Design Patterns and Guidelines for Usable and Accessible Web Applications

Date and time:
November 16, 2004 (Tuesday)
6:30-7:00 p.m. Food and networking (in the meeting room)
7:00-9:00 p.m. Presentation

Location:
UserWorks, 1738 Elton Road, Suite 138, Silver Spring, MD 20903

Description:
Usability and accessibility are both essential to ensuring a positive user experience. While the concepts of usability and accessibility are related, they are also different. When a design is accessible, that does not necessarily mean that it is easy to use, simple to learn, or supportive of efficient task completion. Similarly, when a design is easy for most people to use, that does not necessarily mean that it will work effectively with various assistive technologies.

Designing accessible web applications is more complex, and less understood, than designing accessible web sites. In our experience designing interactive web-based applications for the Social Security Administration, we have encountered many complex situations that are not adequately addressed by existing guidelines, which typically focus on informational web sites. Design challenges we have faced have led us to realize that different user groups have different needs, and as a result to question some common beliefs about accessibility.

Based on our experiences, we have begun to create interaction design patterns that balance usability and accessibility requirements for web applications. We will demonstrate our patterns in this presentation, which is based on our presentation at the UPA 2004 conference in Minneapolis. We will also engage participants in discussing design tradeoffs for different user populations and opportunities to improve user experience beyond the legal requirements of Section 508.

Speakers:
Lisa Battle is a senior user interface designer with over twelve years of experience creating usable software, web-based applications, and web sites for clients in a variety of industries and in the Federal government. Her work focuses on making users successful and achieving business goals through a combination of analysis and iterative design techniques. Over the past four years, Ms. Battle has been instrumental in introducing user-centered design into the Social Security Administration, as well as contributing to standards definition, integrating user-centered methods into project lifecycles, and mentoring project teams in user-centered methods. Ms. Battle holds a master's degree in cognitive psychology/human factors from George Mason University. She is a member of the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM -CHI).

David Hoffman is an accessibility and usability specialist with more than eight years of experience with web technologies. In his current position, Mr. Hoffman provides user interface accessibility and usability design support to the Social Security Administration. He serves as the agency's top expert on interactions between web applications and assistive technologies, as well as on achieving web application accessibility. In addition to mentoring various project teams in accessibility issues, Mr. Hoffman contributes to the definition of implementable interactive standards - that incorporate both accessibility and usability. Mr. Hoffman holds a master's degree in Applied Information Technology from Towson University. He is a member of the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA).

Registration:
Advance registration is recommended. You can register using our online registration form.

Cost:
$5 for UPA DC Chapter members
$15 for non-members (How to join)
This cost includes sandwiches and sodas which will be provided at the meeting location.

After you have registered, we encourage you to pay in advance by using our online PayPal form or mailing a check.

Directions:
See the UserWorks web site or refer to the directions below.

From I-495 in Maryland: Take Exit 28A and proceed north on New Hampshire Avenue (Route 650) toward White Oak. At the first intersection (almost immediately) turn right onto Elton Road, beside Safeway. Continue several hundred yards, pass the Coca-Cola building, and turn left into Executive Court. Our building (1738 Elton Rd.) is the one farthest from the street. We are in Suite 138.

From Dulles Airport: Merge onto Dulles Airport Access Road. Take the VA-267 Exit (Exit 12-13-14 VA 267 to Reston Pkwy/Wiehle Ave/Hunter Mill Road). Merge onto VA-267 East. Go East on VA-267. Take Exit 18 (I-495 North to Baltimore/Bethesda MD). Keep left at the fork in the ramp. From 495 North follow the directions "From I-495 in Maryland" above.

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