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Accessibility Guidelines "Silver"
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Silver decision: Functional needs #211

Open spanchang opened 3 years ago

spanchang commented 3 years ago

.As I started reviewing the documented decisions, I stopped at the definition of "functional needs" (July 2020). Definition: A functional need is a statement that describes a specific gap in one’s ability, or a specific mismatch between ability and the designed environment or context. Reference: https://www.w3.org/2020/07/17-silver-minutes#resolution01 Sailesh: A functional need is something that is required to meet a goal or complete a task in a specific environment or context.
The definition of functional needs should not reference user's abilities. e.g. In the context of Web content, accessibility markup adds features to content so it can be interpreted by user agents / AT. User agent / AT features help a user overcome gaps in ability and access the content. Refer to an established definition of AT (in revised Sec 508, for instance): Assistive Technology (AT). Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

PS: The minutes did not clarify the context for the usage of this term. Pardon me if I am missing something. Thanks, Sailesh

charleshalldesign commented 3 years ago

Thank you for the feedback. It is helpful and appreciated. The definition that was created, reviewed, and reached consensus was based partially on a thorough review of countless resources, as well as on considering the intent of the functional needs statements. That intent was to be inclusive of needs that are associated with disabilities as well as those that are temporary, situational, contextual, intersectional, or compounded.

The EN 301 549 definition of a functional performance statement focuses on what function that technology is performing to fill a need: “A statement intended to describe the functional performance of information and communication technology (ICT) enabling people to locate, identify, and operate ICT functions, and to access the information provided, regardless of physical, cognitive or sensory abilities.”

To describe the human need, we thought it was best to avoid identifying the technology. So in the statement “use without vision”, technology is enabling use. It matters not what that technology is. What matters is that “without vision” intends to identify a gap associated with ability as well as a context where a person with sight is simply unable to view the content.

It seems like we are mostly aligned here. However, your proposed text includes “in a specific environment or context”. Could you please elaborate on how that wording would benefit people and align to the Methods examples in WCAG3?

Thanks,

Charles Hall

Principal Consultant, Access.Today Invited Expert, W3C Accessibility Guidelines Working Group & Silver Task Force Chair, W3C Inclusive Design for the Immersive Web Community Group Member, Ferndale Accessibility & Inclusion Advisory Commission

On Nov 6, 2020, at 1:11 PM, spanchang notifications@github.com wrote:

.As I started reviewing the documented decisions, I stopped at the definition of "functional needs" (July 2020). Definition: A functional need is a statement that describes a specific gap in one’s ability, or a specific mismatch between ability and the designed environment or context. Reference: https://www.w3.org/2020/07/17-silver-minutes#resolution01 https://www.w3.org/2020/07/17-silver-minutes#resolution01 Sailesh: A functional need is something that is required to meet a goal or complete a task in a specific environment or context. The definition of functional needs should not reference user's abilities. e.g. In the context of Web content, accessibility markup adds features to content so it can be interpreted by user agents / AT. User agent / AT features help a user overcome gaps in ability and access the content. Refer to an established definition of AT (in revised Sec 508, for instance): Assistive Technology (AT). Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

PS: The minutes did not clarify the context for the usage of this term. Pardon me if I am missing something. Thanks, Sailesh

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spanchang commented 3 years ago

Greetings! Yes I am aware the decision reached consensus and I am late. I apologize, yet, I thought I should flag it for your attention. Alright, the term is being used like FPS in EN standard or FPC in Sec 508. I get it now. In that case, I feel the definition seems to define it in a negative way by using words like "gap" and "mismatch". If the group is open please consider: "A functional need is a sensory, neurological (or mental) or physical ability that is required to meet a goal or complete a task in a specific environment or context. An individual may rely on a built-in feature of the environment or assistive technology or other accommodation if needed to augment ones ability".
This is of course subject to refinements if the group is willing to re-visit the issue.

You ask: "Could you please elaborate on how that wording would benefit people and align to the Methods examples in WCAG3"? The intent is to reference alternative access methods that work in a particular situation / environment that is being evaluated for conformance. The user may be able to accomplish a goal in one environment but not in the one being evaluated. Thanks a lot,