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From: Angela French
Date: Wed, Feb 03 2016 2:51PM
Subject: Accesscibility of data visualizations
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Hello,
I am interested learning how accessible the output of data visualization software is. Some data visualizations are so complex. Here is a page of examples produced with Tableau<http://public.tableau.com/profile/andrew.weller#!/>.

If you are aware of any products that produce accessible graphs/charts I would be interested in knowing the names.


Thank you,


Angela French
Internet Specialist
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
360-704-4316
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
www.checkoutacollege.com<;http://www.checkoutacollege.com/>;
www.sbctc.edu<;http://www.sbctc.edu/>;

From: Sean Murphy
Date: Wed, Feb 03 2016 3:39PM
Subject: Re: Accesscibility of data visualizations
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> Angela


Are we referring to someone who is blind, low vision or has a learning disability? As the solution will vary depending on their disability.

Jaws for Windows scripts have been designed to work with Excel and provide chart information. I have used this with basic charts in the past. How good it is with complex chart is a different story.

I also would be interested in this. I would even extend this too:

Organisational charts
Network charts
Programming logic flow charts
Project management charts
Financial charts




Sean


> On 4 Feb 2016, at 8:51 am, Angela French < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> Hello,
> I am interested learning how accessible the output of data visualization software is. Some data visualizations are so complex. Here is a page of examples produced with Tableau<http://public.tableau.com/profile/andrew.weller#!/>.
>
> If you are aware of any products that produce accessible graphs/charts I would be interested in knowing the names.
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
> Angela French
> Internet Specialist
> Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
> 360-704-4316
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> www.checkoutacollege.com<;http://www.checkoutacollege.com/>;
> www.sbctc.edu<;http://www.sbctc.edu/>;
>
> > > >

From: Angela French
Date: Wed, Feb 03 2016 4:26PM
Subject: Re: Accesscibility of data visualizations
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I was wondering how screen readers make sense of these charts (reads them aloud). Some are so complex they challenged the sighted!

Angela

From: Sean Murphy
Date: Wed, Feb 03 2016 7:08PM
Subject: Re: Accesscibility of data visualizations
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All charts are graphics. Excel is unique because Jaws for Windows uses the script language to interrogate the application script language environment (DOM). Thus it can extract the required information to tell the person that the Pie has 10% for x, 20% for y and 70% for Z as an example.

If an application doesn't provide this capability. Then it more then likely not work. Thus you have to rely on someone converting the diagram (chart) into a textual description diagram or using tactual diagram. The problem with both methods:


1. If textual described diagram, someone has to convert the information.
2. Tactual diagram can be produced on a graphic braille embosser (printer). If the chart/diagram contains a lot of visual elements to beautify the chart. Then this becomes noise to the braille reader.
3. the finger cannot read information at the same resolution as your eye's can.
4. If a person just sends the diagram to the graphic braille embosser without any modifications. Then you get what ever it is at what ever level of quality. I have done this in the past and found it not very useful without someone with sight converting it into a easier form.


It isn't impossible to do this via program means. The software or presented information on the web just has to have the code developed in a means where it can understand the raw data or objects used for the chart and present it in a manner that a person can understand. In other words, the program could translate the chart for the person. Example of a converted org chart:

CEO
—> CTO
—>—> I.T director
—>—> Development direct
—> CFO
—>—> Account team
—>—> purchase team
—>HR
—>—> training
—>—> talent retention
—> Sales
—>—> West USA
—>—> East USA
—>—> north USA
—>—> Southern USa
—>—> Canada
—>—> South America


Sean

> On 4 Feb 2016, at 10:26 am, Angela French < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> I was wondering how screen readers make sense of these charts (reads them aloud). Some are so complex they challenged the sighted!
>
> Angela
>
>

From: John Hicks
Date: Thu, Feb 04 2016 2:49AM
Subject: Re: Accesscibility of data visualizations
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Hello

This continues to be a favourite subject of mine though so far I have not
found the time to get very far.

No screen reader incorporates "sonification" yet ... though it would seem
to be the best solution (albeit perhaps too complicated).

Here is an example of the essence of sonification :

http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/research/sonification_sandbox/

John




2016-02-04 3:08 GMT+01:00 Sean Murphy < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >:

> All charts are graphics. Excel is unique because Jaws for Windows uses the
> script language to interrogate the application script language environment
> (DOM). Thus it can extract the required information to tell the person that
> the Pie has 10% for x, 20% for y and 70% for Z as an example.
>
> If an application doesn't provide this capability. Then it more then
> likely not work. Thus you have to rely on someone converting the diagram
> (chart) into a textual description diagram or using tactual diagram. The
> problem with both methods:
>
>
> 1. If textual described diagram, someone has to convert the information.
> 2. Tactual diagram can be produced on a graphic braille embosser
> (printer). If the chart/diagram contains a lot of visual elements to
> beautify the chart. Then this becomes noise to the braille reader.
> 3. the finger cannot read information at the same resolution as your
> eye's can.
> 4. If a person just sends the diagram to the graphic braille embosser
> without any modifications. Then you get what ever it is at what ever level
> of quality. I have done this in the past and found it not very useful
> without someone with sight converting it into a easier form.
>
>
> It isn't impossible to do this via program means. The software or
> presented information on the web just has to have the code developed in a
> means where it can understand the raw data or objects used for the chart
> and present it in a manner that a person can understand. In other words,
> the program could translate the chart for the person. Example of a
> converted org chart:
>
> CEO
> —> CTO
> —>—> I.T director
> —>—> Development direct
> —> CFO
> —>—> Account team
> —>—> purchase team
> —>HR
> —>—> training
> —>—> talent retention
> —> Sales
> —>—> West USA
> —>—> East USA
> —>—> north USA
> —>—> Southern USa
> —>—> Canada
> —>—> South America
>
>
> Sean
>
> > On 4 Feb 2016, at 10:26 am, Angela French < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> >
> > I was wondering how screen readers make sense of these charts (reads
> them aloud). Some are so complex they challenged the sighted!
> >
> > Angela
> >
> >

From: Chaals McCathie Nevile
Date: Thu, Feb 04 2016 4:52AM
Subject: Re: Accesscibility of data visualizations
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On Thu, 04 Feb 2016 10:49:42 +0100, John Hicks < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
wrote:

> Hello
>
> This continues to be a favourite subject of mine though so far I have not
> found the time to get very far.
>
> No screen reader incorporates "sonification" yet ... though it would
> seem to be the best solution (albeit perhaps too complicated).

There are some good things that sonification can add - for people who are
less tone-deaf than me at least.

There's quite a lot we could do in things like automatic SVG generation
libraries. I've been slowly trying to work through some test cases to
figure out how we can make accessible SVG in the first place*, with most
of what I am doing ending up at
https://github.com/SVG-access-W3CG/use-case-examples - so others can play
around and propose changes as well as just look at my work.

My hope is that we can come up with some useful ways to do things today -
e.g. I think of
http://svg-access-w3cg.github.io/use-case-examples/rectrack2-notes.html as
being an improvement on what most images offer - and demonstrate that
fixing some high-priority browser bugs would make a big difference...
hello Mozilla, please implement tabindex. And Safari, following internal
links. And everyone, access to structured title elements, or *any* desc
element…

And use what I have found to get people like chartist.js to make more
accessible data visualisation by default.

There's a lot that can be done already. If only people did it…

cheers

> Here is an example of the essence of sonification :
>
> http://sonify.psych.gatech.edu/research/sonification_sandbox/
>
> John
>
>
>
>
> 2016-02-04 3:08 GMT+01:00 Sean Murphy < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >:
>
>> All charts are graphics. Excel is unique because Jaws for Windows uses
>> the
>> script language to interrogate the application script language
>> environment
>> (DOM). Thus it can extract the required information to tell the person
>> that
>> the Pie has 10% for x, 20% for y and 70% for Z as an example.
>>
>> If an application doesn't provide this capability. Then it more then
>> likely not work. Thus you have to rely on someone converting the
>> diagram
>> (chart) into a textual description diagram or using tactual diagram. The
>> problem with both methods:
>>
>>
>> 1. If textual described diagram, someone has to convert the
>> information.
>> 2. Tactual diagram can be produced on a graphic braille embosser
>> (printer). If the chart/diagram contains a lot of visual elements to
>> beautify the chart. Then this becomes noise to the braille reader.
>> 3. the finger cannot read information at the same resolution as your
>> eye's can.
>> 4. If a person just sends the diagram to the graphic braille embosser
>> without any modifications. Then you get what ever it is at what ever
>> level
>> of quality. I have done this in the past and found it not very useful
>> without someone with sight converting it into a easier form.
>>
>>
>> It isn't impossible to do this via program means. The software or
>> presented information on the web just has to have the code developed in
>> a
>> means where it can understand the raw data or objects used for the chart
>> and present it in a manner that a person can understand. In other words,
>> the program could translate the chart for the person. Example of a
>> converted org chart:
>>
>> CEO
>> —> CTO
>> —>—> I.T director
>> —>—> Development direct
>> —> CFO
>> —>—> Account team
>> —>—> purchase team
>> —>HR
>> —>—> training
>> —>—> talent retention
>> —> Sales
>> —>—> West USA
>> —>—> East USA
>> —>—> north USA
>> —>—> Southern USa
>> —>—> Canada
>> —>—> South America
>>
>>
>> Sean
>>
>> > On 4 Feb 2016, at 10:26 am, Angela French < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>> >
>> > I was wondering how screen readers make sense of these charts (reads
>> them aloud). Some are so complex they challenged the sighted!
>> >
>> > Angela
>> >
>> >

From: Angela French
Date: Thu, Feb 04 2016 9:32AM
Subject: Re: Accesscibility of data visualizations
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Is there any commercially available software or SaaS that actually does this?

Angela French