Thread Subject: Re: 1194.22(b) in Group A:Distinguish OSfromsoftware apps

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From: Li, Alex
Date: Mon, Oct 23 2006 10:40 AM

>I would like to see a clear definition of "Harmonization" is there such
a definition?

Harmonization is one of the themes of the TEITAC. But it was not
defined at the TEITAC meeting. Most of you should be very aware of WCAG
2.0, which applies to web content including websites and web apps. The
existing 1194.22 is somewhat similar to WCAG 1.0. Ideally, websites and
web apps that meet the requirements in 1194.22 should also meet a
particular level of WCAG 2.0 guidelines. Once 1194.21 and 1194.22
become one, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for any given
website or web app to meet both sets of requirements. In the best case
scenario, the developer would have to jump through a lot of hoops to
figure out the difference between the two and determine what needs to be
done to accommodate one or the other. Opportunity for error of
interpretation would be very high. Merging 1194.21 and 1194.22 would
not only take a lot of work from TEITAC, it would also take a lot of
work from government agencies and vendors to interpret. It would also
seriously disrupt the development and acceptance of WCAG 2.0. Doing so
would certainly not be anybody's definition of harmonization. This line
of thinking goes the same for software accessibility standards such as
ISO 9241-171.

It is far easier to duplicate requirements in 1194.21 and 1194.22 then
to merge the two into one. Let's try to keep things simple.

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