1 Ægis-accessible: users involvement driving accessibility forward

FOSS-AMASatellite event

Karel Van IsackerMCA

Bulgaria

27-28 March 2010, Paphos, Cyprus


EU population: 501 million◦ 45 million with long-standing health problem or

disability (LSHPD), 16% of men and women aged 16-64 in the EU

◦ Varies from around 6% to over 30% between the Member States.

◦ 33% of the people not restricted in the kind or amount of work they could do or their mobility to and from work

Understanding the needs of accessible ICT◦ people with disabilities, older people, the

developers’ community



Share of people with disabilities in total working-age population, 2005



Growing old-age dependency ratio

the projected numberof persons aged 65

and over expressed asa percentage of the

projected number ofpersons aged between

15 and 64



Understanding AT usage◦ Need for access to consolidated figures on the

usage of AT by end-user groups, including the aged Hardly available Limited studies

◦ Solution State of the art survey European wide survey Consolidation different findings Personas established



State of the art survey◦ AT industry in Europe is complex, fragmented and

characterised by large number of products, and small and medium sized companies (SMEs)

◦ Local legislation necessitates a customised approach (e.g. many different national and local reimbursement schemes, complex buying process)HEARING

AIDS

CONSOLIDATED MARKET:Fewer, larger companieseach with strong , stablemarket share

FRAGMENTED MARKET:Many small companieswith low market share

ECS

BRAILLEREADERS

ATSOFTWARE

COMMUNICATIONDEVICES

+ LOWVISION

Source: AT ICT Product group summary comparison on fragmentation, Analysing and federating the European assistive technology ICT industry, Final Report, March 2009.



European different reimbursement schemes and buying process◦ Medical oriented model: starting point is the

handicap where the physician initiates necessary procedures and must approve the need for listed and reimbursed AT based on medical arguments.

◦ Social oriented model: This system is based upon national legislation and local and decentralised execution.

◦ Consumer oriented model: The end-user has direct contact with a retailer in order to get his/her AT product.



Capturing specific needs through surveys:◦ End-users/beneficiaries

AT ICT (Assistive Technologies for ICT applications) Accessibility in the area of desktop, web and mobile

applications◦ Developing community

Assessment and simulation tools to enable them in ensuring developed applications are accessible



Survey in 2009 by ÆGIS and ACCESSIBLE◦ Wide range of targeted users were reached and

participated in online and face-to-face interviews, local workshops and user forums

◦ Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

User group Number of interviewed individuals

Accessibility Assessors 38Developers 299Elderly and Disabled Users 202

Public Bodies / Governmental Agencies

18

Service Providers 31Total 588



AT industry issues:◦ 80% AT software available only in English◦ Language differences necessitates a local

presence, but impossible for the small SMEs of the European AT industry.

◦ Distribution mainly through traditional rehabilitation centre channel and related care sector, as well as specialised AT entities.

◦ Assistive devices often purchased through tendering with (often hard to obtain and follow) procedures for foreign producers or distributors who have no local distributor.



Policy issues:◦ Incoherent social policies for subsidising /

reimbursing AT◦ “Specialised agencies” in majority of EU lacking or

badly organised (experience of staff and possibilities for trying out AT differ greatly). Exceptions: VAPH, MODEM, AbilityNet

◦ Little use is made of regulations that ensure that costs of workplace adaptations for PwD can be partially and sometimes fully financed. Main reasons are ignorance of what is available, and

the administrative burden.



End-user issues:◦ Awareness

Largely unaware of available AT solutions. Lack of (local and accessible) dedicated training in AT

products and their capabilities, resulting in end users having AT they cannot use to a full extent, or in some cases not at all.

Previous training that is needed to use AT often lacking. AT that are easiest to obtain are also the ones most

abandoned. Non-use arises less frequently among people with

repeated provision, compared with first-time users of AT



End-user issues:◦ Price

High purchasing costs for end users. Prohibitive cost of specialist equipment for visually

impaired people does create a barrier◦ Mismatch between needs end user and offered AT

End users are not provided with the required AT, resulting in a high percentage (up to 30% in the USA) of obtained ATs being discarded within a year.

AT does not satisfy the actual needs of the people with disabilities, hence their refusal to use them.

Almost half of the end-users experience problems using AT.



Developers issues:◦ Accessibility areas

Awareness about accessibility standards and guidelines among developers Increasing, mainly in the areas of web and end user

device accessibility due to an increasing demand for accessibility as defined in national and local e-procurement legislation

Considerable lack of internal expertise within public service providers Involvement of external expertise Databases on accessibility experts Internal trainings Participation in accessibility related events



Developers issues:◦ Education

Many developers lack the actual knowledge Are in need of advanced (online) accessibility

education Web and mobile accessibility Accessible user interface aspects (Assistive) Devices.

Personas are seen as a useful tool for the developer to better understand the end-user.

Manuals for creating accessible content. Invitations to events about accessibility issues.



Developers issues:◦ Tools

Assess the accessibility of web, mobile and desktop applications in an automated manner through (online) assessment tools, embedded in their development tools where possible.

Embedded validators for the development tools, with accessibility simulation and authoring tools together integrated with simulators of AT.

Simulation and assessment tools should be able to address different disabilities.



Developers issues:◦ Development areas

Especially WCAG 1.0 is used by developers since subsets are often locally used in national guidelines.

Desire to be able to implement WCAG 2.0, albeit not yet demanded by their customers.

Customers are requiring accessibility certifications, but these are still rather based on subsets of W3C WAI-AAA and W3C CSS guidelines.



Personas:◦ Archetypal users that direct the end-users (in the

case of ÆGIS and ACCESSIBLE, these are the developers) to the vision and design of the envisaged solutions.

◦ Imaginary, but defined with significant rigour and precision.

◦ Personas based on real data obtained from the field studies research studying real people.

◦ ÆGIS and ACCESSIBLE projects created a set of 30.



ÆGIS◦ 17 personas◦ 15 end users◦ 2 professionals

ACCESSIBLE◦ 13 new ones (end

users)◦ Others based

partially on the ÆGIS personas



Impairment Subcategory Personas (ÆGIS & ACCESSIBLE) Cognitive impairment

Dementia Peter Vandezande (Multiple Sclerosis - memory loss - reduced dexterity)John Howard Jones (Parkinson disease)

Dysarthria Emma Karlsson (Dysarthria) Down syndrome Matthew Perkins (Down syndrome) Learning disability (LD) Nitesh Sarin (Dyslexic and colour blind)

Adam Ljung (Learning disability)Maria Skoufakis (Rett syndrome)

Learning disability (LD) - Speech and language disorders

Nitesh Sarin (Dyslexic and colour blind)Jane Brown (Cerebral Palsy)Maria Skoufakis (Rett syndrome)

Learning disability (LD) - Academic skills disorders

Jane Brown (Cerebral Palsy)Maria Skoufakis (Rett syndrome)

Learning disability (LD) - Nonverbal Learning Disorder

Maria Skoufakis (Rett syndrome)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Andy Catteeuw (ADHD)

Traumatic Brain Injury Nikolaos Souflakos (Traumatic brain injury) Alzheimer disease Peter Vandezande (Multiple Sclerosis - memory loss - reduced

dexterity)



Impairment Subcategory Personas (ÆGIS & ACCESSIBLE) Hearing impairments

Conductive Hearing Loss

Emma Karlsson (Dysarthria)Edward Hodgins (Hypoacusis)Magda Paskimada (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis)

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Edward Hodgins (Hypoacusis)Magda Paskimada (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis)

Profound hearing loss Edward Hodgins (Hypoacusis)Tomasa Almaraz (Deaf)Magda Paskimada (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis)

Deaf-blindness Ellen Kell (Deaf and blind)



Impairment Subcategory Personas (ÆGIS & ACCESSIBLE) Vision impairments

Low vision • Loss of central vision

Märta Hansson (Macular degeneration)

Low vision • Loss of peripheral (side) vision

David Burt (Glaucoma)

Low vision • Blurred vision

Gert Van Dijk (Partly blurred vision)Nikolaos Souflakos (Traumatic brain injury)Kathleen de Munck (Cataract)Matthew Perkins (Down syndrome)

Low vision • Extreme light sensitivity

Kathleen de Munck (Cataract)

Low vision• Night blindness

Maurice Nalobaka (night blindness)

Blindness Paulina Reyes (Blind) Colour-blindness Nitesh Sarin (Dyslexic and colour blind)

Kathleen de Munck (Cataract)



Impairment Subcategory Personas (ÆGIS & ACCESSIBLE) Communication received and producing impairments

Autism Peter Brown (Asperger’s syndrome) Asperger’s syndrome Peter Brown (Asperger’s syndrome) Expressive language disorder

Carlos Portillo (Moderate Aphasia - Paraphasia)Wayne Edwards (Global aphasia - short term memory loss)Emma Karlsson (Dysarthria)Peter Brown (Asperger’s syndrome)Magda Paskimada (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis)Maria Skoufakis (Rett syndrome)John Howard Jones (Parkinson disease)Nikolaos Souflakos (Traumatic brain injury)

Communication disability Tomasa Almaraz (Deaf)Carlos Portillo (Moderate Aphasia - Paraphasia)Wayne Edwards (Global aphasia - short term memory loss)Emma Karlsson (Dysarthria)Nitesh Sarin (Dyslexic and colour blind)Jane Brown (Cerebral Palsy)Peter Brown (Asperger’s syndrome)Magda Paskimada (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis)Maria Skoufakis (Rett syndrome)Andy Catteeuw (ADHD)Nikolaos Souflakos (Traumatic brain injury)John Howard Jones (Parkinson disease)



Impairment Subcategory Personas (ÆGIS & ACCESSIBLE) Upper limb impairment

Cerebral palsy Mikel Vargas (Spina bifida)Jane Brown (Cerebral Palsy)

Multiple sclerosis Peter Vandezande (Multiple Sclerosis - memory loss - reduced dexterity)

Parkinson disease John Howard Jones (Parkinson disease) Dyspraxia Jackie Dough (Developmental verbal dyspraxia) Arthritis Magda Paskimada (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis) Tic disorders Charles Lewis (Chronic motor and vocal tics) Rett Syndrome Maria Skoufakis (Rett syndrome) Tourette syndrome Charles Lewis (Chronic motor and vocal tics) Quadriplegia Magda Paskimada (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis) Dystrophy Caroline Combs (Muscular dystrophy) Absent limb/ reduced limb function

Peter Vandezande (Multiple Sclerosis - memory loss - reduced dexterity)Ramin El-Fassi (Dexterity problems)Caroline Combs (Muscular dystrophy)Mikel Vargas (Spina bifida)Jane Brown (Cerebral Palsy)



ÆGIS personas available in accessible pdf format◦ Available for download from ÆGIS website

www.aegis-project.eu (results > personas)◦ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Share Alike 3.0 License ACCESSIBLE personas

◦ Soon to be available in accessible pdf format via www.accessible-project.eu

◦ Also to be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License



ACCESSIBLE / ÆGIS both follow UCD approach◦ Embedding needs of end-users and developers◦ Tools and applications to be developed will embrace

the needs of both groups. In reality

◦ Rather large gap between what end-users need and what the AT industry delivers.

Complexity of the European AT ICT industry.◦ Many stakeholders◦ Fragmented and national/regional polices applied by

national/local authorities



Findings ACCESSIBLE and ÆGIS captured in:◦ Personas◦ Use cases and scenarios◦ Resulting tools and applications

See next presentations



Follow us on Twitter◦ ÆGIS: Twitter.com/aegisproj◦ ACCESSIBLE: Twitter.com/AccessibleProj

Project websites:◦ ÆGIS: www.aegis-project.eu◦ ACCESSIBLE: www.accessible-project.eu

E-mail to subscribe to our newsletters◦ ÆGIS: [email protected]◦ ACCESSIBLE:

http://www.accessible-project.eu/index.php/contact.html

1 Ægis-accessible: users involvement driving accessibility forward

Technology