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Re: What to tell developers about accessibility?

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From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Apr 17, 2012 12:42PM

Hi

I recently did such a presentation (or set of presentations) in
Iceland, created in large part by assistance from the good people on
this list.
I will post it from my other computer in a response to this tonight.
(hyes, I should keep my files synchronized I know, but then, I should
also eat healthy and exercise every day *grin*).
What I used in my presentations were YouTube videos of the points I
wanted to emphasize.
A short one from the W3C on why accessibility (I think it is not up
yet on their website, but Shawn Henry sent it to me). The video is 25
mins, but I only played the first 2 or 3, it gies you some stats and
marketting stuff (of course web accessibility specific).
I showed a 2 min video on the importance of form labels, a guy created
it and reviewed it with Voiceover.
I played at the end one of the Web Accessibility Toolbar use (about 3
to 4 mins).
I coverred a few main areas, organization/structured, labelling of
form and buttons, alt text, web page title and its importance,
mentioned CAPTCHAS and area landmarks. I did not have time for moe (in
my view one could create a pretty good 3-hour accessibility workshop).
The one thing I emphasized time and again was for them to download and
use one of the accessibility toolbars, just run them quickly and ask
me questions about errors they got consistently.
I was offerred a part time developer/accessibility compliance job
after the lecture, so it must have gone decently.
I will post my slides in a reply later, if the attachment does not
come through I'll email them to you directly.
Anyone may feel free to use all or part of any slide or concept, and I
don't really care about credits to be honest.
Cheers
-B

On 4/17/12, Bourne, Sarah (ITD) < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Karen,
>
> Here are my suggestions:
> - Don't get bogged down in things like "Why accessibility?" Their eyes will
> glaze over. Keep it short, or throw it in at the end - after you've captured
> their interest.
> - I usually start with keyboard only (mouseless) operability. Many devs are
> heavy keyboard users and it gives them something they can personally relate
> to.
> - Discuss the benefit of valid code. While it doesn't guarantee
> accessibility, it helps reduce defects caused by the browsers and AT
> "guessing" and it makes it easier to troubleshoot and maintain.
> - Frame the importance of using things headings, form labels, fieldset
> legends, etc., in terms of their semantic role. What sighted people do to
> ascertain what's on a page, you need to provide a machine way to do.
> - Show them the W3C "How to Meet WCAG 2.0" quick reference: devs tend to
> like the "Here's the rule and here's how to follow it" approach. They can
> follow the links for all the other material as needed. To avoid glazing
> eyes, do this instead of trying to go through ALL THE THINGS.
>
> Hope this helps!
> sb
>
> Sarah E. Bourne
> Director of Assistive Technology &
> Mass.Gov Chief Technology Strategist
> Information Technology Division
> Commonwealth of Massachusetts
> 1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
> 617-626-4502
> <EMAIL REMOVED>
> http://www.mass.gov/itd
> > > >