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Re: Inaccessible mega menu and WCAG2

for

From: Devarshi Pant
Date: Jan 20, 2015 12:34PM

Some observations regarding www.mass.gov menu:

1. For JAWS users, wouldn't it be ideal to navigate the menu in PC Cursor
(application) mode? It seems I have to go into application mode to navigate
through and within menuitems.

2. There should be cues to tell screen reader users how to navigate the
menu and where all submenu items exist -- e.g. ["Name" Menu, to move
through items move up and down arrow.]

3. There is a working example where role=application and role=menuitem is
used (http://oaa-accessibility.org/example/25/) -- seems to address issues
raised in 1 and 2 above.

3. Is there a standard way to navigate menus so that the user experience is
consistent? For example, use arrow keys to navigate and tab to skip the
menu bar, escape to close, voice cues, ...
On Jan 20, 2015 11:47 AM, "Bourne, Sarah (ITD)" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

> The www.mass.gov site has gone through a number of iterations of its mega
> menu, incorporating user feedback on each cycle. One version included a
> link to expand the menu on focus (i.e., "Expand Energy & Environment"),
> separate from the link to open the "category" page ("Energy &
> Environment'). The latest version is a bit more elegant, with thanks to
> Adobe from what we learned from their example.
>
> One thing we observed is that keyboard-only users can have different views
> of how they are "supposed" to interact with application-like stuff on the
> web, especially when it comes to tab versus arrow keys. One of the nice
> things about the Adobe menu is that it works with both paradigms, so now
> the "customer" is always right.
>
> As for Lynn's original question, the menu would seem to "fail" Principal 1
> ("Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in
> ways they can perceive.") Who would think we would need a Guideline that
> content needs to be visible? Lacking that, I would cite 2.1.1 - If reading
> the menu items is a "function" and 2.4.7 - Visible focus
>
> sb
> Sarah E. Bourne
> Director of IT Accessibility
> Massachusetts Office of Information Technology
> Commonwealth of Massachusetts
> 1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
> 617-626-4502
> <EMAIL REMOVED>
> http://www.mass.gov/itd
> > > >