Mind Mapping for All of Us - The Power of Making Your App Accessible

An inspirational talk about the importance of making apps accessible to users with disabilities, given at #Pragma Conf 2016 in Verona, Italy.

Related Blog Post: http://mindnode.com/blog/2016-06-29-making-mindnode-accessible

Transcript

1. * Mind Mapping = central idea + connect related thoughts, radiant thinking * advantages: - visual overview - group related concepts - easy to grasp whole picture MIND MAPPING
2. * introduced by British Psychologist Tony Buzan * visual tool to help you organize your thoughts A Mind Map is a visual and graphic Holistic Thinking Tool. — Tony Buzan
3. * Questions that come up: how should this work, why would Mind Mapping be of interest for visually impaired people? Hi, I'm a visually impaired user of Apple products & I'm wondering if your app works with VoiceOver? — Jessica
4. * perfectly normal use case: write down ideas & organize thoughts * realization: visually impaired users think visually too I'd like to write an autobiography, and need a place to write down my ideas and construct chapters. — Jessica
5. MIND MAPPING FOR ALL OF US THE POWER OF MAKING YOUR APP ACCESSIBLE
6. Several reasons: * easy: you can get the basics done in a few hours * increase user base (WHO: 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, 39 million blind) * UI Testing WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
7. * Main Reason: empathy * unique chance for developers: improve the lives of millions of people * Smartphone + Accessibility = live-changing for people with disabilities (empowerment, independence) * Goal: equal experience for all users, regardless of disabilities BECAUSE IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
8. ACCESSIBILITY MYTHS* * http://mattgemmell.com/accessibility-for-iphone-and-ipad-apps/
9. * very common belief * we implicitly assume most extreme case * reality: entire spectrum [corrective lenses -> complete blindness] * needs of partially-sighted users wildly differ from blind users MYTH 1 VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS ARE BLIND.
10. * use of memory of location * once you remember location of a control, you don't scan the whole screen MYTH 2 VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS ACCESS THINGS SEQUENTIALLY.
11. * listen to just enough to orient themselves * labels should be as short as possible: concise, not verbose * users don't want to read a book, they want to use your app * it's all about efficiency MYTH 3 VISUALLY IMPAIRED USERS LISTEN TO ALL ON-SCREEN TEXT.
12. * wide range of accessibility technologies: * localization, RTL, Dynamic Type, Bold Text, Reduced Motion, Reduced Transparency,... * VoiceOver = Screen Reader * turns your whole screen into an input area * reads out stuff that's under your finger (focused) VOICEOVER
13. * easiest way to enable VoiceOver * turn on/off: triple-click home button SETTINGS > GENERAL > ACCESSIBILITY
14. * tap or pan around screen = change focus * black rectangle indicates focus CHANGE FOCUS SINGLE TAP
15. * to activate currently focused element double tap anywhere on screen * = single-tap in normal mode * calls "func accessibilityActivate() -> Bool" ACTIVATE DOUBLE TAP
16. * moves focus to the previous or next element on screen * good way to explore screen * order of elements is very important (UIAccessibilityContainer) CHANGE FOCUS SEQUENTIALLY SWIPE LEFT/RIGHT
17. * Magic Tap is optional, triggers the most important action in your app * e.g. phone app: take incoming call, music app: play/ pause music, camera app: take picture MOST IMPORTANT ACTION 2-FINGER DOUBLE TAP
18. you can find a detailed blog post with before/after video comparison at http://mindnode.com/blog/2016-06-29-making-mindnode-accessible VIDEO
19. * framework provided by Apple * allows us to provide accessibility information about UI elements * this information is then used by VoiceOver & other assistive technologies * at the heart: informal protocol on NSObject: NSObject(UIAccessibility) UIAccessibility
20. * single most important tool * it's what VoiceOver reads out first (compare with Myth #3) * rules: - as short as possible, single word - don't include type of control -> accessibilityTraits - localized - Starts with a capitalized Word - Does not end with a period - More: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/ #documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/ accessibilityLabel "WHAT'S MY NAME?"
21. * Possibility to specify language a text should be read in * e.g. Company/Personal/App Names accessibilityLanguage "WHAT'S MY NATIVE LANGUAGE?"
22. * if not, this is how iCloud Drive sounds in German * sometimes not feasible to specify the language (localization workflow) "iCloud Drive"
23. * fake it 'til you make it! * make sure string is only used for VoiceOver and not displayed on screen "iCloud Dhraif"
24. lots of other properties to check out: * hint: what happens when you trigger me? * traits: what`s my personality? * frame/path: where am I? * value: what's my value? accessibilityHint accessibilityTraits accessibilityFrame/Path accessibilityValue ... AND MANY MORE ...
25. * think of it as a context menu for objects on screen * can make the difference between an accessible app, and a really great to use app with VoiceOver UIAccessibilityCustomAction "RIGHT-CLICK MENU"
26. * Example: Browsing a Website. - Sighted users don't read the whole screen top to bottom, they scan for images, headlines, links, ... - the Rotor allows visually impaired people to perform the same workflow: skim through content * can be shown by rotating fingers on screen * new in iOS 10: custom rotors - you can add your own categories UIAccessibilityCustomRotor "WHAT'S ON THIS PAGE?"
27. DEMO
28. * challenge: take a selfie with VoiceOver enabled 1. activate VoiceOver with triple-click on home button 2. select time in status bar 3. 3-finger swipe up to show control center 4. 3-finger triple tap to enable "Screen Curtain" (turns screen off) 5. find camera icon 6. activate camera app 7. change camera to selfie camera TAKE A SELFIE!
29. the power of making your app accessible = being able to answer these kind of questions with YES & knowing that it improves the lifes of so many people out there Hi, I'm a visually impaired user of Apple products & I'm wondering if your app works with VoiceOver? — Jessica
30. THANK YOU! FOLLOW @myell0w