By Subrato Bandhu, Regional VP India, OutSystems
From cashless payments to online food delivery or getting help from AI-assisted chatbots, the pandemic has fuelled digital transformation across industries at a scale and speed like never before. Almost overnight, it became necessary to know how to navigate through a digital-first environment in order to access even the most basic of services.
While the importance of digital accessibility has been receiving greater attention in recent years with heightened conversations around diversity and inclusion, the pandemic has highlighted the need to be digitally inclusive and ensure that organisations develop products that can be used by all kinds of people. In developer terms, this means that organisations need to design products that can be used by a diverse range of users.
One billion people, or nearly 15% of the world population, are estimated to have some form of disability, according to a report by WHO. While limitations can vary on the spectrum from visual, auditive, speech, cognitive, physical and neurological, it can also refer to age-related limitations such as poor eyesight, or weak hand coordination, or temporary injuries such as a sports-related hand sprain.
Digital accessibility hence becomes critical in ensuring equitable access for all to basic services.
Developers must also take into account that limitations people have can also include the lack of digital devices to access information online. India’s rural areas, for example, make up approximately 66% of India’s population. While the penetration of internet and IoT devices has been growing in these regions, digital access is not entirely equitable. Only 27% of Indian households have access to the internet and 47% of the households have any access to the internet or own a computing device (including a smartphone), on top of poor internet speeds in rural areas.
As Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web once said, “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”
Accessibility vs Usability
Accessibility and usability are often mistaken for each other – rightfully so, considering they both fall under the user experience umbrella. However, they are very different.
Accessibility concerns itself with universal products and providing an equivalent user experience for everyone regardless of their chronic or temporary limitations.
Usability considerations, on the other hand, makes the product more effective, efficient and satisfying for an improved ease of use. However, it does not address the specific needs required for different groups of people.
The Business Imperative for Digital Accessibility
Digital touchpoints are increasingly replacing traditional in-person or telephone interactions with customers and employees. The Digital India Initiative for example, was launched by the government to allow digital accessibility for all citizens, and allow them access to important digital services. To leverage this digital boom, it is pivotal for companies to design digital spaces that are easy to reach and interact with for consumers, to maximise the impact of every single application designed.
Having accessibility built into products also becomes crucial for websites or applications that are developed to reduce costs with traditional communication channels, such as customer service or traditional government bureaucracy as it takes away costs associated with customer service agents and paper interactions. Having accessible apps also gives you increased findability with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and creates a positive brand image of your company.
Achieving Digital Accessibility with Low-code
With low-code, incremental advances in accessibility become more tangible – rather than seeing a static screen as a marker for user interface and experience, people can see multiple screens, linked by clicks, touches or working buttons. Low-code platforms make the progress made in development of an application visible at a much earlier stage. With that, non-technical users can find it easier to grasp developers’ effort and progress over time, which is central to keeping customers at the core of application development. Customer centricity must be married to user needs and demands, capabilities and abilities, preferences, and situations now that user experience has become a global buzzword and UX designers have finally been given a seat at the table.
Many low-code development platforms have implemented ‘accessibility by design’ in their applications, meaning that out of the box, pre-created screens meet guidelines for accessibility. This is in line with governmental initiative to achieve seamless and intuitive digital interactions between people, services and products, information and entertainment. India, for example, is moving towards its Digital India initiative, which includes assistive technology like screen readers and technical support like keyboard navigation. Moving forward, applications must be built in an extensible, flexible way in order to ensure that they are adaptable and inclusive as the needs of the business, customers and societies evolve over time.