Action item: Proposed wording for Guideline 3.4

During the Feb. 11 call, I took an action item to propose wording for
Guideline 3.4. My goals were (1) to propose testable success criteria
for consistent layout and predictable behavior of interactive components
and (2) to propose Level 1 success criteria. In addition, (3) I wanted
to continue my previous work on the "plain language" rewrite, which had
gotten only as far as Guideline 3.3. I have not addressed the
informative Benefits and Examples sections.  The current wording from
the February 14 internal working draft appears after the end of the
proposed wording.


Begin proposed wording for Guideline 3.4


3.4 Use layouts that are consistent and make interactive components act
in predictable ways.


Success criteria for Level 1


1.    Components that are repeated on multiple pages, such as navigation
bars and sections within the main content, occur in the same order in
the source document for each page where they appear.

2.    Related links and form controls are placed in groups that can be
identified by assistive technology.

3.    Any extreme change of context such as an automatic redirect or a
link that opens a new browser window are implemented in a manner that
can be recognized by assistive technology.


Success criteria for Level 2


1.    Components that appear visually on multiple pages, such as
navigation bars, search forms, and sections within the main content, are
displayed in the same location relative to other content on every page
where they appear.

2.    Related links are grouped together visually, for example in
navigation bars.

3.    Related form controls are grouped together visually, for example
in visually distinct sections of a form.

4.    Link text (including alt text for graphical links) and/or graphic
design clearly identifies the target of each link. 

5.    Graphical components that appear on multiple pages, including
graphical links, are associated with the same text equivalents wherever
they appear.

6.    Interactive elements that appear on multiple pages, including
graphical elements, are associated with the same functionality wherever
they appear.

7.    Link text, including alt text for graphical links, includes words
or phrases that occur in the title element of destination pages.

8.    Explicit notice is given in advance of any extreme change of
context such as an automatic redirect or a link that opens a new browser
window.

9.    Except for submit buttons, form controls, options within form
controls, and menu items that are part of page content can be selected
without causing submission of the form.

 


Success Criteria for Level 3


1.    When components such as navigation bars and search forms appear on
multiple pages, users can choose to have those elements presented in a
different visual position or reading-order.

2.    There are no extreme changes of context such as automatic
redirects or automatically appearing pop-up windows.


End proposed wording for Guideline 3.4 and Success Criteria for Levels
1-3.


 


Begin current wording and proposals from the February 14 Internal
WOrkign Draft


Guideline 3.4 Use consistent layout and make the behavior of interactive
elements predictable -- OR -- Make layout and behavior of content
consistent and/or

predictable [level 2 guideline]

[end proposed]

[begin current]

 

Layout and behavior of content is consistent or predictable, but not
identical.

[end current]

 

Level 1 Success Criteria for Guideline 3.4

List of 1 items

1. No level 1 success criteria for this guideline

list end

 

Level 2 Success Criteria for Guideline 3.4

List of 3 items (contains 1 nested list)

1. key orientation and navigational elements (such as navigation bars)
are generally found in one or two consistent locations or their
locations are otherwise

predictable. [Y]

 

Editorial Note: NRT (5 Nov 2003): "key", "generally", and "predictable"
are not testable. (

Untestable Success Criteria)

2. where inconsistent or unpredictable responses are essential to the
function of the content (e.g. mystery games, adventure games, tests,
etc.) the user

is warned in advance of encountering them. [Y]

 

Editorial Note: NRT (5 Nov 2003): "inconsistent" and "unpredictable" are
not testable. (

Untestable Success Criteria)

3. wherever there are

extreme changes in context,

one of the following is true: [Y]

List of 2 items nesting level 1

A. an easy to find setting, that persists for the site visit, is
provided for the user to deactivate processes or features that cause
extreme changes in

context or

B. extreme changes in context are identified before they occur so the
user can determine if they wish to proceed or so they can be prepared
for the change

list end nesting level 1

 

Editorial Note: NRT (5 Nov 2003): Might be able to make this testable if
we come up with a better definition of "extreme changes in context" (

Untestable Success Criteria)

list end

 

Level 3 Success Criteria for Guideline 3.4

List of 2 items

1. [begin proposed] user can select a different location for navigation
elements in the layout of the page.

[

Issue #352]

[Y] [end proposed]

2. the content has been reviewed, taking into account

common ideas for making content consistent and predictable,

applying them as appropriate. [Y]

 

Editorial Note: NRT (5 Nov 2003): "has been reviewed" is only testable
by someone internal to the development organization. (

Untestable Success Criteria)

list end

 

 

 

"Good design is accessible design."

Dr. John M. Slatin, Director 
Accessibility Institute
University of Texas at Austin 
FAC 248C 
1 University Station G9600 
Austin, TX 78712 
ph 512-495-4288, fax 512-495-4524 
email jslatin@mail.utexas.edu 
Web  <http://www.ital.utexas.edu/>
http://www.utexas.edu/research/accessibility