ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION In the context of information technologies, universal usability has been defined as “having more than 90% of all households as successful users of information and communications services at least once a week” (Shneiderman, 2000). Many issues relevant to this broad definition are beyond the scope of this chapter. As a result, we shift the focus from having a specific percentage of all households successfully using the World-Wide Web (WWW) on a regular basis to ensuring that the information and services provided via the WWW are usable for every citizen regardless of the environment in which they are located or the technologies they are using. Given this focus, our goal is to provide practitioners and researchers with insights into the issues that must be addressed, some solutions that exist, and pointers to key resources when designing for
Unexpected benefits often appear as the needs of specific populations are addressed. A classic example is the curb cut (the ramp between a road and sidewalk). The original goal was to allow wheelchair users to cross streets more easily, but many
other individuals also benefit, including individuals pushing baby carriages and riding bicycles. Not only do curb cuts provide benefits for many individuals beyond the intended users, the amount of material required is reduced by including curb cuts in the original plans. Other examples include the telephone, television subtitles, and speech transcription systems (all originally developed to assist deaf people). Various audio recording technologies (e.g., multitrack tape recorders and cassette tape recorders) were developed to assist people who are blind. Many more examples are discussed by Newell (1995). Of particular interest is how guidelines developed to address the needs of individuals with various impairments or disabilities can be applied to other situations. In fact, many of these guidelines prove useful when designing for children, the elderly, and international audiences as well as for devices with small displays (e.g., PDAs and cell phones). These guidelines may also prove useful when individuals experience situationally-induced impairments or disabilities (SIIDs). Examples include hearing impairments created by noisy environments, physical impairments created by cold or moving environments, and visual impairments created by poor lighting. Of course, SIIDs are different in that they tend to be temporary and dynamic, suggesting that individuals experiencing SIIDs are likely to develop different strategies for accommodating the difficulties they experience. These issues are also important given the trend toward increased legislation requiring information technologies to be accessible to individuals with impairments and disabilities (e.g., GSA, 2002).
