Accessibility and Section 508

[rmleonard]

Have any of the developers done any research on making their product "accessible" per http://www.section508.gov

I may have to remove the application from labs and classrooms if such documentation is not available.....

Providing a VPAT or other waiver would go along way to keeping things as they are.

Help?!

Rich Leonard

[jan.kolar]

I like the question. Though I (a user of Audacity) might be not competent to answer it, I'll tried my best.
(I do not know what VPAT is.)
I looked on 508 shortly and I think there is nothing special that would prevent Audacity comply to it.

Audacity is close to a big step in the development cycle, that is the release of next major stable version.
Support and feedback from users (including the disabled ones) can improve it to suit to their needs.

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{Edit}

I think you will not be interested much in mine chat and will want to skip to
this post below
or to Leland's post

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Do you just want to know if the program complies to some standards or do you need to see a certificate?
I understand it is rather the second option.

I think that certification is ususally expensive and I would be pessimistic and did not expect it from a free software unless there is a special sponzorschip or support devoted mainly to certification.


I did not read explicite statement that the developpers pay attention to accessibility standards (especcially of different countries). However, from a short listening to developper's list I know they pay attention to keyboard input problems
and that they do tests regarding the reader and its usability with Audacity.
They had feedback from at least one blind user recently right on this forum during short period I am watching it.

I am not layer, I am a user of Audacity. Mainly for fun, and to encourage the devellopers I reviewed 508 shortly.
It is not long at all.
My feeling is that Audacity complies to this norm.
Ofcourse at each stage of develepoment there are known minor issues that are not related to dissabilites (on keyboard input, fokus, ...) and we can expect there will be a few related to disabilites of this kind. Audacity is very nice program, well structured, and designed so that I see nothing that would be a problem in 508.
As of the minor issues that appear in each development state, three factors are of great impact: Feedback from dissabled people can help to discover problems and/or rise their priorities and their participation in 'alpha' and beta testing
of pre-release builds (if it suits current development course) can avoid its appearance in released verions.
Note that soon, release of Audacity 1.4. stable is planned, which is a major step in development.
Audacity welcomes volunteers. For more how about to join, see Audacity web pages or ask on this Forum.
{{link missing}}http://audacityteam.org/forum/

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I started with your link, through 508 Law
on
Software applications and operating systems (1194.21)
(I think that section "Video or Multimedia Products (1194.24)" does not apply since 1. "Multimedia products involve more than one media" and 2. a program is simply never similar to video, presentation or like.)

BTW, the preamble is important too, and I do not understand it much. First "Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop ..." means that Audacity team is not bounded Section 508 since audacity develepment team is not Federal agency (??). OK, perhaps schools are bound 508 but their servis consists of many components that complement each other which is an adventage.

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I mark bold things I do not know if I should attract the attention to them.

Shortly, 508 requires that the following is possible
a. keyboard only execution
b. non disruppting accessibility features of OS and other producs
c. A well-defined on-screen indication of the current focus.
The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that assistive technology can track focus and focus changes.
(I think this is ok because it infact goes under the test with reader?)
d. Sufficient information about a user interface element ... (is that about images only ?)
Do we have recording level info for blind persons?
e. When bitmap images ...
f. Textual information shall be provided through operating system functions for displaying text. ...
g. ...
h. When animation is displayed, the information shall be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user.
i. Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information ...
j. When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided.
k. Software shall not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
(OK, as of metters the following gives us an escape: 1194.3 General exceptions e) This part shall not be construed to require a fundamental alteration in the nature of a product or its components)
l. ...

The documentation
if on web might go under 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.
otherwise:
1194.41 Information, documentation, and support.
(a) Product support documentation provided to end-users shall be made available in alternate formats upon request, at no additional charge.
(b) End-users shall have access to a description of the accessibility and compatibility features of products in alternate formats or alternate methods upon request, at no additional charge.
(c) Support services for products shall accommodate the communication needs of end-users with disabilities.
This should not be problem, too.

[jan.kolar]

All regullar correspondents of Forum, feel free to edit, the above, or remove, comment, ....

I do not know how to close(delete) a track from keyboard.
Is that my fault ?

Even if there is a way, I suggest Shift-F10 could contain such an item.

[jan.kolar]

From Accessibility Forum Frequently Asked Questions,
http://www.accessibilityforum.org/about ... aq.html#Q4

4. I'm an E&IT vendor. Can I get my product or service 508 certified by the Accessibility Forum?

The Forum does not certify products ore services, nor does the Section 508 Statute require a certification process. It is the responsibility of each Federal agency to procure E&IT products that meet the requirements of Section 508.

...

6. The Forum Staff is currently developing tools for use by the federal government and E&IT industry companies. How is that related to the Accessibility Forum?

Under the law it is the responsibility of federal agencies to comply with Section 508. While industry has not compliance responsibility, they are striving to make products and provide services that conform to the Access Board standard. Accessibility Forum meetings were essential in both pointing out the need for help in federal agencies for making compliant acquisitions and in providing much of the research that was used as the underpinning of the tools. The research was established in the Quick Reference Guide.

I think this could mean that waver is not neccessary ?

BTW, I doubt Audacity is E&IT ?
It is to sound what is PaintBrush to drawings. Is PaintBrush E&IT ?

Disclaimer. I express only my opinions. No garantie.

[Gale Andrews]

I do not know how to close(delete) a track from keyboard.
Is that my fault ?

in 1.3.5 Tracks > Remove Tracks (add a shortcut in Keyboard Preferences if you want).


Gale

[Gale Andrews]

Have any of the developers done any research on making their product "accessible" per http://www.section508.gov

I may have to remove the application from labs and classrooms if such documentation is not available.....

Providing a VPAT or other waiver would go along way to keeping things as they are. Rich Leonard

The answer is I don't as far as I know think we have done anything about this, but we would want to given the extent to which Audacity is used in language labs/classrooms etc. We have gone to a lot of trouble in 1.3.x to make it accessible, though there are limitations to this on Mac due to wxWidgets not supporting Mac screen readers properly. It looks as if we could probably complete a VPAT but I'll raise it with the Team.

Gale

[steve]

Have any of the developers done any research on making their product "accessible" per http://www.section508.gov

I may have to remove the application from labs and classrooms if such documentation is not available.....

...
Rich Leonard

May I ask what software you plan to replace it with? I'm just curious.
BTW, I am not connected in any way with the Audacity developers, or the software project.

[Leland]

Hi Rich,

I'm one of the developers on the Audacity Team that strives to make Audacity as accessible as possible (my wife is a user and is blind). While not every feature is currently accessible (like sound meters, editing individual samples, spectrum analysis, etc.), Audacity includes accessibility support for most features. And, I believe it is the only multi-track audio application that provides any sort of built-in support at all. I know of one other audio editor with accessibility support, but it is not multi-track per se.

As far as section 508 goes, you'll have to be a bit more clear on why you think compliance is required in an education setting. I've been aware of 508 for a while, and, while I'm definitely not one to judge whether an application requires compliance or not, it is my opinion that only applications that are to be purchased/used by United States government agencies or applications they expose to public usage must comply with section 508.

I do not believe educational institutions are bound by section 508, but I suppose you could argue that if you are educating individuals specifically destined for government employment or if your institution instructs government employees, then you might need to abide by 508.

I don't see the Audacity Team as attempting any sort of certification in regards to 508. What we will strive for is complete (or near complete) usability by all individuals because we either have a vested interest (;-)) or because it's simply the right thing to do.

I'm eager to learn your thinking behind the query.

Leland
Audacity Team Member

[[email protected]]

In this thread, the government requirement of a VPAT certificate or 508 compliance is alluded to. Has any document been developed that a government agency can use in a request for use of Audacity? If so, could you point me in that direction? Thank you!

[steve]

In this thread, the government requirement of a VPAT certificate or 508 compliance is alluded to. Has any document been developed that a government agency can use in a request for use of Audacity? If so, could you point me in that direction? Thank you!

What exactly are you asking?
Which government agency wants to make a request to whom, to use Audacity for what?