describe above by incorporating accessibility into the applications, services and processes, individuals, businesses or corporations could save many dollars to reinvest into the businesses or people. Incorporating accessibility will also empower end users enabling them to be more effective allowing them to flourish and prosper without the false ceilings of inaccessible tools.

Even though my example of how many people might be involved to provide a work around to accessibility issues with tools is hypothetical, I am sure some of you might have real examples to share.

Does anyone have examples of how tool developers and procurement individuals can increase accessibility and get the required sponsorship to make positive changes?

Any thoughts to help advance the enabling of all to flourish and prosper without the false ceilings of inaccessible tools?

Does anyone have additional information or input to contribute to this conversation?

I look forward to hearing your valuable comments to help us continue this important accessibility discussion.

Bill Tipton

Contributing Author,

Global Dialogue Center

http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wdtipton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bill.tipton.39

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wdtipton