From the web page http://microsoft.com/enable/news/aac0399.htm Diverse Disability Communities Advise Microsoft "We're talking about a culture shift. We want accessibility to be a part of design, specs, and testing." -Jean Claude Provost, Canadian National Institute for the Blind by Maureen O'Neill, staff writer for the Microsoft Accessibility Group Thirty-four people, representing diverse disability communities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Portugal traveled to Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, recently for the first meeting of the Microsoft Accessibility Advisory Council. The council, brainchild of Accessibility Group vice president Paul Maritz, was invited to provide high-level strategic advice to guide Microsoft's accessibility efforts. During the next two years, Microsoft will host two more meetings and engage in ongoing conversation with the council via e-mail, conference calls, and video conferencing. Council asked to build consensus In opening what became a frank and cordial dialogue, Greg Lowney, director of the Microsoft Accessibility Group, explained that he hoped the council could build consensus among its members and help Microsoft prioritize accessibility needs. Lowney stressed that in affecting accessibility policy and the core product development process, the council has the opportunity to "steer us over time" and conceivably influence the direction of the computer industry itself. (For feature-level input, Microsoft relies on accessibility review boards already in existence.) Following Lowney, Microsoft employees gave presentations describing the structure of the company and the product development cycle. Individual product groups gave candid assessments of their own accessibility efforts, using an "accessibility checklist." Microsoft vice president of technology development Dick Brass and group vice president of sales and marketing Jeff Raikes also met with the council. Brass gave a well-received presentation on electronic books (e-books), and Raikes held an action-oriented briefing on Microsoft accessibility policy and philosophy. The council had three full days of meetings; on the afternoon of the third day, members met in a closed session to discuss their concerns and create a structure for decision making and communication. Jennifer Sheehy of the National Organization on Disabilities (NOD) was elected chairperson. Mainstreaming accessible design at Microsoft Over the three days, several common concerns emerged, most of which could be summed up in the overarching desire to integrate accessibility into the very fabric of life at Microsoft. The council reinforced the importance of having input early on in the product development cycle; hiring people with disabilities to work in the product groups and in upper management; and "keeping Microsoft honest" vis-à-vis its corporate policy on accessibility. Underlying all the discussion was the hope that Microsoft will take the lead in making accessibility a top priority. As Jennifer Meecham, from the U.S. Department of Education put it, Microsoft is the "the 800-pound gorilla in the software industry. If [it] does the right thing, maybe everyone will follow." Council members raised the following key issues: * Retrofitting versus universal design * Microsoft's relationship with independent software vendors (ISVs) * Representation by people with disabilities throughout Microsoft * Universal design as good design * Lack of trainers No more retrofitting! Universal frustration over the catch-up necessary when new versions of software are released prompted many council members to ask how they can make sure that accessibility is built into the product from the very start. Curtis Chong, of the National Federation of the Blind, explained that when accessibility falls by the wayside in a new release, people can be demoted or even lose their jobs because they can no longer do the same work as before. "In the past," says Chong, "technology did provide opportunities. But as technology moves ahead, our opportunities may be diminished if [the technology] is not designed correctly." Raikes, one of the top leaders in the company, offered a two-pronged solution: first, proactive productive design-that is, incorporating accessibility issues at milestone zero, the first step in the product development cycle; and, second, establishing a good feedback loop. Sidebar: "In addition to being the right thing to do," said Raikes, "accessibility is the coalescence of a goal that is good for society and good for business." -Jeff Raikes Who's responsible for accessibility solutions? Several council members said they didn't know "where to push," to solve a particular accessibility problem: Microsoft or the independent software vendors. Although Microsoft maintains that accessibility is best served by the combined efforts of many small companies working in tandem with Microsoft, some council members challenged this stance. Mitch Travers, representing the National Association of the Deaf, reminded Microsoft that the market has failed to respond to the needs of people with disabilities, resulting in legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Travers argued that the good Microsoft could do by making all computers TTY capable, for example, far outweighs the disadvantages of having a single development source. Several times throughout the three-day conference, Microsoft representatives were asked to explain how Microsoft worked with ISVs. While applauding initiatives such as beta test site programs and the international grant program to fund innovative accessibility technology, several council members suggested that vendors be given direct access to product teams. Diversity hiring. Jennifer Sheehy of NOD asked Jeff Raikes about Microsoft's policy on hiring people with disabilities, voicing the widely held feeling that one of the most powerful commitments the company could make-given its global visibility-would be to "hire qualified people with disabilities at the highest levels of management. Many members also felt that there is no substitute for hiring people with disabilities to work on product teams, and throughout the company. Through day-to-day interaction, asserted Russ Holland of the Alliance of Technical Access, such individuals can provide understanding of accessibility issues at an experiential, rather than an intellectual, level. The very presence of employees with disabilities in the workplace will foreground accessibility issues in a way that is impossible for activists working outside of Microsoft, regardless of what guidelines, policies, philosophies, or checklists are in place. Sidebar: "Ten years from now, we'd like to have every developer at Microsoft to have at least heard the words: universal design." -Jean Claude Provost Universal design. David Clarke of the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) made the point that selling accessible or universal design as good design may be the best way to integrate accessibility. When asked (postconference) for clarification, Clarke gave this example: "Ask 100 random people what the cuts in the corners of sidewalks are for, and the most common answers you will get are baby strollers, bicycles, etc.-not wheelchairs. So, curb cuts are mandatory for accessibility, but in "selling" the need to devote resources to build curb cuts, it may be more effective to talk about strollers and bicycles rather than focusing on disability." Training. The dearth of trainers in adaptive technology was mentioned as a significant and often overlooked roadblock to using accessible software already in existence. Microsoft was asked to help provide qualified trainers. Rating Microsoft's efforts Council members who had attended Accessibility Day at Microsoft last year, frequently commented on the noticeable progress that had been made. For Randy Knapp, of the National Industries for the Blind, this progress gave him "encouragement to continue to dialogue." Overall, members seemed satisfied with the commitment from Microsoft product groups. Clarke of CAST said he was "impressed with the presenters' grasp of issues," adding that the presentations weren't just a "whitewash or a sales pitch." Sidebar: Heather Swayne, accessibility program manager for Office, comments on the conference. Rob Copeland, program manager for Microsoft Visual Basic(R) development system, comments on the conference. "Microsoft is something of a paradox for people with visual disabilities," said Jamal Mazrui of the National Council on Disability. "On the one hand, Microsoft is doing more than any other company," he said, mentioning his awareness of the considerable resources devoted to accessibility at Microsoft, including the rapid expansion of the Accessibility Group and the formation of the council itself. But on the other hand, Mazrui explained, "because Microsoft has such a dominant position in the industry, accessibility problems in Microsoft software have a major impact." When all is said and done, many people with disabilities cannot perform even the simplest tasks using existing software: for example, blind users cannot verify formatting in a Word document. Moving forward So how does a group of 34 members representing diverse constituencies of disabled people come together and speak with one voice to Microsoft? Certainly, this task is no less of a challenge than understanding exactly how to influence the sprawling, decentralized, heterogeneous organization of the largest software company in the world-even with Microsoft's willing participation. But at the end of this seminal meeting, all parties seemed satisfied that they'd put most of the relevant issues on the table. More important, the council and Microsoft left with the confidence that over time, they could accomplish the important work before them. (c) 1997-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Last updated on March 16, 1999. VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List. To join or leave the list, send a message to [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations. 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