Technology Taskforce Accessibility Quick Wins Catalogue

Business Disability Forum Technology Taskforce

Shared Catalogue of Accessibility ‘Quick Wins’

Table Key:

Contact / Member organisation proposing the Quick Win
Status(in proposing member organisation) / 1 = Under consideration
2 = Currently being developed / implemented
3 = In place / mature
Ref / Problem / Solution / Quick Win / Contact / Status
1 / Many disabled staff use (or would benefit from use of) personalised settings in products such as MS Office eg setting background colours in Word, Mail or use of Word’s Autocorrect feature. However, some organisations remove all personalised settings overnight in order to ensure uniform systems configuration across their business. The user therefore either has to re-create their settings each day or do without. / Identify disabled staff and prevent this from happening to them eg include them within a group and exclude the group from relevant overnight update / reset processes.
(Identified by Bill Fine, AbilityNet at first BTAT meeting). / HMRC / 3
2 / Staff who use ergonomic mice can experience tiredness / physical stress from continued use of their particular mouse. / Where appropriate, provide the user with two varieties of mice eg connected to the PC through a switch – the user can then alternate between the two as required.
(Identified by Bill Fine, AbilityNet at first BTAT meeting). / HMRC / 3
Ref / Problem / Solution / Quick Win / Contact / Status
3 / Between 4-10% of the UK population is Dyslexic. There are a range of types and severities. Similarly there are a range of approaches and aides. Assessment can be difficult / time consuming to arrange. Some dyslexic staff may not need complex solutions. / A simple toolkit approach may be possible to assist with assessment, at least to identify where simple solutions may be effective (MS Office settings, use of transparencies?) / HMRC / 1
4 / Staff with mobility, hearing or visual problems might be able to use Microsoft Windows more easily if the inbuilt Accessibility options are fully utilised. May staff are not aware of such utilities. / Promote the simple changes that can be made within the system via accessible means (Screen reader aware web page, accessible PDF document). Make “champions” in the business aware in order to promote the use of these tools. / KPMG / 2
5 / Staff who use voice to text software yet work in open-plan offices have difficulty with additional noise being picked up by the microphone. Putting the individual in their own, enclosed space could ostracise them from work colleagues. / Issue better headsets with specialist microphone that helps cancel out additional noise. / KPMG / 1
6 / Staff with hearing problems who have to use internal call centres may experience difficulties using the telephone. / Put system in place to allow emails to go to call centre requesting help. Allow staff member to request particular communication method (telephone, email, instant messaging). / KPMG / 3
Ref / Problem / Solution / Quick Win / Contact / Status
7 / Staff who hotdesk and also use eg ergonomic mice can find plugging them into a USB at the back of the PC, or at the front of a PC that is hard to reach, can be difficult. / On a selection of desks, leave USB extension cables permanently connected so that staff can connect their mice to them on the desk / Low Income Tax Reform group / 1
8 / Some old applications have small, fixed fonts built into them – these can be unreadable to some users. Amending such systems can be expensive. / Provide larger VDU’s. / DWP / 3
9 / Switching to VOIP networks can disadvantage some disabled staff eg if no VOIP enabled phones with large buttons are available. / Analogue phones can be attached to a VOIP network using connectors / DWP / 2
10 / In procurement, specifying a set of standards that a supplier must follow can be difficult since there are so many and since it can be hard to establish from the supplier’s response the extent to which they meet the standards / Define Accessibility requirements in terms of the outcomes looked for, rather than the rules that must be followed – basis is that the purchaser shouldn’t be concerned with how accessibility is delivered, just what is delivered / DWP (CGAN) / 1
11 / When undertaking an infrastructure refresh or restructuring (eg moving to thin client), accessibility issues can easily be overlooked. / Plan in advance. Ensure users can revert if problems arise (eg retain some old devices and ensure they can continue to connect to back end systems. Use opportunity to show staff that their individual needs are important. / Ability
Net / 3
12 / There a lack of information about assistive technology / Emptech( is probably the most comprehensive resource on the web. Also try TechDis ( and Tiresias ( / Lloyds TSB / 1

Illustration of ‘Outcomes’

All information and functions of the on-line service must be accessible to any user using just Windows XP or later, MS IE5 or later and Microsoft’s Accessibility Support tools

All information and functions of the application must be accessible to any user using just Windows XP or later, Dragon v6 or later or JAWS vXX or later without the need for scripting (or where necessary with scripts provided)

All information and functions must be accessible without the need to use a mouse at any time

All information and functions must be accessible to any visually impaired user working with the screen turned off but with JAWS vXX

All relevant Accessibility information must be provided through a single link on the opening screen of the application and must include a statement of accessibility, details of where to find all relevant accessibility tools and how to obtain further support

All support and training material, user guides, CBT applications, on-line help etc must be accessible

The system provided must support all standard of users - a range of user selectable options must be provided allowing the least experienced / confident users to move through operations in basic steps but also allowing the most experienced / confident users to minimise the number of keystrokes needed to complete a transaction

All operational steps must be easily reversible until final commit – systems must allow all users at any stage (including after final commit) to easily check the data they have entered and, if after final commit, report any actual or possible errors

All information screens must follow the 7 plus or minus 2 rule ie they must be organised so that the user never has more than 9 headings to choose from (or listen to), each one of which has no more than 9 (and ideally no fewer than 5 subheadings) and so down through the hierarchy of information

No single piece of information and no transaction should ever be more than 4 steps away from the front page

Users must never have to remember what steps to take next (ie the recognition not recall principle) and must never have to remember and re-enter data from elsewhere in the system.

Six Things To Think Of When Changing Technology

(Provided by Bill Fine, AbilityNet)

  1. Hardware that doesn’t need a driver to be installed – Check the connection types eg does the new system provide enough USB ports, are the devices available in USB format?
  1. Hardware that does need a driver to be installed – As above plus will this driver work with the new operating system? If not, is there a version that does?
  1. Operating System Options:
  • Can the mouse, keyboard, VDU etc still be tuned / configured / calibrated?
  • Can background colours, font size etc be changed?
  • Are these features accessible by users (or an administrator – if so, what’s the procedure for gaining access to them)?
  • Do users know that they are available and do they know how to use them?
  • Once selected, do options persist or are they reset centrally?
  1. Application Software Options:
  • Do concurrent systems work together, and with adaptive tools provided (eg is there sufficient memory)?
  • Are the accessibility features (background colours, font size etc) in these applications still available?
  • Are these features accessible by users (or an administrator – if so, what’s the procedure for gaining access to them)?
  • Do users know that they are available and do they know how to use them?
  • Once selected, do options persist or are they reset centrally?
  1. Low Functionality Adaptive Software(eg Text to Speech):
  • Do these products work with the new operating system, hardware, applications etc?
  • Are new versions needed and, if so, do users know how to use them, do they have the same features etc?
  • What is the migration plan?
  1. High Functionality Adaptive Software(eg JAWS, Dragon):
  • Do these products work with the new operating system, hardware, applications etc?
  • Are new versions needed and, if so, do users know how to use them, do they have the same features etc?
  • What is the migration plan?

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