Re: User Interface Context

Gregg,

I'm still digesting & thinking through this proposed definition.  So far 
though just reading the proposed definition, I've got several concerns:

 1. I'm very worried that the definition will be difficult for a broad
    cross-section of folks to apply consistently to the same UIs (e.g.
    given x different applications, will y different people all agree on
    what the UI Contexts are in all x apps?).

 2. Looking at Note 4, the dependent clause "because additional
    information and user interface elements are just added to the
    previously existing content" concerns me.  A non-modal dialog box is
    a concrete example, but what about switching tabs in a tabbed
    panel?  Expanding/collapsing tree nodes?  Are these all different UI
    contexts?  See item #1 above - will y different people looking at x
    different situations in which UI components are added (or removed),
    will they all agree on when this addition (or subtraction)
    constitutes a new UI context vs. the same one as before?

 3. Note 6 says that "standard ribbons" aren't UI contexts.  It is
    common for these to be "tear off" ribbons that will thus convert to
    floating windows.  Is a floating window part of the UI context or
    not?  Is switching from "attached" to "floating" a UI context
    change? (see items #2 and #1 above - will y different people agree
    on this in x different situations?)  Note: in some cases the
    keyboard operation of these ribbons - whether attached or torn off -
    is unchanged.

    Note: the very fact that I have to ask these questions and am not
    clear on the answers is an indication that the text as proposed
    isn't ready to be unleashed on tens of thousands of engineers &
    procurement officers to hopefully all interpret the same way in all
    situations.  I think it would be very interesting to take a series
    of "edge case" screen shots, and give this definition (or any
    proposed successor) and those screen shots to a handful of folks,
    and see the extent to which they agree on what the UI contexts are.

I haven't yet had the time to try to apply them to all of the provisions 
and "feel out they taste".  But particularly as you are proposing a 
single term substitution globally, you should also expand the list of 
"web page" and "set of web pages" SCs to include the AAA ones as well.



Regards,

Peter


On 7/11/2012 5:53 PM, Bailey, Bruce wrote:
>
> I am still in favor of trying to use a somewhat longer phrase (where 
> the individual words have their common meaning) rather define a new 
> term. Something like “within the context of the user interface” 
> instead of “on a web page”.
>
> I would also point that the proposed new definition starts off with 
> “set of...” and it is being proposed that “user interface 
> contexts” can be straight substitute for “web pages”.  But we have a 
> few criteria that refer to “within a set of Web pages” that expands to 
> a set of a set! While that may be mathematically okay, I think it is a 
> mess semantically.
>
> As an example, here is 3.2.3 using the proposed new term:
>
> Navigational mechanisms that are repeated on multiple User Interface 
> Contexts within a set of User Interface Contexts occur in the same 
> relative order each time they are repeated, unless a change is 
> initiated by the user.
>
> Follows 3.2.3 using the same words but avoiding the new term per se:
>
> Navigational mechanisms that are repeated in the user interface within 
> the context of a set of user interfaces occur in the same relative 
> order each time they are repeated, unless a change is initiated by the 
> user.
>
> Follows is success criterion 3.2.3 with the proposed /definition /for 
> “User Interface Contexts” substituted for “Web pages”:
>
> Navigational mechanisms that are repeated on multiple sets of user 
> interface elements and the presented information within a product that 
> are available to a user at any point in time, where the sets are 
> limited to only those that can be reached using navigation commands 
> within the product, and without using any activation commands within a 
> set of sets of user interface elements and the presented information 
> within a product that are available to a user at any point in time, 
> where the sets are limited to only those that can be reached using 
> navigation commands within the product, and without using any 
> activation commands occur in the same relative order each time they 
> are repeated, unless a change is initiated by the user.
>
> In short, unless we look at the results of the SC with the definition 
> substituted in, I think we are likely to overlook problems with 
> inventing a new term.
>

-- 
Oracle <http://www.oracle.com>
Peter Korn | Accessibility Principal
Phone: +1 650 5069522 <tel:+1%20650%205069522>
500 Oracle Parkway | Redwood City, CA 94065
Green Oracle <http://www.oracle.com/commitment> Oracle is committed to 
developing practices and products that help protect the environment