Accessibility requirements for systems design to accommodate users with vision impairments

New technology tends to be inaccessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility features are frequently added as the technology matures; doing so late in the cycle incurs significant costs. The initial omission of accessibility features often results from systems designers' lack of insight into accessibility requirements. This paper discusses accessibility requirements for accommodating users with vision impairments from the complementary perspectives of the systems architect, the assistive technology developer, and the application developer. The paper concludes with a historical perspective of the evolution of the current Windows™ accessibility features and gives insight into future industry directions. © Copyright 2005 by International Business Machines Corporation.