design flexibility in WCAG 2 (was EOWG for review: Benefits of WCAG 2.0 slides)

Hi Shawn, all,

Not sure if this has been discussed yet: sometimes when talking to Web 
developers, the "design flexibility" aspect becomes quite important and 
I'm not sure that the slides address this sufficiently.

First, the point in slide 21 "More design flexibility" is unclear (the 
notes do not clarify what the intention is). Also, all listed examples 
are quite similar and may not be as convincing for some developers who 
do not use moving, blinking, or flashing content.

There are several other examples on a Success Criteria level that show 
the flexibility of WCAG 2. For instance "An alternative for time-based 
media or audio description of the prerecorded video content is provided 
for synchronized media" (SC 1.2.3) demonstrates design options.

In other Success Criteria there are specific situations listed, or the 
requirements have been separated into different Success Criteria (such 
as the criteria for pre-recorded vs. live multimedia that are provided 
in different Conformance Levels). This all demonstrates flexibility.

However, more important for developers is often the flexibility on the 
techniques level. Often designers can select between different types of 
techniques to address an accessibility requirement. This flexibility is 
a significant benefit of WCAG 2 that deserves more focus (there is some 
mention of this in slide 15 but it does not come over clearly IMO).

So, to summarize my comments:

#1. the notes in slide 21 are unclear (need to make the point clearer)
#2. consider using other examples for slide 21 (or an additional slide)
#3. consider adding a slide about flexibility of the "Success Criteria 
<-> Techniques" framework, and that different options are provided


Best,
   Shadi


Shawn Henry wrote:
> EOWG,
> 
> I have updated the "Benefits of WCAG 2.0" slides based on feedback from 
> today's teleconference[1]. See 
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/slides/WCAG2_benefits-new.ppt
> 
> (For those who didn't see today's agenda: changes from the previous 
> version are indicated in the Notes with ++changed.)
> 
> These slides are now done, except for slide 8. Sharron will be updating 
> the HTML version next week. Therefore, if you have any comments, it 
> would be nice to send them *by Wednesday 24 June*. Remember to send 
> copyedits and things that do not require EOWG review to 
> wai-eo-editors@w3.org
> 
> Notes on image alt:[2]
> - The decorative images have no/null alt in both the ppt and the html. 
> They are noted in the Notes section.
> - The logos have appropriate alt text.
> - The color contrast screen capture's alt is "(screen capture described 
> in Notes section)".
> - The screen capture of the Quick Reference has no alt; "Quick Reference 
> screen shot" is the heading of the slide (which is not displayed); and 
> there is a detailed description of the image at the bottom of the Notes. 
> This provides a detailed description without interrupting the flow on 
> the slide text and main notes.
> - Slide 15 (Techniques document) & 27 (Understanding document) have text 
> in an image (because it matches the images used elsewhere, such as 
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag20). Currently they have no alt, and are 
> described in detail at the bottom of the Notes. Putting the description 
> there lets us use formatting such as bullets and italics, which would 
> not be available in alt.
> 
> Comments welcome on this approach to alt for these images.
> 
> Thanks,
> ~Shawn
> 
> 
> [1] Changes on Friday 19 June:
> 
> * updated the alt for images
> 
> * moved the note to presenters about reading the slide text from slide 4 
> to slide 2
> 
> * added to the slide "Cooperation with other [@@standards and policies]":
> Note to presenters: If there are policies that reference WCAG 2.0 or 
> directly relate to WCAG 2.0 in the organization, country, or other area 
> related to your audience, consider listing those on the slide and 
> mentioning the relationship. To find out about local policies, you can:
> - search in Policies Relating to Web Accessibility 
> <http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/>
> - send an email to the WAI Interest Group (IG) mailing list 
> <http://www.w3.org/WAI/IG/#mailinglist>
> 
> * added to the slide "Authorized Translations":
> Note to presenters: If there are WCAG 2.0 translations in the languages 
> of your audience, consider including the link to the translation(s) in 
> the slide.
> 
> [2] Instructions for adding alt to images is in the ppt Help... however, 
> I didn't figure out how to do it without the mouse. :(
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Shadi Abou-Zahra - http://www.w3.org/People/shadi/ |
   WAI International Program Office Activity Lead   |
  W3C Evaluation & Repair Tools Working Group Chair |

Received on Tuesday, 23 June 2009 09:58:48 UTC