[jawsscripts] Re: Accessibility, Usability and Scripting

  • From: "Jim Grimsby Jr." <jimgrims@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <jawsscripts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 15:54:42 -0700

Then with your logic no program is accessable.  When ever you use jaws every
thing you do with it is a script.  All jaws is is a script parser and dll
files that provide object video information. The word accessible means just
that.  Can you get access to this program if the answer is yes then said
program is accessable.  Now natively accessable.  No program I know of
accept forprograms maid for the blind like k1000 are natively accessable.
You need a screen reader aid.  The job of the scripter is to provide to
things.  First efishent and useful access.  Maning a program is accessible
even if you have to use the jaws cursor to get that access but it is not
efishent access. 
Afishent access is automaticly read things that need to be read.  for
example if you are working in a sound editor program where you are moving to
in the sound file should be read.  chat  programs should automaticly read
the new messages. Spell checkers should read the error and the recamended
correction.  This is what a user of any program is going to need to know and
so for afishent access the user should have this read.   next reading
information on request. This information is accessable using the jaws cursor
but once again we are dealing with afishent access.  So if you are in your
sound editor and you need to know where your start marker is you could find
it with the jaws cursor this would take you some time but you can do it.  So
by defantion it is accessable.  Afishent it is not. A key press to read this
information is afishent.  Extra key commands to access parts of the program.
Now lets take your sound editor again.  Lets say we need to reverce the
sound.  Now this is found in the effects menu.  There are about 20 things
here and you can arrow threw each one tell you find it.  So it is
accessable.  The mouse user click on the tool bar icon.  Afishint to go
threw the menu it is not.  So a keyboard command is added.  Now you have an
afishent access salution.  Now what should the programmer provide.  Access
that is it.  If the screen reader can get the information the programmer has
done enough.  Then it is the job of the scripter to provide the afishentcy.
Lets use skype as an example.  Skype provides lots of information to the
screen reader threw msaa it was dougs job and  a fine job he did of it to to
get the information and provide it to you in an afishent form and a friendly
form.
Now lets move on 
To  useability.  Quite often this is documentation in a help script.
This tells the user how the scripts should be used what they do and the
commands that make it do it.  This can also be used to provide help for the
program it self because most program documentation describes how to do
things with a mouse and clearly the screen reader user is going to be using
the keyboard. 
  Keyboard help
Jaws key 1.  When doing the dance across the keyboard good script
documentation makes thing a lot easy to use. I generally script every
command in a program wether it needs it or not just so I can provide the
keyboard help.  It is also nice to be able to link to it in the help system.
Another good reason is not a useability reason but goes back to access some
users only have one hand or other problems using the keyboard and defineing
scripts allows them to put them on keys that are easyer for them to use.
Also you have display users who want to be able to control the program from
the display.   Scripting in this way allows for all that.  
Verbosity while you have provided for afishent access and you try to tell
the user everything he or she might want to know a script ismuch more
useable if you give the user control over what he or she heres. Lets take
the sound editor for example. It reads automaticly key labels marker
location information.  How ever bruce knows what all the keys do and does
not want to here the state of each one.  Having a verbosity setting where he
can turn it off ither threw a dialog or toggle key gives him the control and
makes the script much more useable to him.  
Now some thing that is not the scripters job but some do this as an added
bonus.  Extra features. 
It is not the job of the scripter to provide increased functionality to a
program.  It is his job to provide increased access and afishentcy to a
program.  Many scripters add features to a program to make it nicer.  One
example is the winamp time marker nice feature. Now I hope I have cleared
this up what is access afishent access and useability from a scripting point
of view.  
Jim Grimsby Jr. 
skype: Jim.grimsby
I say what I mean! I mean what I say! 


-----Original Message-----
From: jawsscripts-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:jawsscripts-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Daniel Tang (dtang)
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 10:10 AM
To: jawsscripts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jawsscripts] Re: Accessibility, Usability and Scripting

Hello all:

If an application requires scripting work before it is usable by people
with disability, *that application is not accessible. Scripting only
remedies the problem. If the application is conceived to be used by all,
it should be used by regular jaws keystrokes and hot keys. Scripting
takes extra time and cost before it is usable. Yes. Scripting can be
helpful by making it accessible temporarily. But when the application
releases subsequent versions, scripting must be done again. Therefore,
the users again are behind; need to wait a scripter to do the job before
they can use it.
 


Daniel Tang
Email: dtang@xxxxxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: jawsscripts-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:jawsscripts-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David W Bundy
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 6:03 PM
To: jawsscripts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [jawsscripts] Re: Accessibility, Usability and Scripting

If a blind employee is not able to access the program with JAWS in such
a way that they can be competative with their sighted co-workers, then
the program is not accessible from my perspective.  When I script an
application, I want to go beyond just being able to get to the
information, but to be able to get to it in as timely a manner as
possible, so I add in shortcuts go gather the most frequently used
information or get to the most frequently used fields.  Typically, job
performance is measured by how quickly a given task is accomplished, so
anything we can do to give our consumers a competative edge should be
done as a matter of course.

David
 

-----Original Message-----
.From: "Geoff Chapman"<gch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
.Sent: 10/1/07 10:55:08 PM
.To: "jawsscripts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx"<jawsscripts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
.Subject: [jawsscripts] Re: Accessibility, Usability and Scripting .
.my input is, I heartily agree with you! 
.  ----- Original Message -----
.  From: Kamil
.  To: jawsscripts@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.  Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 12:27 PM .  Subject: [jawsscripts]
Accessibility, Usability and Scripting .
.
.  Hi folks,
.
.  I would like to know your take on a subject which raises hot debats
in my workplace and that is how much scripting is really necessary for
an application.
.
.  Based on this business standards, application accessibility means the
existance of methods for getting the information on the screen and
interact with it. 
.
.  It doesn't take into account, the time it takes to reach to a
specific piece of information and the needed energy to filter the
unwanted announcements.
.
.  The JAWS cursor is not only, not assumed the last resort, but also is
assumed to be used, as the main tool for static information retrieval,
according to this standard.
.
.  This way, other than applications with graphic components without
alternative text, the rest can be catagorized accessible since by using
JAWS cursor eventually one can get to any place and if direct keyboard
interaction is not possible then keyboard equivalents of mouse clicks
can be utilized.
.
.  The rest falls in the realm of usability.
.
.  The business believes that it's responsible to provide accessibility
as defined above and anything beyond that is just icing on the cake.
.
.  My approach to this subject, is to see the big picture. Taking into
account all the stress, frustration and the time that is getting wasted
navigating a not properly laid out screen together with filtering
unwanted audio data.
.
.  This way not only total accessibilty should be provided but a highly
usable interface is the winning card.
.
.  What I mean by highly usable interface, is a kind of intelligent
interface for the application which provides such facilities as:
.  Instant anouncement of the value of each field by typing the very
first letters of its label .  Automatic announcement of live data when
they change .  Availability of hotkeys to activate major tasks .
Suppressing extra announcements .
.  I highly appreciate your input.
.
.  Thanks,
.
.  Kamil
.
.
.   

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