ISO/IEC JTC 1 Special Working Group on Accessibility

ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 Develop, maintain, promote and facilitate IT standards required by global markets meeting business and user requirements. 17 Subcommittees, 3 SWGs 28 P Members (National Bodies) 155 Publications in ISO and IEC Liaisons 22 External Liaisons IT Integration a key role

SWG - Accessibility October 2004 ISO/IEC JTC 1 Resolution. Gather user needs (direct participation, workshops, liaisons). Inventory all known accessibility standards efforts. Identify where voluntary standards efforts are not addressed. Track laws, policies, guidelines. Encourage the use of globally relevant voluntary standards.

Open Membership ISO/IEC JTC 1 National Bodies and Liaisons ISO, IEC or ITU-T committees with accessibility activities Regional standard and support organizations Representatives of consortia/fora Consumer Organizations and User Representatives

Meetings to Date SWG – A Meeting Sheffield, UK – April 2005 Task Group Sessions Toronto, Canada – July 2005 SWG – A Meeting Tokyo, Japan – August 2005 SWG – A Meeting Los Angeles, California – March 2006 Held in conjunction with California State University, Northridge Center on Disabilities' 21st Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference (CSUN)

Task Group 2 – Inventory/Gap Analysis Survey form to request assistance from accessibility standards Editors. Used IT Hardware as first domain. Identified 88 existing IT hardware accessibility standards. Gathering information on standards for software, communications (user interface), public access terminals, consumer electronics.

Task Group 1 – User Needs Develop User Outreach Plan. Essential to have direct, varied user input. User Needs Summary developed. Functional expectations plotted to user needs with cross references to Guide 71.

Example: Perceive status of controls and indicators Note: content for demonstration only – document far more complete Some need an auditory or tactile equivalent to any visual indicators or operational cues, man-made or natural Alternatives to visual information Some need a visual or tactile indicator for any auditory indicators or operational cues, designed (e.g. beeps, lights) or intrinsic (e.g. machine sounds, visual movements) Alternatives to auditory information Some need visual or auditory alternative to any subtle tactile feedback Status of controls Some need visual indicators (e.g. LEDs, on screen indicators, mouse cursors) to be visible with low vision. 8.6 Size and style of font and symbols in information, warnings and labelling of controls Some need to have controls and indicators perceivable without relying on color Colour coding of information

Yet to Do Determine user requirements that are not being met by an existing standard. Disseminate the information widely Increase the value of the information. Ensure that voluntary, international standards responsibly address all accessibility needs.

Contact Information Next meeting – 18 – 22 September 2006 CEN/ISSS Host in Brussels, Belgium all documents are available all participants welcome all feedback appreciated