Selling Accessibility
Karl Groves, Director of Training, Deque Systems
karl.groves@deque.com
Twitter: @karlgroves
About Me
• Karl Groves, Director of
Training, Deque Systems
• First websites, 1998
• ZCE PHP Developer
• PHP, JSP, Java, Flash/Flex
• 8 years, Usability &
Accessibility
Also, a rock star
Background
• Fundamentally, the prime reason why ICT is not accessible is
that it has not been institutionalized among those who design,
develop, and buy ICT products and services.
• Accessibility advocates need to have new strategies for getting
buy-in so that accessibility can become institutionalized
Robert Cialdini
“Influence: The Science of
Persuasion”
Researched the psychology
of compliance.
Found 6 types of tactics used
in compliance gaining
Robert Cialdini
• Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor.
• Commitment and Consistency - Once people commit to what
they think is right, orally or in writing, they are more likely to
honor that commitment
• Social Proof - People will do things that they see other people
are doing
• Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures
• Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people whom
they like
• Scarcity - Perceived scarcity will generate demand
Guy Kawasaki
“Enchantment: The Art of
Changing Hearts, Minds, and
Actions”
A practical application of
Robert Cialdini’s persuasion
research.
Converting cynics into
believers.
Guy Kawasaki
1.
2.
3.
Be likeable
Be trustworthy
Have a great cause
Also a lot of really obvious stuff about dressing right, firm
handshakes, being nice, etc.
Still good if you don’t want the heavy psychology orientation of
“Influence”
G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa
“The Art of Woo”
Names 4 steps in convincing
others
One step includes the need
to address potential barriers
to reception
G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa
1.
2.
3.
4.
Survey your situation – Analyze your situation, goals, and
challenges
Confront the five barriers - relationships, credibility,
communication mismatches, belief systems, and interest and
needs.
Make your pitch - People need a solid reason to justify a
decision, yet at the same time many decisions are made on
the basis of intuition. This step also deals with presentation
skills.
Secure your commitments - In order to safeguard the
longtime success of a persuasive decision, it is vital to deal
with politics at both the individual and organizational level.
Chris M. Law
“Responding to accessibility
issues in business”
Found common characteristics
among orgs which are
successful at implementing
accessibility
Also found common issues
among those which are
unsuccessful
Chris M. Law
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•
•
•
•
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Adopting the social model of disability
Establishing executive-level backing
Establishing accessibility as a priority on the agenda
Taking a planned, proactive approach
Making accessibility a shared task
Providing enabling resources
Providing sources of accessibility expertise.
Interviews
• Matt Feldman
• OpenFocusIT, IRS, DHS
• Robert Pearson
• Accessible Media
• Jim Tobias
• Inclusive Technologies
• Jay Mullen
• College Board
• Denis Boudreau
• AccessibilitéWeb
• Cher Travis Ellis
• CSU Fresno
• Neil Milliken
• BBC
• John Foliot
• Stanford U.
• Monica Ackerman
• AVTA/ Scotia Bank
• Barry Johnson
• Deque Sys. Staffed at Dept.
of Ed
• Elle Waters
• Humana
• Glenda Sims
• Deque Sys., Formerly UT
Austin
• Rob Yonaitis
• Founder, HiSoftware
Positive Factors
Internal Factors
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•
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•
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Personality
Effective Communication
Pragmatism
Training
Collaboration &
Integration
External Factors
• Executive Sponsorship
• Working in litigious
industry
• Existing policy,
regulation, or law
• Vocal end users
• Successes of peers
Negative Factors
•
•
•
•
•
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Existing misconceptions
Hostility & FUD
Looking like a hurdle
Overstated importance
Overstating business value
Chasing perfection
Let’s address our roadblocks first
NEGATIVE FACTORS
Negative Factors
Existing misconceptions
• People generally
misunderstand the 5Ws of accessibility
• This must be
addressed before you
can make progress
• This needs to happen
across the entire org.
Negative Factors
Any fool can criticize, condemn, and
complain - and most fools do.
- Dale Carnegie
Hostility & FUD
• Hostility and
arguments are the
last resorts of those
with nothing to say
• Avoid hostility and
arguments; avoid
those prone to
hostility &
argumentativeness
Negative Factors
Looking like a hurdle
• Accessibility is
viewed as nebulous,
expensive, and
difficult
• People have a strong
preference for
things that are easy,
quick, and cheap
Negative Factors
Overstating
Importance
• Equivocating
accessibility with
security
• Overstating risk
Negative Factors
Overstating Business
Value
• Overblown claims of
ROI
•
i.e. Legal & General
• Extrapolating global
PWD buying power
into potential ROI
for the business
from PWD
Honesty is the first chapter in the
book of wisdom.
- Thomas Jefferson
Negative Factors
Chasing Perfection
• Perfection is the
enemy of the good
• Getting lost in
minutia may create
roadblocks in
cooperation
What may exist outside our control
POSITIVE FACTORS - EXTERNAL
Positive Factors - External
Executive Sponsorship
• This is your prime goal
• No effort is expended,
no money is spent
without an executive
calling for it to happen
Positive Factors - External
Working in litigious
industry
• Finance & Insurance
• Healthcare
• E-Retail
• Public Sector
• Education
Positive Factors - External
Existing policy,
regulation, or law
• Rehabilitation Act
• ADA
• IDEA
• Equality Act/ DDA
• CLF
• State/ Province law
or policy
Positive Factors - External
Vocal end users
• Public users/ users
outside your dept.
can help make what
you say more
“concrete”
Positive Factors - External
Successes of peers
• Successful peers or
competitors can be
used as examples to
demonstrate value,
effectiveness
What’s inside ourselves that we can control
POSITIVE FACTORS - INTERNAL
Positive Factors - Internal
Personality
• “Be a mensch”: John
Foliot/ Guy Kawasaki
Positive Factors - Internal
Effective
Communication
• Speak to people on
terms that reflects
their perspective.
• Altruism has less
impact than real,
clear discussion of
things that are
concrete for
audience.
Positive Factors - Internal
Pragmatism
• Understand that the
“ideal” is different
than reality
• We must
understand the org.
has concerns other
than accessibility
Positive Factors - Internal
Training
• Fundamentally, why
people “get it wrong”
is that they don’t
know what’s right
Positive Factors - Internal
Collaboration &
Integration
• Seek efforts – always
– to cooperate,
collaborate, and
integrate
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Putting It Together
Do This Stuff
• Goal #1: Executive
Sponsorship.
• Goal #2: Get commitment
in the form of policy
• Goal #3: Get a11y included
in process as shared
responsibility
• Goal #4: Get people
trained
• Goal #5: Track successes &
iterate
Do Not Do This Stuff
• Making enemies
• Forcefeeding