Internationalization and Accessibility

Internationalization• International Considerations• To create a product for use internationally may involve two

steps, • Internationalization and localization • Internationalization is the process of giving more importance

to culturally specific elements from a product. • for example The German text of a program developed in

Germany• This occurs in the country where the product is developed. • Localization is the process more importance to specific cultural

context into a previously internationalized product. • Translating German screen components and messages into

English for American users is an example of localization.

Internationalization• Words and Text• ■ Use very simple English.• — Restrict the sentence structure using: noun-verb-object.• ■ Avoid:• — Abbreviations.• — Stringing three nouns together.• — A telegraphic writing style.• — An over-friendly writing style.• — References to national, religious, and sexist stereotypes.• ■ Keep the original term for words that cannot be translated.• ■ Allow additional screen space for the translation.

Internationalization• Images and Symbols• ■ Use internationally accepted symbols.• ■ Develop generic images.• ■ Be particularly careful with:• — Religious symbols (crosses and stars).• — The human body.• — Women.• — Hand gestures.• — Flags.• Images are the visible language of a culture and must be

recognizable, meaningful, and acceptable. • Like text, improper use of images, symbols, and icons can create

problems internationally.

Internationalization• Color, Sequence, and Functionality• Provide the proper information sequence.• Provide the proper functionality.• Remove all references to features not supported.

Internationalization• Requirements Determination and Testing• Establish international requirements at the beginning of

product development.• Establish a relationship within the target culture.• Test the product as if it were new.

Accessibility

Accessibility• Accessibility• Accessibility, in a general sense, means a system must be

usable by almost unlimited range of people, essentially anyone who desires to use it. • In a narrower sense, accessibility can be defined as providing

easy access to a system for people with disabilities. • Design objectives in creating accessibility for users with

disabilities are:• Minimize all barriers that make a system difficult, or

impossible, to use.• Provide compatibility with installed accessibility utilities.• Accessible system design, then, seeks to ensure that no one

with a disability is denied access to computer technology.

Accessibility• Types of Disabilities• Worldwide, a significant number of people have disabilities

of one form or another.• Disabilities may be temporary or permanent, or simply the

result of aging. • Disabilities can be grouped into several broad categories: • visual, • Hearing, • Physical movement, • Speech or language impairments, • Cognitive disorders, and • Seizure disorders.

Types of Disabilities• Visual Disabilities• Visual disabilities range from decreased sensitivity to a

specific color or colors; partial blindness, or total blindness.• Using screen magnification utilities program enable the user

to enlarge a portion of the screen, that displays only a section of an enlarged display.• Screen components • Support screen element scalability, the presentation of larger text

and graphics for people• Also providing a “Zoom” command that scales the information

displayed within a window.• In general, use black text on a white background to achieve the best

fore ground background contrast.• Avoid hiding information based on the movement of the mouse

pointer

Types of Disabilities• Visual Disabilities• Keyboard. Provide complete keyboard interface• Blind users cannot use a mouse to navigate because the

pointer’s location is unknown.• All mouse actions, must be available through the keyboard• A logical order of screen element navigation is also a

requirement for blind users• Color. Color must always be used as a supplemental in design

characteristic.• Users with a color-viewing deficiency may not be able to

discriminate certain colors, if the action is based upon an element’s color alone.• Provide a variety of color selections capable of producing a

range of contrast levels.

Types of Disabilities• Hearing Disabilities• Hearing disabilities range from an inability to detect or

interpret auditory output at normal or maximum levels certain sounds, to total deafness. • Provide captions of important audio content.• Provide an option to display a visual cue for all audio

alerts.• Provide an option to adjust the volume.• Provide a spell-check or grammar-check utility.

Types of Disabilities• Physical Movement Disabilities• Provide voice-input systems.• People who have difficulty in typing should have the option of using a

voice-input system. • Voice-input systems, also called speech recognition systems, permit

the user to control the software by voice instead of by mouse or keyboard.

• People may not be able to effectively use a mouse because of the fine motor movements necessary to control it.

• All mouse actions, must also be available through the keyboard• Provide on-screen keyboards.• Some people cannot even use a standard keyboard. • Keyboards can be presented on the screen and activated through

special switches, a special mouse, or, a device used to manipulate

Types of Disabilities• Speech or Language Disabilities• People with language disabilities, find it difficult to read

and write. • Provide a spell-check or grammar-check utility.• A spell-checker or grammar-checker can help these users• Limit the use of time-based interfaces.• Limit the use of interface techniques that “time-out”

and are removed after a prescribed period of time. • People with some speech and language disabilities may

not be able to react, either by reading text or pressing keys, within the allotted time period.

Types of Disabilities• Seizure Disorders• People with seizure disorders may have problem to

certain visual flicker or flash rates of screen elements. • Screen elements particularly to this phenomenon are

flashing text, graphics that repeatedly turn on and off, and screen images that repeatedly change.• Use elements that do not blink or flicker at rates

between frequency ranges of 2 Hz and 55 Hz.• Minimize the area of the screen that is flashing.• Provide an option to enable users to slow down or

disable screen flashing.

Icons

Icons• Icons are most often used to represent objects and

actions with which users can interact with or manipulate it. • Icons may stand alone on a desktop or in a window, or

be grouped together in a toolbar. • An icon is also used to reinforce important information,

for example a warning icon in a dialog message box,.

Icons• Kinds of Icons• The icons are used to reflect objects, ideas, and actions• Early humans (100,000 years or so ago) used pictures to

communicate. • Some of these early communications can still be found

today on rock walls and in caves around the world. • Pictorial representations, played an important role in

mankind’s history.• Whatever the past, today, objects or actions are

displayed on screens by icons• The term icon by itself, however, can actually represent

very different things.

Icons• Kinds of Icons• Marcus (1984) suggests icons fall into these categories:• Icon. Something that looks like what it means.• Index. A sign that refers a thing.• Symbol. A sign that may be completely in appearance.• A true icon can represent and easy to understand.• A picture of a telephone or a clock on a screen is a true

icon. • icons on screens are a mixture of true icons, signs, and

indexes.

Icons• Characteristics of Icons• An icon possesses the technical qualities of syntax, and

semantics • Syntax refers to an icon’s physical structure. • Is it square, round, red, green, big, small? • Similar shapes and colors can be used to classify a group

of related icons, communicating a common relationship. • Semantics is the icon’s meaning. • what does it • Syntax, and semantics determine an icon’s effectiveness

and usability.

Influences on Icon Usability

Influences on Icon Usability• Simply providing an icon on a screen does not provide any thing

particular favor, unless it is carefully designed to present a natural and meaningful way.

• Icons are included because “this is the thing to do” in a graphical system today.

• So, proper icon design is important for an acceptance, learning, and productivity.

• The following factors influence an icon’s usability:• — Familiar.• — Clear.• — Simple.• — Consistent.• — Direct.• — Efficient.

Influences on Icon Usability• Familiarity. How familiar is the icon being displayed? • Familiarity will reduce learning time. • Lack of familiarity requires learning the icons’ meanings. • Very unfamiliar icons require a great deal of learning.

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Influences on Icon Usability• Clarity. • Does the shape, structure, and formation technique on

the screen permit a clear and unambiguous display? • Icons must appear correctly and consistently no matter

about what kind of screen is used. • If color is used, it should contrast well with the

background. • Poor clarity will lead to identification errors and slower

performance.

Influences on Icon Usability• Simplicity. Is the icon simple? • Too many parts will only confuse the screen viewer.• Consistency. Are the icons consistent in structure and

shape? • Are the same icons displayed on different screens

consistent in shape and structure?

Influences on Icon Usability• Directness. • How well does it convey its meaning?• Does one easily convey concepts such as bigger, smaller,

wider, or narrower?• Efficiency. In some situations, a graphics screen may be

less efficient, consuming more screen display space than a word• In other situations, icons can be more effective than

words in communicating concepts in a smaller area of space.