Technology

Software Accessibility - the poor relation?

Summary: With the high profile of web accessibility are people forgetting the importance of software accessibility?

• Introduction
• What are software companies doing?
• What does the law say?
• What can we do?
• More information

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By Ruth Loebl, Senior ICT Development Officer, RNIB

Introduction

If someone says “accessibility”, it’s easy to assume they mean “web accessibility”. This is partly because of the high media profile and campaigning in this area, but also because it is now generally accepted that failing to make a website accessible is not good business practice, and could even be unlawful. But doesn’t the same principle apply to software? How can we bring software accessibility up to the standard of web accessibility?

What are software companies doing?

The uncomfortable fact is that unlike web developers, most software companies don’t know or care what accessibility is or how to achieve it. Accessibility is still perceived to be an unnecessary cost, rather than a sales opportunity.

What does the law say?

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in the UK states that disabled people must not be treated less favourably than non-disabled people, in employment and in the provision of goods and services. Disabled people must be able to buy goods without being discriminated against, but the law says nothing about the accessibility of the goods themselves. In employment, the law says that “reasonable adjustments” must be made, but until recently, there was no obligation to consider accessibility prior to purchase.

The recent revision to the DDA has introduced an important new regulation: the Public Sector Duty to promote disability equality. Government employers and service providers will in future have to consider accessibility when they specify and buy IT. In the US, this type of legislation has made a big difference, because software developers have had to make their products accessible or face losing business in the largest IT market in the world.

What can we do?

Software accessibility has an impact on the systems that blind and partially sighted people use for their jobs, for learning and at home. Our job is to motivate software developers in the direction of accessibility using a business case, rather than any moral arguments. We need to educate, inform and influence developers so that they realise:

• Inclusive design for people with disabilities results in good design for everyone, and makes products easier to use and increases overall sales.
• Accessibility standards now apply in UK government purchasing, and improved software accessibility will win public sector contracts.
• Expert advice and consultancy is available to help them improve their products – they don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

To give you a good example of how this can work, one software developer in the UK that sells almost exclusively to government now sells one of the most accessible products in the market – because its customers persuaded them to work with RNIB to improve their product. It now holds a unique advantage over its less accessible competitors.

More information

RNIB Accessibility Consultancy telephone 01733 375345 or email.

This article was first published in NB Magazine September 2005.

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Content author: technology@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 06/03/2008 15:41