Abstract
There are many APIs and toolkits available in the wild today that allow developers to build rich sophisticated Web Applications. There are a variety of frameworks and toolkits at use in the wild. While these platforms - in principle - offer the promise of greater functionality and more robust interoperability they also cast a potential shadow of greater complexity and how will this complexity then impact on the user experience for people with disabilities? In tandem, there are many guidelines designed to help make inclusive, accessible and usable designs a reality such as the principles of Universal Design, the WCAG and other international usability standards. [1][2][3].
So how can we ensure that when we build complex Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) that they can be easily used by the widest possible audience, including older people and people with disabilities? A well-established method is to conduct a user test.
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References
Centre for Universal Design, http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php
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CFIT User Testing, http://www.cfit.ie/user-testing
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WAI-ARIA, http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria
AXSJAX Framework, http://code.google.com/p/google-axsjax/
Whats new in JAWS 11, http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-whats-new.asp
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© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Connor, J.O. (2010). User Testing of Google Reader and RIA Complexity – A Warning. In: Miesenberger, K., Klaus, J., Zagler, W., Karshmer, A. (eds) Computers Helping People with Special Needs. ICCHP 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6179. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14097-6_71
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14097-6_71
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