One
thousand websites will be investigated for their ability to be
accessed by Britain's 8.5 million disabled people in the
Disability Rights Commission's (DRC) first Formal Investigation,
it was announced March 27, 2003.
A key aim of the investigation will be to identify recurrent
barriers to web access and to help site owners and developers
recognise and avoid them.
The investigation will break new ground in its breadth and
depth. 1,000 web sites spanning the public and private sectors
will be tested for basic compliance with recognised industry
accessibility standards. In addition, 50 people with various
disabilities will be involved in in-depth testing of a
representative sample of these sites for practical usability. This
work will help clarify the relationship between a site's
compliance with standards and its practical usability for disabled
people.
The Disability Rights Commission is empowered by the Disability
Rights Commission Act 1999 to instigate formal investigations
aimed at eliminating discrimination and encouraging good practice
in the treatment of disabled people.
The Formal Investigation into website accessibility for people
with disabilities in England, Scotland and Wales 2003 will,
through the examination of representative sample sites, include
the following:
- A systematic
evaluation of the extent to which the current design of websites
accessed via the Internet facilitates or hinders use by disabled
people in England, Scotland and Wales;
- An analysis of
the reasons for any recurrent barriers identified by the
evaluation, including a provisional assessment of any technical
and commercial considerations which are presently discouraging
inclusive design;
- Recommendations
for further work, which will contribute towards enabling
disabled people to enjoy full access to, and use of, the Web.
The research supporting this Formal Investigation will be
conducted in collaboration with a team from the Centre for Human
Computer Interaction Design at City University London, led by
Professor Helen Petrie. The findings of the DRC's investigation
are expected by the end of this year.
The commercial benefits of an accessible site and the DRC
investigation suggest that all firms should develop standards and
procedures for ensuring accessible sites. Different people have
different difficulties such as reading small print or certain
fonts, problems with or even inability to position a mouse
accurately, distinguishing print from the background, and absolute
blindness. Websites can be made accessible to all these
disabilities but it requires thought and planning.
If you are considering making your site accessible, The
Usability Company works together with the RNIB to offer a fast
track service for companies wishing to acquire the RNIB's See It
Right website accessibility logo. The See It Right Logo is the
only independent evaluation of website accessibility and through
this new relationship, we will manage the award process to RNIB's
exacting standards. The process can be completed in approximately
two months.
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