Access For All

ACCESSIBLE is an EU FP7 project spanning over 36 months, start date 1st September 2008, with the aim of improving the accessibility of software development products, by introducing an harmonised accessibility methodology into accessible software development processes, using significantly better measurement strategies, methodologies, etc.

The envisaged improvement will enable large organisations, SMEs or individuals (developers, designers, etc.) to produce software products of superior accessibility and usability, accompanied with appropriate measures, technologies and tools that improve their overall quality.

The ACCESSIBLE project is implementing specific methodologies and tools for ensuring accessibility for designers and software developers.

An open call for experts has been launched for supporting the evaluation of the envisaged project results (evaluation of Assessment tools, developer designer aid module, and the Harmonized methodology). The target is to receive feedback on the results of the project under the expert view of people who have experience in this domain and can evaluate, approve and enrich the ACCESSIBLE outcomes.

Candidates will preferably be public bodies, representatives of software development organisations and SMEs, industrial organisations, accessibility consultants, developers, designers, testers, and other interest organisations and researchers. Also the participation of people with disabilities should be welcomed.

Interested experts are kindly requested to fill in the online application form and submit it through the web site.

Involving people with disabilities from the beginning of a project helps you better understand accessibility issues and implement more effective accessibility solutions. It also broadens your perspective in a way that can lead you to discover new ways of thinking about your product that will make it work better for more people in more situations.

This applies when designing and developing:
- Websites and web applications
- Browsers, media players, and assistive technologies
- Authoring tools such as content management systems (CMS), blog software, and WYSIWYG editors
- Accessibility standards and policies
- Web technologies and technical specifications, such as HTML

in this respect, the W3C WAI Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) published documents to help:

• Involving Users in Web Projects for Better, Easier Accessibility
• Involving Users in Evaluating Web Accessibility

The documents provide guidance on including real users, covering:
- How involving users early helps
- Finding a range of users
- Working with users
- Analyzing accessibility issues
- Drawing conclusions and reporting
- Note for usability professionals
- Combining user involvement with standards
Source: WAI Interest Group