A note on accessibility

We are used to considering accessibility as a feature for people with permanent conditions, like someone who cannot see or cannot differentiate colours, and so forth. Like, push a button on the website and get higher contrast. We even have system-level tools like VoiceOver.

In reality, these tools, or rather toolsets, target quite a narrow group of people. They often don’t consider temporary or intermediary conditions. For example, if you run VoiceOver on your iOS device, your screen goes completely black. And this black screen might be okay for someone who doesn’t see at all, but not for others who can see at least something. It would be better if it could still show elements on the screen. That would allow this person to navigate the interface better.

I read something about user-friendliness quite a while back, and I think it's still relevant. The article discussed mobile apps, but the principles are transferable. Imagine a person carrying a baby in one hand and a cup of coffee in another and trying to use your application while running for a bus. If they can successfully do that, your app could be called user-friendly.

This is, of course, a wildly exaggerated example. It shows, however, that the user-friendliness of your application or website means that different people in various conditions, which can be temporary, can use it. The same goes for accessibility.

Several weeks back, I visited the world of the visually impaired. For a few days, I could see about 10%, maybe 20% of what I considered a norm for myself. And I experienced firsthand how our world is not accessible. Software included. Software in the first place, maybe.

I believe we can improve. As software engineers and development teams, we can pay more attention to the edge cases and not only the things that bring the most money or improve our KPIs (if accessibility is in your KPIs, congratulations!). We should build our awareness.

The world is, of course, gradually becoming a more accessible and inclusive place. We are seeing more and more technological innovations that allow people to live independently. But there’s still a long road ahead of us.