Logi Symphony and Beyond: Crafting Inclusive Application Experiences through Accessibility Standards
It is a general best practice to make your applications accessible to ensure that everyone, including those with disabilities, has the same access to information as everyone else. Developers have made strides within their software to support accessibility features and third-party tools to make their applications more accessible when users have some physical impairment.
Accessibility features might include application support for helper tools such as screen readers or text-to-speech, which may be desirable for visually impaired users. In other cases, application content may be available in high contrast mode, variable font sizes, or alternative text (alt text) to aid users with difficulty seeing images. Finally, keyboard shortcuts and voice recognition can help users with motor impairment to allow for vocal interactions with content rather than physical ones. When adopting embedded analytics and business intelligence to enable embedded reporting, content viewed within your already accessible application should also meet your accessibility standards. This document outlines the various official accessibility standards available, gives an overview of the accessibility implementation in the embedded analytics products provided by insightsoftware, and provides links to the standards documents.
A Legal Requirement
Aside from the obvious ethical reasons to support accessibility features, companies like those affiliated with the government may desire support to meet legal requirements. The United States, for example, has legal requirements for accessibility, ensuring that published content meets specific compliance criteria. Other organizations may simply be looking to meet accessibility standards to enhance their brand reputation or to ensure their applications are inclusive to all users.
Generally, the demand for accessibility is essential for all applications. Still, it is instrumental in Embedded Analytics and Business Intelligence since the aim of these tools is to provide access to information. Suppose the goal of accessibility is to make information accessible to everyone. Why wouldn’t you want that with your embedded reports and dashboards?
Accessibility Standards
A set of guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) contains a framework for making web content more accessible called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG covers a wide range of topics, from keyboard accessibility to the use of color, and can be applied using their Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). The VPAT template helps developers document a product’s conformance with accessibility standards and guidelines to aid buyers/customers.
You might have heard of Section 508, often called ‘508 compliance’ in conversation, and wondered how these fits with WCAG. Section 508 is a U.S. law requiring federal entities to make electronic and I.T. systems accessible to individuals with disabilities. Since many organizations that provide software also sell to the government, the overall effect is that many strive to comply with Section 508. Luckily for software vendors, these standards overlap. Organizations can attain Section 508 by meeting WCAG 2.0 Level A and A.A. success criteria.
Scope of Accessibility for Logi Symphony
insightsoftware provides OEM software vendors with software they can embed into their applications to offer decision intelligence through dashboards, reports, analytics, and decision-making on their data with interactivity. The scope of these accessibility documents is to cover the viewing experience for your customers when embedded within your applications. Be aware that since these tools are a development platform at their core and allow software teams to implement their own custom features at will, developers must be cognizant of the elements they are exposing to users when the goal is to meet accessibility standards. As expected, the power to create features also allows for the potential of building and exposing features that are not going to meet the VPAT standards – it is your responsibility to ensure that your developers are aware of the standards you are striving to achieve.
Additionally, the tools software developers and data architects use to build content will be out of scope for these VPAT documents. VPAT documents are available for the embedded analytics software suites Logi Symphony, Dundas BI, and Logi Composer.
Download the VPAT documents for Logi Symphony, Dundas BI, and Logi Composer:
Summary
Ensuring application accessibility is not just a matter of ethical responsibility but also a legal requirement, particularly for entities associated with the government. The commitment to accessibility standards, exemplified by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Section 508 compliance, extends beyond mere adherence to guidelines—it reflects a dedication to inclusivity, brand reputation, and meeting legal obligations. In Embedded Analytics and Business Intelligence, where the primary goal is to provide universal access to information, prioritizing accessibility features is paramount. As the demand for accessible applications grows, the emphasis on meeting standards such as WCAG becomes crucial for developers and organizations. It is evident that, in the realm of Logi Symphony and similar tools, aligning with accessibility standards ensures ethical and legal compliance and enhances the overall user experience by making information accessible to everyone. As the industry evolves, a comprehensive approach to accessibility, including features like screen readers, text-to-speech, high contrast modes, and alternative text, becomes integral to creating truly inclusive and user-friendly embedded reports and dashboards.