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Re: What to tell developers about accessibility?

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From: Barry Hill
Date: Apr 17, 2012 2:42PM

Hi Karen

I did a similar 2 hour presentation for 75 developers a few weeks ago with a
friend who is an accessibility/usability expert. The way we did it was like
this:

1. In the weeks before, I researched and found half a dozen sites with
different access issues.
2. For each issue, I found a site that didn't have the same issue.
3. In the presentation, I, as a blind screen reader user, showed how I
struggle with poor access on one site giving a running commentary on what I
was trying to do.
4. Then my partner explained in developer jargon what was wrong and what
could be done.
5. Next, in most cases, I went to the good site to demonstrate how it could
be done right.
6. We went through a few sites this way and finished with a Q and A.

We used a projector so that everyone could see what I was doing and hooked
Jaws up to the PA system.

Some of the 'bad' sites had several issues, so it wasn't skipping all over
the net to demonstrate things that can easily be found on one site.

The presentation went down very well. The event organisers said that at
most events, they get several people leaving at the break, but everyone
stayed until the end with ours. I had some great tweets during and after
the presentation. Most people who attended said it was a very effective
demonstration.

For me, the two most important access points are proper use of headings and
correctly lab led alt tags and form fields.

Cheers

Barry