In the ways I monitor accessibility, it is clear that there is a greater awareness of the topic and more effort being put into making technology accessible. This is good.
Yet, the vast majority of accessibility policies still fail at what for me is one of the most fundamental needs. Specifically what is a user supposed to do when an accessibility issue is encountered?
I’m using the term “accessibility policy” here as a broad definition. It is more than just the words and phrases that appear in some document posted on a web site or other location. In theory those are just the outward signs of a range of processes and more that lead to an organization being able to actually have an accessibility policy.
I recognize that definition can be a stretch. In fact, often the reason for the failure I describe here is because the “accessibility policy” is just words and not something embedded throughout the organization.
Far too often, if a policy tells a user what to do, those instructions are geared toward how to report an issue. While this is obviously helpful, it does nothing to solve the user’s immediate need. You are asking the user to invest time in reporting an issue at the very time that user is likely the most frustrated with an experience you have created.
For me, a robust accessibility policy will go beyond this. The policy should not simply ask the user for information. It should offer an alternative way, when at all possible, for the user to get the information or task completed they were attempting when they hit the barrier.
One of my favorite questions, even today, is still why? Why are you posting your accessibility policy for example? Is it to comply with a government regulation, to provide users with information or what?
Similarly, as a user, why do I look for accessibility policies? In my case it is typically to find how I should report issues but also to see if the organization has some alternative way of task completion when I hit a barrier. It can also serve as a reflection of the organization’s overall philosophy on accessibility.
As much as I wish the frequency of accessibility issues I encounter was reduced, I’m realistic enough to know that’s not likely any time soon. I can come to grips with that at some level but not the leading a user with no alternative. That is where organizations should look within and recognize accessibility issues are going to happen and users need to be given paths to success when they do.
Comments