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RE: Org charts

for

From: Robinson, Norman B - Washington, DC
Date: Oct 11, 2005 10:40AM

I'd agree with a small change:

Instructions for creating accessible organizational charts:

1. Create first a text presentation of the organization. Check that it
makes sense when read aloud.

2. Create whatever graphic presentation is needed.

3. Include a textual link to the presentation created in step #2, onto
the page where you have the
graphic presentation. I.e., "Textual description of the organization
that contains the same
information as the chart below available via the orgtext.html file." Use
whatever linking is appropriate, e.g., The file "orgtext.html" (if
linked HTML), the URL http://agency.gov/presentations/orgtext.html (if
externally referenced), slide number 99. (if in presentation slides),
etc.)

4. If the graphic presentation is embedded as an HTML image, use
alt="(Organization chart)" for the <img> element.

Step #1 will help ensure someone listening to the information using a
screen reader can understand the information and supports Section 508
compliance.


-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Jukka K.
Korpela
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 11:46 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Org charts


On Tue, 11 Oct 2005, Hoffman, Allen wrote:

> What I need to complete is simple, clear, and doable instructions for
> people who are used to drawing org charts,

Simple instructions:

Create first a text presentation of the organization. You may use lists
(list markup), including nested lists, if necessary. Read it aloud, at
least in your mind, to check that it makes sense that way.

Then create whatever graphic presentation you like. Include a textual
link
to the firstly created presentation onto the page where you have the
graphic presentation. Example (to be written before the chart):

<div><small>There is also a <a href="orgtext.html">textual
description of the organization</a> that contains the same
information as the chart below.</small></div>

If the graphic presentation is embedded as an image, use
alt="(Organization chart)" for the <img> element.

Note: It might be possible to write simpler instructions, or
instructions
that require less work to follow. I don't think, however, that there are

any simpler or less demanding instructions that achieve accessibility
even
at the absolute minimum level.

If you can't create an accessible version of organizational information,
it is better to admit and express that than to do something half-baked
that wastes everyone's (authors' and users') time, like adding
"accessibility features" to a presentation that cannot be, by its very
nature, accessible to all.

--
Jukka "Yucca" Korpela, http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/