Taking a Holistic Approach to Accessibility Evaluation Beyond Standards Taking a Holistic Approach to Accessibility Evaluation

About the Presenter Rachael Bradley Montgomery Founder and Director, AccessibleCommunity.org 15+ years in usability and accessibility MS, Emerging Technology in Information Science – University of Illinois PhD, Human Computer Interaction in Information Science, University of Maryland Member of Accessibility Guidelines Working Group

AccessibleCommunity.org Charity run by volunteers Mission - To create an accessible community dedicated to: Spotlighting and learning from accessibility successes and challenges Educating individuals and organizations about virtual, physical, and cultural accessibility Connecting organizations who need accessibility help with interns and volunteers who can help Leveraging crowdsourcing to evaluate and share information about accessibility Providing a single entry point to help organizations evaluate and improve accessibility

Why Accessible? Legal Requirement 18% of the Population has a Disability One in three households includes a member with a disability Individuals with disabilities hold 200 billion in discretionary spending Universal Benefits and Potential Benefits Situational disabilities Aging Accidents

A Trip Around My Neighborhood A sidewalk where a fence has been built too close to a power pole making it inaccessible to wheelchairs A historic post office with a step required for entry A bank with electronic potpourri at the counter An after hours electronic book drop with no audio or braille labels Confusing signs Websites with very low contrast and no keyboard accessibility

Why Inaccessible? Cost Time Expertise Architecture Web development Disability and accommodations Standards and Guidelines Barriers to accessibility are more visible than benefits

Some Statistics on Smaller Organizations 99.63% of businesses have less than 100 employees 92.46% have less than 25 employees 59% of churches have less than 100 attendees 1.8 million IRS recognized charities exist http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html http://www.guidestar.org/NonprofitDirectory.aspx Day to day interactions are often with organizations with limited resources

How can we remove the barriers to becoming accessible?

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Most widely used green building rating system in the world Example: Sensitive land protection Possible: 1 point Option 1: Locate the development footprint on land that has been previously developed. Option 2: Locate the development footprint on land that does not meet the following criteria for sensitive land: Farmland, Flood Plains, Habitat, Water bodies, Wetlands

Checklist Portion of LEED V4 for BD&C Retail Location and Transportation   16 Credit LEED for Neighborhood Development Location Sensitive Land Protection 1 High Priority Site 2 Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses 5 Access to Quality Transit Bicycle Facilities Reduced Parking Footprint Green Vehicles Sustainable Sites 10 Y Prereq Construction Activity Pollution Prevention Required Site Assessment Site Development - Protect or Restore Habitat Open Space Rainwater Management 3 Heat Island Reduction Light Pollution Reduction Complete LEED v4 Building Design and Construction Checklist

Some Key Points about LEED Simple, understandable criteria that embrace tradeoffs Weighted based on environmental impact Buildings can qualify for four levels of certification: Certified: 40–49 points Silver: 50-59 points Gold: 60-79 points Platinum: 80 points and above

Can we learn from LEED to create a way to encourage and talk about accessibility?

Accessibility Frame Work Facilities ADA Facility Checklist Universal Design Best Practices Web WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1 (when complete) Mobile WCAG 2.1 (when complete) BBC (and other) mobile best practices Kiosks Section 508 1194.25 Audio, Video, Multimedia Content WCAG 2.0 Policies and Practices Best practices from groups which support people with disabilities Work by Susan Bruyere for large organizations ADA Lessons learned from organizations Small/Medium Organizations and Large Organizations Evaluate Differently

Steps to Reducing Barriers in Improving Accessibility Provide Web Tool Lessons Learned (Interviews) User Ratings Refine Through User Testing and Feedback Recommend Alternatives Refine Weighting Scale Certifications Based on Scores Automated Tools Provide Certifications Based on Scores Framework We are here

Volunteer If you would like to volunteer… Try the tool out when it is live Suggest a successful organization to interview Provide comments and feedback Volunteer your time …Let us know Email rachael@accessiblecommunity.org Contact Us on accessiblecommunity.org

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?