Software Accessibility Standards and Guidelines: Progress, Current Status, and Future Developments

This article reviews progress in the development of standards and guidelines for software accessibility, including those developed within international and US standards bodies. Key factors driving efforts to identify and define effective design guidelines for software accessibility include demographic trends and the “graying” population, new legislation and the increasing pervasiveness of information technology and devices. An overview of the US Software Accessibility draft standard, including accessibility-focused design guidance for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, is provided. A variety of resources providing design guidance for improved accessibility are identified, and expected developments in formal standards for software accessibility are discussed.