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Re: seeking data points reg business benefitsofaccessibilityimplementation

for

From: Alastair Campbell
Date: Aug 6, 2007 9:00AM

Karl wrote:
> So case studies like this are deceptive in their attempt to
> attribute such a high ROI on merely making the site accessible when
> there are so many other things contributing as well.

I guess it will depend on how narrow your definition of accessibility
is. As part of "being made accessible", it was necessary to improve the
code and usability, as well as a few specific things aimed at people
using different access devices (I assume).

For me, accessibility = usability
(http://alastairc.ac/2007/05/responsibilities-in-accessibility/#accessib
ility-is-usabillity ), and in order to make a site accessible to someone
with disabilities, it has to be understandable.
There is a similar discussion on Boxes & Arrows at the moment:
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/practical-plans-for
(Disclosure: article by a colleague of mine.)

I think it's entirely appropriate to say that "the improvements were due
to the site going through the process of being made accessible".
How much you want to then divide that down into
usability/IA/accessibility/coding is fairly academic (for example, Mike
put much of what I think of as usability under WCAG's "using clear
language", IA could go under "consistent navigation").

It's very unusual for a company to allow that sort of information out,
so the more we can encouraged that the better.

Still, if Karl (Dawson) can provide some stats on a coding only change,
I would check those out as well...

Kind regards,

-Alastair

--
Alastair Campbell | Director of User Experience

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