RE: Proposal for definition of levels

+1

-Jan

From: Jim Allan [mailto:jimallan@tsbvi.edu]
Sent: April-25-13 5:55 PM
To: Jeanne Spellman
Cc: User Agent Working Group
Subject: Re: Proposal for definition of levels

This is really nice, clear, and concise. It explains our rationale for the levels without getting incredibly specific.
Jim

On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 10:54 AM, Jeanne Spellman <jeanne@w3.org<mailto:jeanne@w3.org>> wrote:
Here is my first pass at writing a definition of levels proposal.  This material would go in the introduction. It would not be normative material, and should be easy to read.

Proposed:

UAAG conformance levels (A, AA, AAA) provide a path for user agent developers to improve their product over time and to prioritize new features to develop.  UAAG conformance levels attempt to balance the needs of people with disabilities with the difficulty the user agent developer could experience in meeting that need. There are many different types of disabilities and different types of user agents, so the UAAG level assigned to a success criterion may not precisely match the definition of the level in all circumstances.

Level A success criteria represent needs where different groups of people with disabilities are blocked from receiving information or accomplishing a task AND that the solutions to those needs are relatively minor for developers to solve or the solutions are common in the marketplace.  In some cases, extensions or addons to popular browsers provide solutions.

Level AA represents needs where people with disabilities have difficulty accessing information or accomplishing a task (including tasks causing excessive fatigue), and where the solutions may be more difficult to implement or requires developing a new subsystem for the product.

Level AAA represents needs where the solution improves accessibility for some information or task, but the solution is challenging to solve, requiring a major effort or development of intelligent algorithms.



--
Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator & Webmaster
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315    fax: 512.206.9264  http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964