Appendix: Resources

This resource list was developed in 2003 with Mary Grossnickle as part of the ITTATC project. It has not been updated since 2004. There are many more good resources available now.

This section includes the following categories:

User-Centered Design
User Group Profiles, Personas, Scenarios with Accessibility Considerations
General References on User Group Profiles, Personas, Scenarios
Interacting with People with Disabilities
Assistive Technology
Usability Evaluation, Usability Testing
Accessibility Evaluation Tools and Techniques
Integrating Accessibility into User-Centered Design (UCD) and Usability
Understanding Computer Use by People with Disabilities
Standards and Guidelines
Accessible Design Techniques Guides
Accessible Products Lists

User-Centered Design

Cooper, A. (1999). The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. SAMS, Division of Macmillan Computer Publishing.
Stephanidis, C. (ed.) (2001) User interfaces for all: concepts, methods and tools. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Vanderheiden, G. (1997). Design for people with functional limitations due to disability, aging, or circumstances. In G. Salvendy (Ed.), Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (pp. 2010-2052). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Vanderheiden, G. and Henry, S.L. Designing Flexible, Accessible Interfaces That Are More Usable by Everyone. Proceedings of the Computer Human Interaction Conference 2003.
Vanderheiden, G. and Tobias, J. Universal Design of Consumer Products: Current Industry Practice and Perceptions. Findings from a three-year study of the practice of universal design in companies providing consumer products and services, funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the Department of Education.
The ITTATC Library. A list of resources regarding universal design from The Information Technology Technical Assistance & Training Center (ITTATC), Georgia Institute of Technology.
Principles of Universal Design. This article from the Center for Universal Design provides seven well-defined principles of universal design.
Universal Design Custom Bibliography Tool is an online tool developed by the Trace Research and Development Center, which lets you build your own bibliography from a list of 893 resources on accessible design of consumer products (historical only; does not include recent publications).
User Centered Design Resources. A list of links to articles about usability and the User-Centered Design process.

User Group Profiles, Personas, Scenarios with Accessibility Considerations

Moulton, G. et al. (2002). Accessible Technology in Today's business: Case Studies for Success. Microsoft Press.
Computer Access: In Our Own Words. In this ten-minute online video, students with disabilities demonstrate the uses of adaptive technology and computer applications.
Consumer Success Stories. Arizona Technology Access Program (AzTap) provides online videos of consumers with disabilities using assistive technology.
Dive into Accessibility: 30 days to a More Accessible website. This site provides sketches of five fictitious people; all have a combination of physical, mental, and technological disabilities.
How People with Disabilities Use the Web. W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) provides eight examples that show people with a variety of disabilities using various assistive technologies or adaptive strategies to access the Web.
Know Your Users: Web Accessibility from the User's Prospective. A 27 minute video featuring computer users with disabilities discussing and demonstrating the tools they use to access the Web. California State University, Fresno.
Misunderstood Minds. This companion website to the PBS documentary provides interactive activities designed to give site visitors a sense of what it may be like for a person struggling with a cognitive disability.
Web Accessibility Access for All. 10 minute video featuring insights from people with disabilities using the Web. California State University, Fresno.

General References on User Group Profiles, Personas, Scenarios

Carroll, J.M. ed. (1995). Scenario-Based Design: Envisioning Work and Technology in System Development. Joseph Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cooper, A. (1999). The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. SAMS, Division of Macmillan Computer Publishing.
Erickson, T. Notes on Design Practice: Stories and Prototypes as Catalysts for Communication includes some of the ways in which scenarios are used to increase communication in design, and the properties that make those scenarios effective.
Glaze, G. Personas for the S2S Project is a good introduction to personas, based on Alan Cooper's work.
Goodwin, K. Perfecting Your Personas contains useful tips on creating personas.
Market Forces Driving the Development of More Accessibly Designed Products. A white paper by IDEAL Group, Inc. that lists statistics helpful in developing user group profiles.

Interacting with People with Disabilities

Cohen, Judy. (1998). Disability Etiquette: Tips on Interacting with People with Disabilities, Eastern Paralyzed Veteran Association.
ADA Accessibility Checklist for Existing Facilities is useful if you are bringing people with disabilities to your site.
Communicating With and About People with Disabilities contains tips for interacting with people with visual, hearing, mobility, cognitive and speech impairments.
Guidelines for Reporting and Writing about People with Disabilities was developed with input from over 100 national disability organizations. This is a good source for preferred terminology and suggestions for appropriate ways to describe people with disabilities.

Assistive Technology

AbleData is a US federally funded project that provides information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment. AbleData has a database that contains information on more than 19,000 currently available assistive technology products.
Alternative Web Browsing provides a comprehensive list of specialized browsers and screen readers. Introductory material provides a general understanding of how and when alternative web browsing is used.
Assistivetech.net is a resource for assistive technology information, and provides links to AT and disability-related information.
Lemon, G. Assistive Device Behaviour Chart. Searchable by feature or assistive device, these charts help developers understand how assistive devices work. Juicy Studio.
Low Vision Disability Simulation from WebAIM. Various low vision situations from Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM).
Screen Reader Simulation. Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM).
Bartlett, K. A Web Designer's Guide to JAWS also includes a brief overview of other screen readers.

Usability Evaluation, Usability Testing

There are many resources on usability evaluation and usability testing. Listed below are just a few.

Dumas, J. and Redish, J. (1999). A Practical Guide to Usability Testing. Intellect Books.
Information & Design (I&D). 2004. Index of Resources. I&D makes available blank worksheets and other resources, such as checklists, for many phases of usability testing. These resources are available for download if the copyright notice is maintained.
Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering. Academic Press.
Rubin, J. (1994). Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests. Joseph Wiley & Sons, Inc.
HCI Bibliography contains links to information on making computers and software more accessible to persons with disabilities.

Accessibility Evaluation Tools and Techniques

Law, C. and Vanderheiden, G. (1999). Tests for screening product designs prior to user testing by people with functional limitations. HFES'99 (Human Factors & Ergonomics Society annual meeting), Houston, Texas, September 27-October 1, 1999.
Vanderheiden, G. and Henry, S. L. (2001). Everyone Interfaces in User Interfaces for All: Concepts, Methods, and Tools (Human Factors and Ergonomics Series), Stephanidis, C. (Ed.), Mahwah, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Conducting an Accessibility Evaluation. Georgia Tech Research Institute Human Factor Division, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Evaluating websites for Accessibility, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Education and Outreach Working Group.
Evaluation and Repair Tools. Links to free tools, online tools and commercial Web accessibility evaluation products. Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM).
How to Conduct Usability Evaluations for Accessibility. Methodology Guidelines for Testing Websites and Intranets With Users Who Use Assistive Technology. Nielsen Norman Group Report.
Law, C., Barnicle, K., and Henry, S.L. Usability screening techniques: evaluating for a wider range of environments, circumstances, and abilities. Proceedings of UPA 2000 (Usability Professionals' Association annual conference)
WAI Evaluation, Repair, and Transformation Tools for Web Content Accessibility. An extensively annotated, linked list of Web accessibility evaluation tools.

Integrating Accessibility into User-Centered Design (UCD) and Usability

Henry, S.L. Adapting the Design Process to Address More Customers in More Situations. Proceedings of UPA 2001 (Usability Professionals' Association annual conference)
Keates, S. and Clarkson, P.J. Countering design exclusion: bridging the gap between usability and accessibility, International Journal: Universal Access in the Information Society. Published online 5 June 2003.

Understanding Computer Use by People with Disabilities

Henry, S.L. (2002). Another-ability: Accessibility Primer for Usability Specialists. Proceedings of UPA 2002 (Usability Professionals' Association annual conference)
Moulton, G. et al. (2002). Accessible Technology in Today's business: Case Studies for Success. Microsoft Press.
Redish, G. and Theofanos, M.F. (April 2003). Observing Users Who Listen to Web Sites shares some of the findings from conducting usability testing with blind and low-vision users at the United States National Cancer Institute.
Kolatch, Erica. (April, 2000). Designing for Users With Cognitive Disabilities. Department of Computer Science, University of Maryland.
Computer Access: In our Own Words. In this ten-minute online video, students with disabilities demonstrate the uses of adaptive technology and computer applications.
Consumer Success Stories. Arizona Technology Access Program (AzTap) provides online videos of consumers with disabilities using assistive technology.
Dive into Accessibility: 30 days to a More Accessible website.This site provides sketches of five fictitious people; all have a combination of physical, mental, and technological disabilities.
How People with Disabilities Use the Web. W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) provides eight examples that show people with a variety of disabilities using various assistive technologies or adaptive strategies to access the Web.
Introduction to the Screen Reader and Screen Readers and the Web. Two videos demonstrating how people who are blind use screen readers to navigate the Web, and access the electronic page.
Know Your Users: Web Accessibility from the User's Prospective. A 27 minute video featuring computer users with disabilities discussing and demonstrating the tools they use to access the Web. California State University, Fresno.
Misunderstood Minds. This companion website to the PBS documentary provides interactive activities designed to give site visitors a sense of what it may be like for a person struggling with a cognitive disability.
Web Accessibility Access for All. 10 minute video featuring insights from people with disabilities using the Web. California State University, Fresno.

Standards and Guidelines

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) (May 5, 1999) published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (EITAS) under Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.
Overview of State Accessibility Laws, Policies, Standards and Other Resources Available On-line provides a table listing the states that have published on-line their laws, policies, standards or guidelines, and other resources related to accessibility of websites, application development, IT procurement, and public hardware.
International Policies Relating to Web Accessibility links to information on government policies relating to Web accessibility in different countries around the world.
Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines under section 255(e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Resource Guide for Accessible Design of Consumer Electronics. (1996) Linking Product Design to the Needs of People with Functional Limitations. A Joint Venture of the Electronic Industries Alliance and the Electronic Industries Foundation.
Guidelines and Checklists. Usability guidelines and quick fix checklists for designing usable websites. National Cancer Institute, Usability.gov.
Vanderheiden, G. C., & Vanderheiden, K. (1991). Accessible design of consumer products: Guidelines for the design of consumer products to increase their accessibility to people with disabilities or who are aging. Madison, Wisconsin: Trace Research & Development Center.
International Organisation for Standardisation (1998a) ISO 9241-11: Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) Part 11: Guidance on usability. (Switzerland: International Organisation for Standardisation)
International Organisation for Standardisation (1999) ISO 13407 Human centred design process for interactive systems. International standard. (Switzerland: International Organisation for Standardisation)
International Organisation for Standardisation (2003) ISO 16071 Ergonomics of human-system interaction: guidance on accessibility of human-computer interfaces. Technical Specification. (Switzerland: International Organisation for Standardisation)
Thorén, C. (ed.) (1998). Nordic Guidelines for Computer Accessibility. 2nd ed., (Nordic Cooperation on Disability).
Reed, P., Holdaway, K., Isensee, S., Buie, E., Fox, J., Williams, J., and Lund, A. (1999), User interface guidelines and standards: progress, issues, and prospects. Interacting With Computers. 12 (2): 119-142
Reed, P., Henry, S.L. (2000) Software Usability and Accessibility Standards: Progress, Issues, and Implications. IEA/HFES 2000 Conference Proceedings.
Reed, P., Henry, S.L., Williams, J., Carter, J., Blanchard, H., Lund, A. (2000). Software Usability Standards for the Next Millennium: Key Issues and Future Challenges. IEA/HFES 2000 Conference Proceedings.

Accessible Design Techniques Guides

XML Accessibility Guidelines - For developers of XML-based applications, explains how to ensure that XML-based applications support accessibility.
Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 - Detailed markup examples and explanations of how to implement the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 - Detailed examples and explanations for software developers on how to implement the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines.
Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 - Detailed examples and explanations for software developers on how to implement the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines.
Techniques for Accessibility Evaluation and Repair - Explains to software developers how to develop evaluation and retrofitting tools that conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.
Accessibility Features of SMIL - Detailed technical discussion of features in W3C's Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) that support accessibility of multimedia, and how to implement those features in multimedia players, multimedia authoring tools, and in the development of multimedia content.
Accessibility Features of CSS - Detailed technical discussion of features in W3C's Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) that support accessibility of Web content when CSS is used to control the "presentation" (visual or auditory display) of HTML documents.
Accessibility Features of SVG - Detailed technical discussion of features in W3C's Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) that support accessibility.
Accessibility improvements in HTML 4.0 - General discussion of features in HTML 4.0 that support accessibility.
Copy & Paste Templates for conforming to HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0 and XHTML 1.1 from Web Standards Project (WaSP). Also HTML and XHTML color names chart and HTML and XHTML character entities chart.
IBM Web Accessibility Checklist. Includes links to techniques pages.
Effective Color Contrast: Designing for People with Partial Sight and Color Deficiencies. Contains basic guidelines for making effective color choices that work for nearly everyone. Provides examples of effective and not effective color combinations.
Java Accessibility and Usability Work. Provides examples of accessible Java applications. Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
JavaScript and Dynamic HTML Accessibility. JavaScript design guide, case studies and examples. Trace R&D Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Rich Media Accessibility provides examples of ways to make rich media accessible to people with disabilities. Searchable by media type (Flash, PDF, QuickTime, etc.) and by strategy (captions, keyboard access, self-voicing, etc.). Includes a download of Magpie, a free captioning and description tool. National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM).
Developing Accessible Software, a Section 508 Tutorial, provides specific examples illustrating the application of the accessibility requirements of 1194.21.

Accessible Products Lists

A-sites. The National Library for the Blind's online library of accessible websites, organized by category.
AbleData is a US federally funded project that provides information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment. AbleData has a database that contains information on more than 19,000 currently available assistive technology products.
Assistivetech.net is another federally fuded project that is a searchable database for assistive technology products that can be searched by product, by manufacturer, or by functional limtation.
Buy Accessible - Search for Products and Service Providers. A searchable database of accessible products and service providers. This information is provided by www.section508.gov to facilitate market research on the accessibility of products. The information is based on vendor self-representation.
Disability Online. A directory of over 2,000 links to accessible products and services.
Disability Related Products/Services from Companies, from disABILITY Information and Resources, lists products for daily living for people with disabilities.
EnableMart. Software, hardware and general consumer products for people with vision, hearing, mobility, communication and learning disabilities.
JobAccess, Australia has a list of products and services to assist people with disabilities in employment.
Market Monitoring Report provides a searchable database of products by type of product and by access feature (for example, "high contrast display").
Product Design Ideas Browser is a reference tool that focuses on design strategies used to address the Telecom Act Accessibility Guidelines; the browser allows users to select a guideline and find ideas and strategies that will be helpful in the design of more accessible and usable products.
Products and Services. The American Library Association's Resource List for Accessible Libraries includes links to hardware and software products