Standards :: 6th report on international ICT accessibility standards

9th Report on International ICT Accessibility Standards Proposed, Being Developed and Recently Published

Richard Hodgkinson FISTC,
2nd April 2009

Overview

This report covers current international activities in the development of standards, technical reports and guidelines that include accessibility requirements and recommendations for ICT products.

Accessibility standards are developed globally by committees of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1 of the ISO & IEC, national standards bodies (e.g. the BSi, ANSI, AFNOR, DIN…) and many other organisations.

Proposed new standards and activities

The following “projects” are currently under discussion or proposed by various standards organisations.

For international standards Working Drafts and New Project proposals will be submitted for international ballot. If the balloting is successful (acceptance of the project, commitment of experts, offer of a project editor, etc) the projects will be assigned to the appropriate standards organisations or new organisations will be created.

ISO 9241-135 – Natural language dialogues

This potential standard is being discussed in ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 5 (Software ergonomics and human-computer interaction) and in due course a Working Draft will be prepared together with a New Project proposal for international ballot.

This standard would provide recommendations and guidelines for the user-centred design of software user interfaces for voice controlled dialogue systems to increase usability.

NOTE: No progress to report. WG 5 next meets in April 2009 (2009-03-31)

ISO 9241-136 – Voice/Auditory interaction

This potential standard is being discussed in ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 5 (Software ergonomics and human-computer interaction) and a Working Draft is currently expected, together with a New Project proposal for international ballot.

This standard would provide recommendations and guidelines for the user-centred design of software user interfaces for voice interaction systems to increase usability.

NOTE: No progress to report. WG 5 next meets in April 2009 (2009-03-31)

ISO 9241-152 – Interpersonal communication – Usability and accessibility of computer-based data and voice communication

This potential standard is currently being discussed and developed within ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 5 (Software ergonomics and human-computer interaction). In due course a Working Draft will be prepared together with a New Project proposal for international ballot.

NOTE: No progress to report. WG 5 next meets in April 2009 (2009-03-31)

ISO/IEC XXXXX – Enhanced Terminal Accessibility (ETA) using cardholder preference interface

Scope: This standard will specify a set of data elements to be personalised into the card encoding cardholder preferences. These data elements are to be retrieved from the card and to be used to indicate to the terminals that the user has special needs regarding the user interface. In particular, this standard applies to cards issued to citizens with special needs. It is not intended to standardize the API or other terminal specific software allowing the functionality, nor does it cover the actual alignment of the card to the card reader slot. This standard is applicable not only for ID-1 type card, but also for SIM/UIM on mobile ‘phone and Contactless IC card which is specified on ISO/IEC 14443.

This standard comprises:

data elements containing user preferences,
storage method of these data elements,
security related to the information contained in these data elements,
access method to these data elements, and
examples of implementations.

Comments:

New Work Item ballot, initiated by Japan and raised by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17 – Cards and personal identification, closed 2008-09-28.
Proposed for assignment to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17/WG 4

Document Management - PDF/Universal Accessibility 1.0

Scope: This International Standard will specify how to use the Portable Document Format (PDF) to produce electronic documents which are accessible to users with disabilities.
This International Standard will not apply to:

Specific processes for converting paper or electronic documents to the PDF/UA format
Specific technical design, user interface, implementation, or operational details of rendering
Specific physical methods of storing these documents such as media and storage conditions
Required computer hardware and/or operating systems

Comments:

Development by the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) PDF/ Universal accessibility Committee, with the aim of producing an International (ISO) Standard. This committee is developing a specification for accessible PDF. The Committee's goal is to set standards for PDF authoring such that conforming PDF files are accessible and usable to all, including those who use assistive technology.
This is not meant to be a techniques (how to) specification, but rather a set of guidelines for creating accessible PDF. The components and their structure are highly dependent upon which objects (graphics, text, multimedia, form fields) are to be present in the PDF file. The specification will describe such components and the conditions governing their inclusion in a PDF file in order to be considered accessible for a particular document type. The mechanisms for including the components in the PDF stream will be left to the discretion of the individual developer, PDF generator, or PDF viewing agent.
Proposal currently undergoing New Project ballot.
Proposed for assignment within ISO/TC 171 – Document management applications.

ISO/IEC Technical Report - Accessibility and usability of biometric systems

Scope: Procurements of biometric systems often stipulate requirements for the systems to be inclusive and make provision for exception handling. However, no quantification is ever given on how the biometric systems should perform against the range and degree of disabilities encountered or difficulties of the elderly in accessing the system.

There is currently no standardisation of taxonomy when defining disabilities that a biometric system must be capable of handling. There are no standards or guidance as to reasonableness of biometric systems automatically handing accessibility exceptions, and therefore what level of exception handling would require manual processes.

It is proposed that SC37 take on a new work item to establish a Technical Report for biometric system design and procurement to handle the range of accessibility issues; providing quantification of inclusiveness.

The Technical Report will provide informative good practice for particular biometric modalities against an agreed taxonomy. The Technical Report will result in guidelines for elderly persons and persons with disabilities to improve accessibility and usability of biometric systems.

The proposed Technical Report does not intend to produce its own taxonomy; rather the taxonomy will make use of existing taxonomies where applicable, but is likely to develop one which addresses the requirements of biometric systems. Agreement of the taxonomy will be an important aspect of the final agreed scope of this project.

Comments:

Currently undergoing New Project ballot (closes 2009-06-07) in ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC37 – Biometrics
If approved, the project will most likely be assigned to a Working Group within SC 37/WG 6

CEN Working Group “Accessibility for All”

A recent survey has indicated that European standards developers need a better understanding of CEN/CENELEC Guide 6 – Guidelines for standards developers to address the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities.

To improve this situation it is proposed that a CEN Working Group, consisting of an “Advisory committee” and a “Pool of experts” is established.

An informative meeting has already been held (October 2008) and the first formal meeting will take place in April 2009.

Comment:

CEN/CENELEC Guide 6 is the European equivalent of ISO/IEC Guide 71:2001 - Guidelines to address the needs of older persons and people with disabilities when developing standards, and also the Japanese Guide JIS Z 8071:2003.

Standards currently being developed:

ISO 9241-210 – Ergonomics of human-system interaction – Part 210: Human-centred design process for interactive systems

Scope: This part of ISO 9241 will provide guidance on human-centred design principles and activities throughout the life cycle of computer-based interactive systems. It is intended to be used by those managing design processes. This part of ISO 9241 is concerned with both hardware and software components of interactive systems.

NOTE: Computer based interactive systems vary in scale and complexity. Examples include off the shelf (shrink wrap) software products, custom office systems, plant monitoring systems, automated banking systems, web sites and applications, and consumer products, such as vending machines, mobile phones and digital television. Throughout this standard, such systems are generally referred to as products, systems or services although, for clarity, sometimes only one term is used.

This part of ISO 9241 will provide an overview of human-centred design activities. It does not provide detailed coverage of the methods and techniques required for human-centred design, nor does it address health or safety aspects in detail. Although it addresses the planning and management of human-centred design, it does not address all aspects of project management.
The information in this part of ISO 9241 is intended for use by those responsible for planning and managing projects that design and develop interactive systems. It therefore addresses technical human factors and ergonomics issues only to the extent necessary to allow such individuals to understand their relevance and importance in the design process as a whole. It also provides a framework for human factors and usability professionals involved in human-centred design.

Detailed human factors, ergonomics, usability and accessibility issues are dealt with more fully in a number of standards including other parts of ISO 9241 (see Annex A). A number of other standards are relevant to the design of systems, including ISO 6385, which sets out the broad principles of ergonomics (see Annex B).

The guidance in this part of ISO 9241 can benefit all parties involved in human-centred design and development.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO Publication
Approved	Approved	Underway (2008-11-28)	To be decided	To be decided

Comments:

This is a revision of ISO 13407:1999 - Human-centred design processes for interactive systems, incorporated and re-numbered into the expanded ISO 9241 series.
Development is by ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 6 – Human-centred design processes for interactive systems.

ISO 9241-129 – Guidance on software individualisation

Scope: This standard will contain ergonomic requirements and recommendations for software-based individualization of human-computer interactions.
There are a variety of different basic individualization mechanisms, each of which can have different positive and negative effects on users:

Individualization can result from customization (initiated intentionally by the user) and/or adaptation (initiated by the system).
Individualization can result in a variety of changes to the user interface, depending on the particular individualization mechanisms involved.

This standard will include guidance on:

guidance on determining where individualization is appropriate
guidance on selecting appropriate types of individualization mechanisms
guidance on using all types of individualization mechanisms
guidance on using specific types of individualization mechanisms
guidance on using combinations of different types of individualization mechanisms

This standard will also include guidance related to various types of general tasks that lend themselves to individualization, such as:

Setup of system and application settings, including:
configuration
reconfiguration
Developing alternate system-provided interfaces, including:
styles / themes
skins
cultural and linguistic variations
Supporting the needs of different users, including:
creating, modifying, deleting, and using user accounts
controlling the provision of system provided tips
controlling the operations of wizards
permitting, removing, and using cookies
creating, modifying, saving, and using sets of user preferences
1. (including where users may have more than one set of user preferences)
2. saving, removing, and deleting user values for commonly used forms
3. (e.g. login information for remote systems)
Establishing defaults, including:
system established defaults
user-established defaults.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO Publication
Approved	Approved	Underway (2009-03-26)	To be decided	To be decided

Comments:

Development is by ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 5 – Software ergonomics and human-computer interaction.

ISO 9241-154 - Ergonomics of human-system interaction – Part 154: Design guidance for interactive voice response (IVR) applications

Scope: This standard will contain ergonomic requirements and recommendations for the user interface design of both speech-enabled and touch-tone based interactive voice response (IVR) applications. Guidance will be focussed on phone-based applications that include no visual displays of information beyond that of a traditional phone key-pad.

The standard will include guidance on selection of user input mechanism (touch-tone, speech or hybrid applications), as well as guidance on the design of touch-tone based and speech-enabled IVR dialogues. It will also contain guidance on the general structuring of other IVR user interface features, for example:

appropriate speech rates (for speech-enabled applications),
determination of allowable user response times to prompts,
handling of non-responses and errors,
application navigation issues, including requests for repetition of prompts, mechanisms for leaving the application or being transferred to a customer service representative; and capabilities such as dial-through or barge-in, and
the handling of delay situations.

The standard will also include guidance for making IVR applications accessible to the widest range of potential users.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO Publication
Under revision	TBD	TBD	TBD	2010

Comments:

Based upon US HFES 200.4: Software User Interfaces – Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Telephony.
Project approved 2008-09-15
Assigned to a Working Group of ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 5– Software ergonomics and human-computer interaction.
This standard will use as its basis the US Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (HFES) 200.4 (Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces – Interactive Voice Response and Telephony) guidelines which have now been approved as an American National Standard (ANSI).
This standard has been approved for adoption and publication as a European standard (EN), following publication by ISO.
The revised Working Draft will be reviewed at the next meeting of WG 5 in April 2009.

ISO 9241-910 – Framework for tactile and haptic interactions

Scope: This standard provides a framework for understanding and communicating about various aspects of tactile/haptic interaction.

It contains definitions, structures, models, and explanations that are used in other parts in the 9241-9xx series.

It also provides general information about how various forms of interaction can be applied to various user tasks.

It applies to all types of interactive systems making use of tactile/haptic devices and interactions.

NOTE: This standard does not address purely kinaesthetic interactions, such as gestures, although it might be useful for such interactions.

Current project plan:

WD	1st CD ballot	2nd CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO Publication
Completed	Not approved	In progress	TBD	TBD	2010

Comments:

1st CD ballot not approved, 2nd CD underway (2009-02-13)
Development by ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 9 – Haptic and tactile interactions
This standard has been approved for adoption and publication as a European standard (EN), following publication by ISO.

ISO 9241-920 - Guidance on tactile and haptic interactions

Scope: This standard will contain ergonomic requirements and recommendations for tactile and haptic hardware and software interactions. It will provide guidance related to the design and evaluation of hardware, software, and combinations of hardware and software interactions. It will include guidance on:

the design/use of tactile/haptic inputs, outputs, and/or combinations of inputs and outputs, including:
1. general guidance on their design / use
2. guidance on designing / using combinations of tactile and haptic interaction
  1. use in combination with other modalities
  2. use as the exclusive mode of interaction
the tactile/haptic encoding of information, including:
1. textual data
2. graphical data
3. controls
design of tactile/haptic objects
layout of tactile/haptic space
interaction techniques

This international standard does not provide recommendations specific to Braille, but can apply to interactions that make use of Braille.

It is recognized that some interactive scenarios might be constrained by the limitation that a real workspace is to be modelled in a virtual environment. Objects can be in suboptimal positions or conditions for haptic interaction, by virtue of the situation being modelled. The recommendations in this standard apply at least to the controls for the virtual workspace. These recommendations can also be applied to the entire virtual environment, consistent, as much as possible, with the simulation requirements.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO Publication
Completed	Approved	Approved	Approved (2009-02-04)	TBD

Comments:

Development by ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 9 – Haptic and tactile interactions.
The ISO 9241-9XX series is planned to include:
1. Part 900 – Introduction to tactile and haptic interactions.
2. Part 910 – Framework for tactile and haptic interactions.
3. Part 930 – Haptic and tactile interactions in multimodal environments.
4. Part 940 – Evaluation of tactile and haptic interactions.
5. Part 971 – Haptic and tactile interfaces to publicly available devices.

ISO TR 22411 - Ergonomic data and guidelines for the application of ISO/IEC Guide 71 to products and services to address the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities (Revision)

Scope: 1.1 This Technical Report (TR) provides standards developers with ergonomic data and design considerations on how to take into account the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities, in accordance with the factors described in ISO/IEC Guide 71.
This TR contains:

considerations for accessible design of products, services and environments, and
ergonomic knowledge and data on human abilities – sensory, physical, cognitive abilities – and on allergy.

Each design consideration is based on ergonomic principles that are necessary to make products, services and environments accessible for older persons and persons with disabilities.

1.2 This TR applies to products, services and environments encountered in all aspects of daily life, the consumer market and the workplace. For the purposes of this TR, the term 'products and services' is used to reflect all these purposes.

1.3 The design considerations and ergonomic data in this TR may also be useful for others such as manufacturers, designers, service providers and educators.

This TR does not provide techniques for designing assistive devices. However, some of the design considerations support interoperability with assistive technology.
Conformity assessment of any international, regional, or domestic standards is not in the scope of this TR.

Current project plan:

WD	PDTR ballot	DTR ballot	ISO (TR) Publication
Underway	TBD	TBD	TBD

Comments:

Development by ISO/TC 159/WG 2 - Ergonomics for people with special requirements
This standard was first published by ISO in 2008
Preparatory work on a revised version of ISO TR 22411 is underway.

ISO 24500 – Accessible design – Auditory signals for consumer products

Scope: This International Standard specifies the auditory signals used as a means to communicate information as feedback of operation or the condition of products when a user, even a person with visual impairment or an older person with impairments of vision and hearing, uses a consumer product.

It does not specify fire alarm sounds, gas leak alarm sounds, or crime prevention alarm sounds, which are determined by other laws and regulations, nor does it specify electronic chimes, voice guides, and other sounds peculiar to communication instruments such as telephones.

It is applicable to auditory signals of a fixed frequency used in general applications (also called beep sounds).

NOTE: It is also recommended that this document be used when variable frequency sounds or melodic sounds are used.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Available	Approved	2009-03	2009-10-09	2010-04-09

Comments:

Development by ISO/TC 159/SC 5/WG 5 – Ergonomics of the physical environment – People with special requirements.
This standard has been approved for adoption and publication as a European standard (EN), following publication by ISO.

ISO 24501 – Accessible design - Sound pressure levels of auditory signals for consumer products

Scope: This International Standard specifies methods for determining the sound pressure level range of auditory signal so that the users of consumer products, including elderly people with hearing loss which develops during ageing, can hear the signal properly in the presence of specific interfering sounds. When an auditory signal with a fixed sound level is used, the level shall be adjusted to fall in the range. When the sound level is controllable by the user, the level shall be variable to cover the entire range at the narrowest.

Auditory signals, in this International Standard, refer to sounds with a fixed frequency (also called beep sounds). Electronic chimes and voice guides are not included.

NOTE It is also recommended that this document be used when variable frequency sounds or melodic sounds are used.

This International Standard is applicable to auditory signals which are heard in the same room where the product is used or in an adjacent room not entirely enclosed within walls (at approximate maximum distance of 4 m from the product). It is not applicable to auditory signals heard through a head receiver or earphones, or to those heard with the ear located near the sound source.

This International Standard does not specify the sound pressure level of auditory signals regulated by other statutes such as those for fire alarms, gas leakages, and crime prevention, nor does it specify auditory signals peculiar to a communication tool such as telephones.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Available	Approved	2009-03	2009-10-09	2010-04-09

Comments:

Development by ISO/TC 159/SC 5/WG 5 – Ergonomics of the physical environment – People with special requirements.
This standard has been approved for adoption and publication as a European standard (EN), following publication by ISO.

ISO 24502 – Accessible design - Guidelines for specification of age-related relative luminance contrast in visual signs and displays

Scope: This international standard specifies age-related luminance contrast of any two lights of different colour seen by a person at any age by taking into account the age-related change of relative luminous efficiency of the eye.

This basic international standard provides a method that can be applied to the design of visual signs and displays. It applies to visual environments in which the spectral radiance is known or measurable and viewed under the moderately bright light level called photopic vision. It does not apply to those which are seen under a dark environment called mesopic and/or scotopic vision.

NOTE 1: This document specifies the luminance contrast for people from 10 yrs to 70 yrs of age who have had no medical treatment or surgery on their eyes throughout their life. For people younger than ten years old or older than 80 years old, this document may apply by estimating the age-related spectral luminous efficiency by extrapolation.

NOTE 2: This document does not apply to visual signs and displays seen by people with colour defects who have different spectral luminous efficiency from people with normal colour vision.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Awaited	Closed 2008-09	2009-03	2009-10-09	2010-04-09

Comments:

This new project was proposed by the Japanese National Body and is based upon Japanese standard JIS S 0031:2004 - Guidelines for all people including elderly persons and persons with disabilities – Visual signs and displays – Specification of age-related luminance and its use in assessment of light.
Development by ISO/TC 159/SC 5/WG 5 – Ergonomics of the physical environment – People with special requirements
The new project was approved by international ballot (2007-04).
This standard has been approved for adoption and publication as a European standard (EN), following publication by ISO.

ISO 24503 - Ergonomics – Accessible design - Using tactile dots and bars on consumer products

Scope: This standard will specify the guidelines for marking tactile dots to be put on the
operating parts of various consumer products that have electrically-operated switches. The purpose is to enhance usability for all people including visually handicapped people and elderly people with declining of visual acuity.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Available	Approved	TBD	TBD	TBD

Comments:

Standard proposed by the Japanese National Body.
Based upon Japanese standard JIS S 0011-2000.
Development by ISO/TC 159/SC 4/WG 10 – Accessible design for consumer products.
This standard has been approved for adoption and publication as a European standard (EN), following publication by ISO.

ISO 28803 - Ergonomics of the physical environment - Application of international standards for people with special requirements

Scope: This international standard provides guidance to people who use and apply international standards concerned with the Ergonomics of the physical environment. They include people who are involved in environmental design and assessment.

This international standard provides guidance on the application of existing international standards for people with special requirements. That is for those people who would be considered to be beyond the scope of existing standards concerned with the ergonomics of the physical environment.

The standard has been produced according to the principles provided in ISO/IEC Guide 71 and the data provided in ISO TR 22411.

The standard is not a database of the characteristics of people with special requirements. It uses data from the basic standard ISO TR 22411 to provide methods and criteria that will provide accessible environments for people with special requirements.

The standard is not restricted to any particular environment but provides the general principles that allow assessment and evaluation.

The standard applies to built environments as well as to other indoor environments, vehicle environments and outdoor environments. There may be specific features of certain types of environment that have to be taken into account, however the general principles outlined in this standard will apply.

The standard applies to all occupants of environments who can be considered to have special requirements. This will depend upon context and can, for example, include babies, infants, males or females, people with disabilities, the effects of age, people who are ill and so on. A person may have a special requirement in one type of environment but not in another.....

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Available	Approved	Imminent	2011-01-11	2011-07-11

Comments:

Development by ISO/TC 159/SC 5/WG 5 – Ergonomics of the physical environment (Check the WG 5 title)
This standard has been approved for adoption and publication as a European standard (EN), following publication by ISO.

ISO/IEC 13066-1 - User interfaces - Information Technology - Interoperability with Assistive Technology (AT) – Part 1 Requirements and recommendations for interoperability

Scope: This part of ISO/IEC 13066 defines the responsibilities of different Information Technology (IT) and Assistive Technology (AT) functional units in supporting interoperability. It recognizes that AT can be provided both as functional units that are installed or otherwise connected to a system or can be utilized by being provided as a service which is accessed via communications connections. It bases these responsibilities on fundamental IT definitions of major types of functional units. It focuses on the utilization of standard, public interfaces for functional units and on the provision of accessible documentation of their capabilities.

This part of ISO/IEC 13066 recognizes that IT is implemented both in conventional computer systems and as a major component of other systems within the wider scope of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This part of ISO/IEC 13066 recognizes the fundamental role of operating systems and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), in managing interoperability, and in providing guidance to developers of other functional units. It also recognizes that different operating systems will have their own standardized methods of supporting interoperability.

This part of ISO/IEC 13066 does not define or require specific technology, commands, APIs, or hardware interfaces. It defers to other existing standards and supports the development of new standards in these areas.

Current project plan:

WD	NP	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Available	Approved	Underway (2009-03-30)	TBD	TBD	TBD

Comments:

Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35/WG 6 - User interface accessibility
A seven part standard is proposed (subject to re-balloting approval), as follows:

Part 1 - Requirements and recommendations for interoperability
Part 2 - Windows accessibility API
Part 3 - I-Accessible-2 accessibility API
Part 4 - Java accessibility API
Part 5 - Macintosh-OS accessibility API
Part 6 - Linux accessibility API
Part 7 - ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) accessibility API

ISO/IEC 13066-2 - User interfaces - Information Technology - Interoperability with Assistive Technology (AT) – Part 2 Windows Automation Framework accessibility API

Scope: ISO/IEC TR 13066-2 provides an overview to the structure and terminology of the Windows Automation Framework accessibility API.

It will provide:

A description of the overall architecture and terminology of the API,
Further introductory explanations regarding the content and use of the API beyond those found in Annex A of ISO/IEC 13066-1,
An overview of the main properties, including:
1. of user interface elements,
2. of how to get and set focus,
3. of communication mechanisms in the API.
A discussion of design considerations for the API (e.g. pointers to external sources of information on accessibility guidance related to using the API),
Information on extending the API (and where this is appropriate),
An introduction to the programming interface of the API (including pointers to external sources of information).

It will provide this information to assist:

IT system level developers who create custom controls and/or interface to them,
AT developers involved in programming "hardware to software" and "software to software" interactions.

Current project plan:

WD	NP	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Available	2009-09-30	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Comments:

Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35/WG 6 - User interface accessibility

ISO/IEC 13066-3 - User interfaces - Information Technology - Interoperability with Assistive Technology (AT) – Part 3 IAccessible2 accessibility API

Scope: ISO/IEC TR 13066-3 provides an overview to the structure and terminology of the IAccessible2 accessibility API.

It will provide:

A description of the overall architecture and terminology of the API
Further introductory explanations regarding the content and use of the API beyond those found in Annex A of ISO/IEC 13066-1
An overview of the main properties, including:
1. of user interface elements,
2. of how to get and set focus,
3. of communication mechanisms in the API
A discussion of design considerations for the API (e.g. pointers to external sources of information on accessibility guidance related to using the API)
Information on extending the API (and where this is appropriate)
An introduction to the programming interface of the API (including pointers to external sources of information)

It will provide this information to assist

IT system level developers who create custom controls and/or interface to them
AT developers involved in programming "hardware to software" and "software to software" interactions

Current project plan:

WD	NP	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Available	2009-09-30	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Comments:

Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35/WG 6 - User interface accessibility

ISO/IEC 24756 - Framework for specifying a Common Access Profile (CAP) of needs and capabilities of users, systems and their environments

Scope: This standard will define a framework for selecting and supporting computer related accessibility including accessibility supported by assistive technologies. It will provide a basis for identifying and dealing with accessibility issues in a standardized manner across multiple platforms. It can be used to evaluate accessibility of existing systems in particular environments for particular users.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	FCD ballot	2nd FCD ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Completed	Approved	Approved	Approved	Approved	Mid 2009 (Estimated)

Comments:

Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35/WG 6 – User interface accessibility.
FDIS ballot passed unanimously.

ISO/IEC 24786 – User interfaces - Accessible user interface for accessibility settings

Scope:
This International Standard describes requirements and recommendations to make accessibility settings accessible. It provides guidance on specific accessibility settings. It describes how to access and operate the accessibility settings mode, and how to directly activate specific accessibility functions.

This International Standard applies to all operating system user interfaces on computers, but can also be applied to other types of information/communication technology, where appropriate.
This International Standard does not apply to the user interface before the operating system is loaded and active.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	FCD ballot	2nd FCD Ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Completed	Approved	Not Approved	Approved	Underway (2009-03-30)	TBA

Comments:

Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35/WG 6 – User interface accessibility.

ISO/IEC 26511 – Software and systems engineering - Requirements for managers of user documentation

Scope: This standard will support the interests of software users in consistent, complete, accurate, and usable documentation.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	FCD ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Completed	2009-01	2009-06	2009-12	2010-06

Comments:

Will include guidance on planning, developing and writing accessible software documentation.
Will replace primarily ISO/IEC 15910:1999 – Systems and software engineering – Software user documentation process.
Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7/WG 2 – Software and systems documentation

ISO/IEC 26512 – Software and systems engineering - Requirements for acquirers and suppliers of user documentation

Scope: This standard will support the interests of software users in consistent, complete, accurate, and usable documentation. It is addressed to acquirers and suppliers of software user documentation.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	FCD ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Completed	2009-01	2009-06	2009-12	2010-06

Comments:

Will include guidance on accessible software documentation.
Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7/WG 2 – Software and systems documentation

ISO/IEC 26513 - Software and systems engineering - Requirements for testers and assessors of user documentation

Scope: This standard will support the interests of software users in consistent, complete, accurate, and usable documentation. It is addressed to testers and assessors of software user documentation.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	FCD ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO publication
Completed	Approved	Approved	2009-01	2009-06

Comments:

Will include guidance on testing and assessing software documentation for accessibility.

ISO/IEC 29136 – Hardware accessibility functions for personal computers

Scope: This International Standard provides requirements and recommendations for the design of accessibility functions regarding Personal Computers (PCs).

Requirements and recommendations that solely focus on software are not included in this standard. Requirements and recommendations for PC software accessibility are specified in ISO 9241-171.

Current project plan:

WD	CD ballot	DIS ballot	FDIS ballot	ISO Publication
Available	Underway (2009-03-30)	TBD	TBD	TBD

Comments:

Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35/WG 6 - User interface accessibility.
Based upon Japanese national standard JIS X8341-2 Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities - Information communication and services - Part 2: Information processing equipment.
The Working Draft is being revised at the WG 6 meeting in February 2009, and “Hardware” added to the title.

ISO/IEC TR 29138 - Information technology - Accessibility considerations for people with disabilities

Structure and scopes of parts:

Part 1: User Needs Summary. This part of ISO/IEC TR 29138 identifies a collection of user needs of people with disabilities for standards developers to take into consideration when developing or revising their standards. These user needs are also useful for developers of information technology products and services and for accessibility advocates to consider.
Part 2: Standards inventory. This part of ISO/IEC TR 29138 identifies a collection of documents (which it refers to as standards even though they encompass more than traditional ISO and ISO/IEC standards) that provide guidance on meeting the needs of people with disabilities. While its primary audience is standards developers, it can also be helpful for developers of information technology products and services, policy makers, procurers and for accessibility advocates to consider.
Part 3: Guidance on User Needs Mapping. This part of ISO/IEC TR 29138 provides guidance on the mapping of the set of user needs with the provisions of a particular standard, technical report, or set of guidelines. It provides both basic guidance that should be used for all user needs mapping and optional guidance that may be added to the basic guidance. User Needs Mapping is a voluntary activity intended to help improve accessibility for all users and in particular for users with special needs that might otherwise be overlooked. User Needs Mapping is not intended to be used to evaluate, certify, or otherwise judge a given standard or set of guidelines.

Current project plan (all parts):

WD	PDTR ballot	DTR ballot	FDTR	ISO (TR) Publication
Approved	Approved	Approved	Underway (2009-03-18)	TBD

Comments:

Development by ISO/IEC JTC 1 - SWG-A (Special Working Group – Accessibility).
Drafts approved for ballot by resolution 36 at October 2007 JTC 1 Plenary.
NOTE: The work of ETSI HF STF 333 draws upon the user requirements in ISO/IEC 29138 Part 1. See entry for ETSI TR 102 612 - Human Factors: European accessibility requirements for public procurement of products and services in the ICT domain (European Commission Mandate M/376, Phase 1) later in this report.
ISO/IEC JTC 1 – SWG-A was formed in 2004 to:
1. Determine an approach, and implement, the gathering of user requirements, being mindful of the varied and unique opportunities (direct participation of user organizations, workshops, liaisons)
2. Identify a mechanism to work proactively between meetings to make forward progress
3. Gather and publish an inventory of all known accessibility standards efforts
4. Identify areas/technologies where voluntary standards are not being addressed and suggest an appropriate body to consider the new work
5. Track public laws, policies/measures and guidelines to ensure the necessary standards are available
6. Through wide dissemination of the SWG materials, encourage the use of globally relevant voluntary standards
7. Assist consortia/fora, if desired, in submitting their specifications to the formal standards process

ETSI ES 202 076 - Human Factors; User Interfaces; Generic spoken command vocabulary for ICT devices and services

Scope and field of application:

This ETSI Standard will specify a minimum set of spoken commands required to control the generic and most common functions of ICT devices and services that use speaker independent speech recognition, developed in a Design for All approach. It will specify the necessary and most common vocabularies to be supported by ICT devices and services for voice input, including command, control and editing and will be applicable to the functions required for navigation, information retrieval, basic call handling and configuration of preferences.
Comments:

Development by ETSI HF STF 326 for publication in January 2009
More information and the current draft is available from: http://portal.etsi.org/STFs/STF_HomePages/STF326/STF326.asp

ETSI ES 202 975 - Human Factors: Harmonised Relay Services

Scope and field of application:

The standard will set out the requirements for the provision of all kinds of relay services in all networks. It will identify those new types of text phone services that are IP based and make recommendations on how they should be handled. The provisions in this standard will directly assist users who are unable to hear and/or speak. This work will convert and update ETSI TR 101 806 (Guidelines for relay services) into an ETSI Standard.

Comments:

Development by ETSI HF STF 325 for publication in January 2009
A Technical Report (ETSI TR 102 974) is also being written which describes the background work in the preparation of the standard.
More information and the current drafts are available from: http://portal.etsi.org/stfs/STF_HomePages/STF325/STF325.asp

ETSI TR 102 612 - Human Factors: European accessibility requirements for public procurement of products and services in the ICT domain (European Commission Mandate M/376, Phase 1)

ETSI established Specialist Task Force (STF) 333 in response to Phase 1 of Mandate M/376 on European accessibility requirements for public procurement of products and services in the ICT domain. The activity is being co-ordinated between ETSI, CEN and CENELEC.

Scope and field of application:

The ETSI STF has produced:

An inventory of ICT products and services that are usually bought by public procurers.
A list of existing functional accessibility requirements in Member States and internationally for those ICT products and services.
In each technical area gaps will be identified where no accessibility requirements exist and suggestions will be provided for developing missing or additional requirements.
A list of existing national, European and international standards and technical specifications will be identified which might comply with those requirements
A proposal will be made for a standardization work programme for the development of requirements and award criteria that still do not exist or that are not yet standardized.

Current plan:

The public commenting period is now closed (4 public drafts were provided) and the final draft report has been submitted for approval by ETSI and CEN management.
The draft will then be submitted to the European Commission for approval. This process closes in March 2009.

Comments:

Development by ETSI HF STF 333 for publication in 2009.
Phase 2 of this work is expected to commence in late 2009 following the approval of the Technical Report.
More information and the current public draft of Technical Report (TR) 102 612 is available from: http://portal.etsi.org/STFs/STF_HomePages/STF333/STF333.asp

ETSI ES 202 746 - Human Factors: Personalization and user profile management; User profile preferences and information standardization

Background: Personalization and effective user profile management will be critical to achieve eInclusion and eAccessibility. The objective of this work is to provide means to achieve the goal of the new ICT era where services and devices can be personalized by the users in order to meet the individual users’ requirements and needs, in various situations. The ETSI STF 265 on "User Profile Management" produced an ETSI Guide, EG 202 325, that described the concept and established a set of guidelines relevant to users and their need for managing their user profiles to personalize their services and terminals. It is necessary that different services and terminals understand users’ preferences and offer an expected user experience. This STF will build on the results from STF 265 and perform further standardization work.

Comments:

Development will be by ETSI HF STF 342 for publication in 2010
Both an ETSI Standard (ES) on standardized objects (including settings, values and operations) related to personalization and user profile management, a rule definition language for defining automatic activation of profiles and a common terminology, and a Technical Specification (TS) on issues related to networks, terminals and SmartCards will be produced.
Drafts of both the ES and ETSI TS 102 747 (Personalization and User Profile Management: Architectural Framework) are now available
More information and copies of the latest drafts are available from: http://portal.etsi.org/STFs/STF_HomePages/STF342/STF342.asp

ETSI EG XXX XXX - Inclusive eServices for all: Optimizing the accessibility and use of upcoming user interaction technologies

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) posted a “Call for experts” to participate in a Specialist Task Force (STF) to develop this Technical Specification.
Deadline for applications has closed and STF 377 has now been established
ETSI STF 377 will develop an ETSI Guide (EG) as the main deliverable that will contain the guidelines on service design, the interaction technologies roadmap, the accessibility problems identified, and the proposed solutions for rectifying those problems. The first steps of this work, however, will be an analysis of forthcoming eServices and of the technologies enabling them. The results of this analysis will be published as a separate ETSI Technical Report (TR).
Planned end date for this work is 2011-03-31
No further information currently available.

CEN/BT WG 185 PT - Report on Conformance schemes (Second report as requested by M/376, Phase 1)

In parallel to the ETSI Specialist Task Force 333 (see above) CEN has established a project team to produce a report under Phase 1 which “will present an analysis on testing and conformity schemes of products and services meeting accessibility requirements.”

Current plan:

The public commenting period is now closed and the final draft report is being submitted for approval by ETSI and CEN management.

The draft will then be submitted to the European Commission for approval. This process closes in March 2009.

Comments:

The final draft report of the CEN BT WG 185 Project Team is available. It can be downloaded from http://www.econformance.eu/euconformancereport.html
More information from: http://econformance.eu/

Draft BS 8878:2009 Web accessibility – Building accessible experiences for disabled people – Code of practice

(BSi) New Web accessibility standard in development

From the BSi web site: “BSI British Standards has established a new technical committee with responsibility for the development of a British Standard on web accessibility. The standard will enable all types of organizations and individuals to commission and maintain websites which are accessible to all their potential audiences.

The new consensus standard will build on PAS 78, Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites, which has been a great success in terms of demand and application. It will take into account developments in technology and web use since the publication of PAS 78 in March 2006, such as an increase in user generated content and social networking and will consider the accessibility of tools used by web designers.”

Comments:

Development by new BSi committee, IST/45 – Web Accessibility.
When published, BS 8878 will replace PAS 78:2006 – Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites.
Expected publication in the Summer of 2009.
Possibility of further standards and guidance material in this area from IST/45.

British Standard (BS) to support “Readability”

A proposal has been prepared to produce a new BS to support readability.

Its purpose would be to provide a standard that has wide industry and public sector support, this standard will support development of Web bases materials ensuring that the subject of readability is addressed to enable target audiences within the fields of learning, education and training to be provided with correctly written subject materials.
Comments:

First meeting held in London on 3rd December 2008...outcome unknown.

JIS X8341-1: 2004 - Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities - information communication equipment, software and services - Part1: Common Guidelines 2

Comments:

The Japanese umbrella accessibility standard applicable to all ICT products and services
ISO 9241-20 (Ergonomics of human-system interaction - Part 20: Accessibility guidelines for information/communication technology (ICT) equipment and services) will be transposed to JIS X8341-1 in 2009 (five years after publication in 2004).

JIS X8341-2: 2004 - Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities - Information communication equipment and services - Part 2: Information processing equipment

Scope: This part of JIS X 8341 specifies the matters to consider when planning, developing and designing the information processing equipment and its peripheral device in order to ensure information accessibility when mainly older persons, persons with disabilities and persons with temporary disabilities (hereafter referred to as “older persons and persons with disabilities”) use the information processing equipment and its peripheral device.

Comments:

The Japanese accessibility standard applicable to information processing equipment including PCs
JIS X8341-2 will be revised in 2009 (five years after publication in 2004). However, there is no concrete plan for revision.

JIS X8341-3: 2004 - Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities - Information communication equipment and services - Part 3: Web content

Scope: This Standard provides a set of guidelines which must be taken into consideration
in planning, designing, development, production, operation and maintenance (hereafter referred to as “planning and production”) of Web content to insure and improve information accessibility primarily for older persons, persons with disabilities, and persons with temporary disabilities (hereafter referred to as “older and disabled persons”) when they use Web content.

"Web content” in this Standard refers to various information and services which are accessed by users through a Web browser and other means, and is applied, for instance, to electronic document created using World Wide Web technology and distributed through the Internet, intranet, and on recorded media, such as CD-ROM, as well as equipment which is designed to be operated using a Web browser.

This Standard is applied also to new technology relevant to the World Wide Web.

This Standard, however, does not necessarily need to be applied to new World Wide Web technology which is in research and development phase.

Comments:

The Japanese accessibility standard applicable to Web contents.
JIS X8341-3 will be revised in 2009 (five years after publication in 2004) and will be harmonized with WCAG 2.0 of W3C/WAI.
Revised version planned for publication in September 2009

JIS X8341-4: 2005 - Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities - Information communication equipment and services - Part 4: Telecommunications equipment

Scope: This Standard specifies the matter to consider when the telecommunications equipment is planned, developed and designed in order to ensure and improve telecommunications accessibility in the case where mainly older persons. Persons with disabilities and persons with temporary disabilities (hereafter referred to as “older persons and persons with disabilities”) use telecommunications equipment.

Comments:

The Japanese accessibility standard applicable to telecommunications equipment
ITU-T SG16 had responsibility of the development of F.790 the baseline document of which became JIS X8341-4.
JIS X8341-3 will be revised in 2010 (five years after publication in 2005) that will be an identical to F.790.

JIS X8341-5: 2005 - Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities - Information communication equipment and services - Part 5: Office equipment

The Japanese accessibility standard applicable to office equipment.
JIS X8341-3 will be revised in 2011 (five years after publication in 2006) and will be identical to ISO/IEC 10779, the baseline document of which was JIS X8341-5.

TTAK.KO-06.0180 - AD (Automatic Identification and Data Capture) 2D Bar Code for Visually Impaired Persons

Overview:

This Korean specification will define the requirements for the AD 2D barcode symbology. It specifies AD 2D barcode symbology characteristics like as location and size, data character encoding, symbol formats, dimensions and print quality requirements, error correction rules, decoding algorithm and user-selectable application parameters for the blind to access information on printed materials.

TTAK.KO-06.0181 - 2D Barcode for Printed Material Accessibility with Text to Speech for Visually Impaired Persons

Overview:

This Korean specification will define the requirements for the 2D Barcode symbology. It specifies 2D Barcode symbology characteristics like as location and size, data character encoding, symbol formats, dimensions and print quality requirements, error correction rules, decoding algorithm and user-selectable application parameters for the blind to access information on printed materials.