Conformance Evaluation Process / Multimedia

Hi all,

Thank you Jan for your good work on images. This was a jump start for 
me and multimedia.
The following stuff is also online at 
http://www.mprove.de/script/00/wai/multimedia.html


Accessibility Guidelines for Authoring Tools: Conformance Evaluation Process
version 1.0d1 less than a draft, 9-5-2000
Matthias Müller-Prove <mprove@adobe.com>
W3C WAI Authoring Tools Guidelines Working Group (WAI/AU)

Nearly 100% is leveraged from Jan Richards part on images. A more 
precice view is needed to suit this outline to the special needs of 
multimedia content.

Part ##: Multimedia

Definition: Equivalent Alternatives (EA)
        An equivalent alternative (EA) is content that fulfills 
essentially the same function or purpose upon presentation to the 
user as the potentially
        inaccessible primary content. EAs play an important role in 
accessible authoring practices since certain types of content may not 
be accessible
        to all users (e.g., video, images, audio, etc.). For more 
information, see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 1.0.

This document will refer to three priorities (1, 2 and 3) of EAs 
according to the priority assigned to it by the WCAG 1.0 
recommendation. If a
priority is not specified then all priority levels are assumed. The 
following is a list of EAs followed by their priority and the 
relevant WCAG
checkpoint that assigned the priority.

Scope of this part

What is ³multimedia² content?

some quotes from WCAG 1.0:

        These guidelines do not discourage content developers from 
using images, video, etc., but rather explain how to make multimedia 
content
        more accessible to a wide audience.
        While Web content developers must provide text equivalents for 
images and other multimedia content, (Š)
        An auditory description of a multimedia presentation's visual 
track benefits people who cannot see the visual information.
        The Techniques Document discusses each checkpoint in more 
detail and provides examples using the Hypertext Markup Language 
(HTML),
        Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Synchronized Multimedia 
Integration Language (SMIL), and the Mathematical Markup Language 
(MathML).
        WCAG Checkpoint 1.3 Until user agents can automatically read 
aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory 
description
        of the important information of the visual track of a 
multimedia presentation. [Priority 1]
        WCAG Checkpoint 1.4 For any time-based multimedia presentation 
(e.g., a movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives 
(e.g.,
        captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with 
the presentation. [Priority 1]

List by MIME types

Mime type application/

        smil
        x-shockwave-flash

Mime tyoe audio/

        basic
        midi
        wav
        x-aiff
        x-mpeg
        x-pn-realaudio

Mime type image/

        gif, in case it is an animated image
        svg-xml

Mime type video/

        avi
        mpeg
        quicktime
        x-ms-asf

Mime type x-world/

        x-3dmf

Open issues

Are applets being considered as multimedia?

The Process

Start: Step 1 and 2 will help you determine which multimedia-related 
questions to answer about your tool. If you answer YES to both Step 1 
AND
Step 2 then you must complete both sections. If you answer no to both 
then, you can skip Part 1 of the evaluation.

Step 1: Does the tool allow users to insert multimedia elements into 
a markup document (Web authoring tool, word processessor)?

        YES: Then the tool is a "Markup Editor". Go to step 3 and 
complete Section A.

Step 2: Does the tool allow users to create or edit multimedia 
content (animation program)?

        YES: Then the tool is an "Multimedia Editor". Go to step 34 
and complete Section B.

Section A (Tool is a Markup Editor)

Priority 1: Required for all levels of conformance (i.e. A, Doubke-A, Triple-A)

Step 3: Is it possible to add the Equivalent Alternatives (EAs) for 
multimedia using the tool (includes typing them manually)? (1.1)

Step 4: Does the tool preserve the values of the EAs during 
re-saving, reformatting, etc.? (1.2)

Step 5: Are meaningful Priority 1 EAs included when multimedia 
content is part of markup generated by the tool (ex. wizard)? (1.3)

Step 6: Are Priority 1 EAs included for multimedia content that 
appears as part of templates included with the distribution of the 
tool (ex. a photo
album template)? (1.4)

Step 7: Does the tool automatically generate valid markup with regard 
to multimedia content (ex. is the required ALT attribute present for 
all
HTML4 IMG elements)? (2.2)

Step 8: Does the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify the user of 
the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying 
the situation) for the
addition of Priority 1 EAs when an multimedia content is inserted? (3.1)

Step 9: Does any multimedia content (ex. clipart, etc.) that is 
included with the distibution of the tool include pre-written 
Priority 1 EAs? (3.3)

Step 10: Does the tool automatically generate EAs based on the file 
name, size or other information that is not necessarily related to 
the content or
function of the multimedia content.? (3.4)

Step 11: Does the tool resuse previously authored EAs without author 
confirmation when the function is not known with certainty (ex. the 
tool
automatically uses the same ALT value for two copies of the same 
multimedia content that is linked to different locations)? (3.4)

Step 12: Does the tool check for and notify the author when Priority 
1 EAs for multimedia content is absent? (4.1)

Step 13: Does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 1 EAs for 
multimedia content when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Step 14: Does the tool allow the author to edit all properties 
(attributes, styles, etc.) of multimedia content-related elements in 
an accessible fashion
(i.e. using the keyboard)? (7.3)

Priority 2: Required for level Double-A and Triple-A conformance

Step 15: Are meaningful Priority 2 EAs included when multimedia 
content is part of markup generated by the tool (ex. wizard)? (1.3)

Step 16: Are Priority 2 EAs included for multimedia content that 
appear as part of templates included with the distribution of the 
tool (ex. a photo
album template)? (1.4)

Step 17: Does the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify the user of 
the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying 
the situation) for the
addition of Priority 2 EAs when multimedia content is inserted? (3.1)

Step 18: Does any multimedia content (ex. clipart, etc.) that are 
included with the distibution of the tool include pre-written 
Priority 2 EAs? (3.3)

Step 19: Does the tool support the latest version of all the markup 
languages it can be used to produce? (2.1)

Step 20: Does the tool support the PNG format for inserting raster 
images and the SVG format for inserting vector graphics? (2.1)

Step 21: Does the tool check for and notify the author when Priority 
2 EAs for multimedia content is absent? (4.1)

Step 22: Does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 2 EAs for 
multimedia content when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Step 23: Does the tool allow unrecognized markup to be preserved 
through the editing and re-saving process (ex. will the LONGDESC 
attribute
of IMG be preserved if the tool does not support LONGDESC)? ( 4.3)

Step 24: Does functionality for adding and editing the EAs for 
multimedia content appear well integrated with the overall look and 
feel of the tool
(ex. included within standard multimedia content insertion and 
properties dialogs)? (5.1)

Step 25: Does the documentation regarding the EAs for multimedia 
content appear well integrated with the rest of the documentation 
(used in
examples throughout, not confined to a separate section)? (6.2)

Priority 3: Only required for level Triple-A conformance

Step 26: Are meaningful Priority 3 EAs included when multimedia 
content is part of markup generated by the tool (ex. wizard)? (1.3)

Step 27: Are Priority 3 EAs included for multimedia content that 
appear as part of templates included with the distribution of the 
tool (ex. a video
album template)? (1.4)

Step 28: Does the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify the user of 
the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying 
the situation) for the
addition of Priority 3 EAs when an multimedia content is inserted? (3.1)

Step 29: Does any multimedia content (ex. media clipart, etc.) that 
are included with the distibution of the tool include pre-written 
Priority 3 EAs?
(3.3)

Step 30: If the multimedia content-related output of the tool does 
not conform to W3C specifications (ex. improper use of IMG element in 
HTML4),
does the tool notify the author? (2.3)

Step 31: Does the tool include the ability to search and reuse or 
otherwise manage the EAs of multimedia content? (3.5)

Step 32: Does the tool check for and notify the author when Priority 
3 EAs for multimedia content is absent? (4.1)

Step 33: Does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 3 EAs for 
multimedia content when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Section B (Tool is an Multimedia Editor)

Priority 1: Required for all levels of conformance (i.e. A, Double-A, Triple-A)

Step 34: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks (i.e. SVG, QuickTime, Flash), is it possible to use the tool 
to add Equivalent
Alternatives (EAs) to the text tracks? (1.1)

Step 35: Is it possible to use the tool to author Equivalent 
Alternatives (EAs) for the multimedia content that can be stored in 
separate files (ex.
short (ALT) and long (LONGDESC) descriptive text files)? (1.1)

Step 36: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks, are the text track values preserved during re-saving, 
conversion to
another format that includes text tracks, etc.? (1.2)

Step 37: If the tool supports separate descriptive files for 
multimedia content, are those files preserved during re-saving or 
conversion to another
format, etc.? (1.2)

Step 38: Does the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify the user of 
the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying 
the situation) for the
addition of separate or text track Priority 1 EAs at some point 
during the creation of multimedia content (ex. after a successful 
save)? (3.1)

Step 39: Does the multimedia content (ex. video clipart, etc.) 
included in the tool's distibution packages include pre-written 
Priority 1 EAs stored in
their text tracks or as separate descriptive files? (3.3)

Step 40: Does the tool automatically generate EAs based on the file 
name, size or other information that is not necessarily related to 
the content or
function of the multimedia content? (3.4)

Step 41: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks, does the tool check for and notify the author when Priority 1 
EAs are
absent from this track? (4.1)

Step 42: Does the tool check for and notify the author when separate 
descriptive files storing the Priority 1 EAs for multimedia content 
are absent?
(4.1)

Step 43: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks, does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 1 EAs when 
they are
found to be absent? (4.2)

Step 44: Does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 1 EAs to 
separate descriptive files when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Step 45: Does the tool allow the author to edit all properties 
(colour, size, transparency, etc.) of the multimedia content in an 
accessible fashion (i.e.
using the keyboard)? (7.3)

Priority 2: Required for level Double-A and Triple-A conformance

Step 46: If the tool is intended to produce raster images, does the 
tool support the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format? (2.1)

Step 47: If the tool is intended to produce vector graphics, does the 
tool support the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format? (2.1)

Step 48: Does the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify the user of 
the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying 
the situation) for the
addition of separate or text track Priority 2 EAs at some point 
during the creation of multimedia content (ex. after a successful 
save)? (3.1)

Step 49: Does the multimedia content (ex. media clipart, etc.) 
included in the tool's distibution packages include pre-written 
Priority 2 EAs stored in
their text tracks or as separate descriptive files? (3.3)

Step 50: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks, does the tool check for and notify the author when Priority 2 
EAs are
absent from this track? (4.1)

Step 51: Does the tool check for and notify the author when separate 
descriptive files storing the Priority 2 EAs for the multimedia 
content are
absent? (4.1)

Step 52: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks, does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 2 EAs when 
they are
found to be absent? (4.2)

Step 53: Does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 2 EAs to 
separate descriptive files when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Step 54: Does functionality for adding and editing the EAs stored in 
separate descriptive files or text tracks appear well integrated with 
the overall
look and feel of the tool? (5.1)

Step 55: Does the documentation regarding the adding and editing the 
EAs stored in separate descriptive files or text track appear well 
integrated
with the rest of the documentation (used in examples throughout, not 
confined to a separate section)? (6.2)

Priority 3: Only required for level Triple-A conformance

Step 56: If the tool produces a raster image in a format besides PNG, 
does the tool inform the author? (2.3)

Step 57: If the tool produces a vector graphic image in a format 
besides SVG, does the tool inform the author? (2.3)

Step 58: Does the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify the user of 
the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying 
the situation) for the
addition of separate or text track Priority 3 EAs at some point 
during the creation of multimedia content (ex. after a successful 
save)? (3.1)

Step 59: Does the multimedia content (ex. video clipart, etc.) 
included in the tool's distibution packages include pre-written 
Priority 3 EAs stored in
their text tracks or as separate descriptive files? (3.3)

Step 60: Does the tool include the ability to search and reuse or 
otherwise manage the EAs stored in separate descriptive files or text 
track? (3.5)

Step 61: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks, does the tool check for and notify the author when Priority 3 
EAs are
absent from this track? (4.1)

Step 62: Does the tool check for and notify the author when separate 
descriptive files storing the Priority 3 EAs for multimedia content 
are absent?
(4.1)

Step 63: If the tool supports multimedia content formats with text 
tracks, does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 3 EAs when 
they are
found to be absent? (4.2)

Step 64: Does the tool assist the author in adding Priority 3 EAs to 
separate descriptive files when they are found to be absent? (4.2)


Matthias Müller-Prove: www.mprove.de <mprove@acm.org>
Modified: 9/5/00
-- 

------------------------------------------------------------------
Matthias Mueller-Prove       http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/
  UI & Software Design           mprove@adobe.com  mprove@acm.org
    Adobe - Hamburg

Received on Tuesday, 5 September 2000 14:22:46 UTC