Accessibility and Office DocumentsAccessibility and Office DocumentsThis is the ninth in a series of articles about accessibility and office documents. In this article we will discuss future trends in technology and their impact on office documents and accessibility.
Whether a Star Trekker or a devotee of the creative pursuits of Jules Verne, many people want to know what the future of technology will bring. Our economic future is clearly intertwined with the advancement of things technological and many people’s entire lives are now dictated by technology. We find devices of all types and sizes in nearly every activity of living from the gas station to the classroom, in our transportation systems, our entertainment systems, and our communications systems. And when it comes specifically to predictions of new technology and the workplace, the interest intensifies.
But before we plunge ahead into the future, we must recognize that not all workers are the same, or have the same abilities, skills or aptitudes. Some workers need various assistive technology devices and services for them to be able to effectively engage technology. So to fully appreciate this issue we need to begin with a better understanding of the concepts of usability and accessibility.
According to one the world’s leading usability consultants, Jakob Nielsen, usability "is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use." (Nielsen). He goes on to add, "The word 'usability' also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process." Simply put, usability is a measure of how well devices, services and systems can be used by all people.
Nielsen defines usability as having five quality components:
Accessibility, on the other hand, is a specific term used to describe the degree to which products and services can be used effectively by people with disabilities or different abilities. Accessibility is often viewed as the "ability to access the functionality, and possible benefit, of some system or entity" (Accessibility reference). In many cases, the need for accessibility is dictated by laws and policies. So the specific "measure" of accessibility may be part of the process.
The interrelationship between these terms, usability and accessibility has historically caused confusion with many believing they are equivalent. But this is not correct. While many accessible products and services may be highly usable, this is not always the case. However, a product or service that is defined as usable is, by definition, accessible. Thus, accessibility may be viewed as a subset, an attribute of usability.
Throughout this series of articles we have concentrated on office documents; however the terms usability and accessibility extend beyond simple document design and require the inclusion of an understanding of the user interface and the technology hardware itself. Therefore the issue of a person with a disability accessing content from a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or smart phone may be related to both accessibility and usability of the document (and software) as well as the hardware.
We really cannot talk about the office of the future without looking at the nature of the work setting, the various technologies that are used in work, and how they will be changing in the near future. The office of the future may not actually be an office and the "office equipment" people use to do work in the future may look and operate entirely differently from the things we have been most familiar with.
In our recent history we have seen dramatic changes in the way people work and the change appear to be accelerating each year. When we first heard the notion of "telecommuting" in the early 1970s, few of us would have predicted how widespread this would become in such a short period of time. Clearly the availability of relatively inexpensive and powerful office technology and high speed communications systems has made telecommuting a reality. According to Lurita Doan, Administrator for the General Services Administration of the U.S. Federal Government, it is the goal of the GSA to enable 50 percent of the eligible federal employees to telecommute one or more days per week by 2010 (Doan). With this as a benchmark, it is clear that the workplace, or perhaps better put, the work space of the future will be very different from what we have grown accustomed to.
The information and telecommunications industries have long been among those pushing the future button. With each successive advance in computer hardware and software design the nature of work has changed. The trends most noteworthy in this regard are the advances in the miniaturization of computer hardware and the related reduction in power requirement which has directly led to greater portability, mobility and ubiquity. Add to this the increased use of high-speed networks for communication and distributed computing, and you can better appreciate the volume and complexity of change.
From the perspective of usability and accessibility, the most important consideration is within the nature of the Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) and specifically how people will engage technology in the future. It is fair to say that the trend toward smaller and more personal devices has accessibility specialists concerned.
Up until recently, most accessibility experts concentrated their efforts on making content that was designed to be displayed on traditional computer monitors the priority. However, as new display technologies are developed and as computational and communications devices to host and present digital content continue to evolve, the challenges to accessibility are increasing.
Several years ago I jokingly referred to the time when soon we would be "viewing our web pages on our toasters." But that time has perhaps already come as you can now purchase something called an "net refrigerator" (New York Times ) which not only keeps your food cold but can display stock quotes and baseball scores on a built-in display on the front door.
In reality, the changing nature of technology with its smaller, more-portable devices that can access the internet, handle various forms of communication and even control other devices will radically change the way we work. These changes will also challenge us to ensure all workers have equal access. The W3C reports that there are now more browsers on (cell) phones than on desktops. Sadly, the vast majority of these new devices present content that is not accessible to some users.
In January 2007, Apple Computer introduced the world to the iPhone. While not the first of the proverbial "smart phones," the iPhone quickly captured the attention and imagination of people around the globe. Apple has reportedly sold over 4 million of these units worldwide in the first year and has almost overnight changed the nature of cellular telephony. However, despite Apple assurances of accessibility (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template [PDF] - VPAT), the iPhone is not accessible to many users particularly those with blindness and visual impairments.
So as not to single out the iPhone specifically, many of these new technologies raise similar concern and as they new quickly become the norm in the office, we should expect new hurdles being created for those with disabilities.
As we have described in previous articles, the nature of what can now be considered an office document has also changed in recent years. Workers are no longer limited to simply documents typed on plain white paper and mailed or filed. Now workers can communicate and exchange ideas in writing, graphic, audio or video form and transmit this information instantaneously anywhere in the world at any time, 24-7. During live video conferences, workers can exchange ideas, information and content in real time through a variety of interfaces including text messages and file sharing. Some technologies such as interactive whiteboards, collaborative working tools that allow for the creative exchange and capture of ideas in both real and virtual environments, are being found increasingly in work and academic settings.
The products resulting from these interactions can probably not be considered documents in the real sense even though in some case they actually do result in tangible results. Output products may include textual or graphical materials as well as audio and video files. In some cases the products are "pure data" that can be "viewed" in a variety of devices and come separated from any presentational elements. The data can be cut and pasted or mixed with other data (sometimes referred to as "mashup") resulting in a new derivation.
Regardless, the outputs coming from these new work settings need to be available in formats that all workers can access and the displays and devices used in the production, transmission and recording of this information must be usable by all. Managers and those responsible for supervising these office environments need ensure that the "documents" AND the equipment are both accessible and usable.
Universal design is often defined as "The design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design." (Principles and About UD)
Originating in the world of architecture, the construct evolved out of a desire to build "barrier free" homes and buildings. Universal Design eventually encompassed all elements of building including layout, materials and fixtures. In recent years Universal Design has been applied to everything from web design to curriculum design.
The seven principles of Universal Design are:
As we consider the office (and office documents) of the future, with all of their various manifestations, we need to keep these principles of Universal Design in mind. In terms of physical space, the work setting needs to clearly be barrier free, but consideration needs to be taken that all "office equipment" that is supplied to workers also meet these criteria. And ultimately, all documents and products that result from the work accomplished must be fully accessible and usable by co-workers and other consumers. This may be one of the biggest challenges as we continue on a trek into the future, but it is one that we must not ignore.
Maine CITE provides additional resources that can help you with your goal of creating accessible documents. http://www.mainecite.org/awd/accdocs.html
John Brandt is a web designer and consultant who works with the Maine CITE Program in the area of accessibility and universal design. He may be reached at jeb@jebswebs.com
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