Description changed:
Accessibility and Usability is becoming more prevalent in a an increasingly competitive world. Customers don't tolerate having to "make do" they want to use software that they can interact with the way the physical world works for them.
Accessibility is becoming more important because:
*We have an aging population, more and more of our users need applications designed for their needs. In 2016 it was stated the EU has 80 million people with a disability, by 2020 this is likely to grow to 120 million.
*From 2009 to 2014, mobile screen reader usage increased from 12% to 82%, a huge increase in just five years. There is a lot of talk about optimizing content for mobile and providing the best user experience possible as mobile device usage increases. The same holds true for mobile accessibility.
*The Equalities Act has required reasonable adjustments to websites for people with disabilities since 2010. The EU Web Accessibility Directive will make this much more stringent for the public sector and will for the first time in UK law specify what technical compliance looks like. Unsurprisingly it looks like Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0.
* https://siteimprove.com/en-gb/blog/why-web-accessibility-should-be-a-priority-now-3-stats-to-prove-it/
Synopsis
In this talk Kevin will give a short introduction into why we need to test for accessibility, a deconstruction of WCAG and finally some quick checks that can be used to test for some key accessibility issues.
The practical session will allow you to explore how to use these checks and what to look for, as well as affording you to discuss other aspects of accessibility of interest.
Kevin White is Head of User Centred Design at the Scottish Government and has been looking at Accessibility for over 12 years.
Plan of Attack
18:00 Doors open + Pizza
18:45 Kick off - Kevin White
19:15 Activity
20:00 Pub