Redefining Assumptions: Accessibility and Its Stakeholders

摘要

Accessibility is becoming more and more relevant in Information technologies, such as the Web and software applications, particularly due to the push on legislation to make public services accessible to everyone. While most accessibility issues are envisioned by the developer-user dichotomy, several stakeholders are responsible for the successful implementation of accessible software and services for all users. In this paper we present an exploratory study on the current state of accessibility as perceived by its main stakeholders: developers, service providers, public bodies, accessibility assessors, and elderly and people with disabilities. By surveying more than 400 individuals, we have confirmed some of the expectations and results from other surveys, such as the perception about the lack of understanding and application of Web accessibility guidelines. We have found that this issue gets even worse outside the scope of the Web, for all stakeholders. Another eye-opening finding is that all stakeholders are welcome to the simulation of assis-tive technologies, in order to widen the perception and involvement of accessibility in the software development process.