Accessibility,+Mark+Stewart


 * Human-Computer Interaction Lab Web Site Evaluation **

The Human-Computer Interaction Lab’s home page does a good job adhering to WCAG 2.0 with a few exceptions. In terms of section 1, it has no video or audio elements, so the alternatives for those formats are unnecessary. The layout is very simple and straightforward. That said, the slideshow, advocate, and store links are images of text rather than text, which is in violation of part of guideline 1.4. Additionally, there is no text alternative to the images displayed in the slideshow at the top of the page as stipulated in 1.1. In terms of section 2, all links and buttons are keyboard-selectable, there are no seizure-inducing rapid color-changes, and the menus are intuitive--their categories are discrete enough to make finding a particular link easy. the only problem for section 2 is that the rotating Twitter feed does not appear to be pausible, as stipulated should be the case for such non-static content. Section 3 is passed with flying colors. Text is translatable, and there is no use of ambiguous jargon, the site is predictable, and the site is not complex enough to require error assistance. Section 4 is also passed easily, on account of the site being relatively simple.

The violations of section 1, assuming I’ve interpreted the guidelines correctly, appear to prevent the site from reaching A status. These should be trivial to adapt to text, and once adapted the site woud pass all requirements for section 1. The same goes for the Twitter feed for section 2. This is an A-level requirement, but also the only requirement of any kind from section 2 that is not passed with flying colors. For section 3, a means of translating ambiguous jargon might be useful in the event that the site ever starts using any, but as it is, it’s unnecessary. With the exception of the problems already listed for sections 1 and 2, the site passes section 4 no problem on account of being almost entirely text-based.

In light of the above, the HCIL web site must be considered partially implemented, but with a few tweaks, could easily fulfill all WCAG 2.0 guidelines.