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Appendix A: The Structured Interview

Go back to Table of Contents
Go back to Section 4: Structured Interview Topics


You can also download a Word document of this interview.


Opening Statements

The primary purpose of the Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC) is to provide information and training materials that facilitate the development of information technology and telecommunications equipment that is accessible to people with disabilities. In order to develop and implement training materials and instructional modules for accessible design, a formal assessment of the current progress in accessibility efforts is being conducted. This assessment will document the extent of the problems in implementing accessibility in the information technology and telecommunications industries and provide an understanding of what project stakeholders perceive as possible solutions to the problems.

As part of this assessment we are working with experts in the area of accessible design in information and telecommunications technology in order to chart the course on which accessible design efforts are moving. Your peers have identified you as a visionary, someone with particular insight into the course of accessible design, and we really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Your comments today will not be published or quoted in any form. We will pool the information that we collect today with the information we gather from other identified visionaries in order to create a composite picture of the future of accessible design. This composite will summarize and organize the information gathered, and will not identify any of the individual interviewees.

  1. So, as a first step in charting the course of accessible design, we'd like to characterize your interest in this frontier in a way that is not so well articulated by your work and accomplishments. More specifically, of what personal interest is accessible design to you, and where did this interest come from? What sparked your interest to head out into this new territory?


  2. Now, before we start our exploration, let's get together on terminology. Please help us make a distinction, if one exists, between the following terms:


    1. "accessible design" and "universal design"


    2. "accessibility" and "compatibility"


  3. Are you familiar with Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act?
    [If 'no' - read the following. Otherwise skip this section and proceed to 3a.]
    Section 255 requires that telecommunications "equipment and customer premises equipment" be accessible to disabled individuals, where "readily achievable" (Access Board, 1998). If accessibility in design, development, and manufacturing is not readily achievable, telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment must be made compatible with assistive devices. Disability is defined in Section 255 as functional limitations in vision, hearing, movement, manipulation, speech, and interpretation of information.

    Section 508 requires that, unless "undue burden" is imposed, all federal departments and agencies make electronic and information technology accessible to both federal employees with disabilities and individuals in the public with disabilities who wish to access services and information provided by the federal government. If undue burden is observed, and fully justified, federal departments and agencies must provide alternative means of access to electronic and information technology. A set of standards for accessibility, produced by the Access Board, are to follow Section 508 and six months after they are published all government departments and agencies are to be evaluated for compliance by their respective heads. At this point, individuals can also contact the federal government for litigation and enforcement purposes regarding non-compliant departments or agencies.
    1. The terms "readily achievable"-presented in Section 255-and "undue burden"-presented in Section 508-are facing their own frontier. These terms have a long legal history but are now being applied in a novel way to IT and telecommunications. What process will occur in order for these terms to take on new meaning as they apply to Sections 255 and 508?


    2. We are interested in your thoughts about the enforcement of Section 255. In spite of the fact that IT and telecommunications products are in many ways inaccessible, why haven't there been more complaints filed with the FCC?


    3. The extent of the positive impact of Section 508 appears unclear. Some people argue that Section 508 will serve to strengthen the assistive technology industry, rather than result in the development of more accessible mainstream technology and products. Others claim that Section 508 will have its primary impact on the importance that companies place on the usability of their products or product lines. What changes do you foresee happening as a result of Section 508?


    4. How are Section 255 and Section 508 affecting your job?


  4. Assume for a moment now that the course of accessibility efforts is being charted in an ideal world. That is, imagine that federal regulations are going to be taken seriously by both government and industry, and imagine that these regulations will be effectively enforced. Now, think ahead to the near future - say, 3 to 5 years after federal regulations have been in place, and have been enforced long enough to have a significant impact on the types of equipment that the Federal government owns. Imagine that, by that time, the Federal government - and maybe state governments and large corporations too - will own telephones, computers, and other information technology and telecommunications systems that comply with the principles of accessible design. In your opinion, what are the major problems of today that these new accessible systems have solved or at least alleviated?


  5. Now, back to reality… Will Section 255 and Section 508 really change the process in which technology and products are currently being designed? If so, what changes in the design process are you seeing?


  6. So far we have only discussed the impact of government regulations on accessible design, but surely product design can be influenced in other ways. For example, due to an aging population, increased awareness of disability could result in the addition of accessibility training to engineering and design curricula, which would influence the way products are designed in the future. Though training will be discussed in more detail later, what are some other factors that might serve to increase accessibility, independent of government regulations?


  7. So, as we continue work on charting the frontier of accessible design, we must have an idea of where we want to go...


    1. What is the single most important technical objective (or goal) of accessible design as it applies to information technology or telecommunications systems and services?


    2. What is the single most important organizational objective (or goal) of accessible design as it applies to information technology or telecommunications systems and services?


    3. What are the other very important objectives or goals of accessible design as they apply to information technology or telecommunications systems and services?


  8. Now let's talk about the information technology and telecommunications devices and services that will be most affected by accessible design. It seems that telephones and computers come to mind to almost everyone as examples of devices that will be affected by accessible design requirements. Web sites that offer documents for downloading are a good example of services that will be affected by these requirements, because they may have to offer alternative formats of some documents in order for them to be accessible by everyone. There are a lot more things that will be affected other than phones and computers and web sites. Please describe for me some specific IT or telecommunications devices and services that you think require accessible design. If you have any thoughts on how those devices or services should be redesigned, please share these as well. Your examples are not limited to things that already exist, but may include new things that will exist in the near future.


  9. Imagine that you are asked to consult on the development of a curriculum geared towards educating future management, design/engineering, human factors, marketing, sales, and technical assistance personnel in accessibility issues. The curriculum developers are interested in your input regarding the accessibility knowledge and skills that will be required by the work of these potential employees in accessibility in the next 3 to 5 years.

    1. What accessibility knowledge and skills should be shared by all job candidates?


    2. What accessibility knowledge and skills should potential management candidates possess?


    3. What accessibility knowledge and skills should potential designer/engineering candidate possess?


    4. What accessibility knowledge and skills should potential human factors or usability engineering candidates possess?


    5. What accessibility knowledge and skills should potential marketing candidates possess?


    6. What accessibility knowledge and skills should potential sales position candidates possess?


    7. What accessibility knowledge and skills should potential technical assistance candidates possess?


  10. Now I want you to think about the barriers that must be overcome in order to actually develop the devices and services that comply with principles of accessible design. These barriers could be technological - that is, there may need to be developments in areas like speech recognition or eye tracking in order to achieve the requirements of accessible design. Barriers could also be organizational, financial, or even legal.


    1. What are the top design barriers to achieving the goals of accessible design?


    2. What are the top organizational barriers to achieving the goals of accessible design?


    3. What are the top informational barriers to achieving the goals of accessible design?


    4. What are the top financial barriers to achieving the goals of accessible design?


    5. What are the top legal barriers to achieving the goals of accessible design?


    6. Perhaps you might even want to relate specific experiences where a barrier was encountered. If so, please describe the barrier(s) and how you dealt with them.


  11. One of the apparent barriers to achieving the goals of accessible design is inadequate communication between (lack of a common language shared by) the government, industry, and the disability communities.


    1. What does the disability community need to understand about industry?


    2. What does the disability community need to understand about the government?


    3. What does the government need to understand about industry?


    4. What does the government need to understand about the disability community?


    5. What does industry need to understand about the disability community?


    6. What does industry need to understand about the government?


    7. If you were in charge of mediating a discussion of accessibility between industry, government and the disabled community what would be the main topics that you would like to discuss?


  12. Complete the picture. Elaborate on anything you've said so far, or comment on anything else you think we should know. Suggest other things we should look into. You talk, I'll listen.
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Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center
Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access
Georgia Institute of Technology
490 10th Street NW · Atlanta, GA 30318
Telephone: 1-800-726-9119 (Voice/TTY) · Fax: 404-894-9320 · Email: ittatc@ittatc.org