Accessibility - What is it, and why is it important?
2018-06-26
6:00 p.m.
The Albany Club - 91 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario
David Best
As an Accessibility IT Specialist, with more than 30 years of working experience, in software design and development, project management, diversity leadership, and disability advocacy, David is persistent in seeking out accessibility business best practice solutions. Recently retired from IBM, David is now an entrepreneur actively supporting Ontario organizations. As an Information Technology Specialist, an Accessibility Consultant, a Digital Inclusion Advocate, and an Assistive Technology user, David have experienced the digital divide, confronted workplace challenges, implemented best practice inclusion strategies, mentored peer support group initiatives, facilitated web design workshops, and promoted emerging technologies that inspire independence and confidence.
As an Information Technology Specialist, David works with software developers (D2L, Google Angular, Rangle.io, Loblaws, George Brown College, Ontario Public Service, ...), in creating knowledge skills for accessibility and usability software design, development and testing.
As an Accessibility Consultant, David is an Appointee to the Ontario government AODA advisory council, Brock University Accessibility Advisory Council member, Canadian with Disability Act Ministry Advisor, member of the AEBC Board of Directors, and supports several associations and nonprofit groups.
As a Digital Inclusion Advocate, David is a frequent speaker at software and accessibility conferences (Canadian International and the Ontario Digital Summits), facilitator for training workshops, supports emerging innovation augmented reality tools, and gives voice to the digital communication needs of blind Canadians.
To learn more visit
Profile: http://www.davidbest.ca/profile.shtml#mpp
Activities: http://www.davidbest.ca/activities.shtml#active
Blogs: http://www.davidbest.ca/blog.shtml#blog
Resume: http://www.davidbest.ca/doc/David Best Resume.docx
Speaker: David Best
Usability, Inclusion, Design!
The accessibility challenge is the deficit gap between the disability of the user and the system capabilities, and the goal is to bridge the accessibility gap, through inclusive design, that will create the best possible end-user experience.
Accessibility is a measurement of productivity not disability, and accessibility is a subset of Usability. Usability is concerned with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction through multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement. So, design is the bridge between information and understanding, built upon three pillars of security, performance, and accessibility.
If you do not understand the information then it is just noise, and if any one of the pillars is weak then people are put at risk. That is, cognitive considerations for visualization and the information interface design, are important for making products and services accessible and usable. The bridge design must consider the physical and cognitive characteristics of people with a holistic user interface that incorporates vision, audio, and touch, so as to close the gap of inclusion.