What Is The Open Accessibility Framework?

Date First Published: 7th December 2023

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Legislation & User Data Protection

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 7/10

CONTENTS

Steps

Learn about what the open accessibility framework is in this article.

The Open Accessibility Framework (OAF) was released by the AEGIS as a guideline for ensuring that any IT system is accessible, including desktop and mobile devices. The steps are similar to those required to provide accessibility in a physical environment.

Steps

This framework defines six steps for ensuring that IT systems are accessible. These include:

Define accessible - Define what accessible means for the intended use of the platform. It must be clear what is meant by "accessible" as this will vary according to the capabilities of each platform.
Provide accessible stock user interface elements. Pre-built stock user interface elements, used by application developers and authoring tools, need to be implemented to use the accessibility features of a platform.
Provide developer authoring tools that support accessibility - Application developers and content authors should be encouraged to implement tools that will improve the accessibility features of a platform.
Platform support - Provide an accessible computing platform that runs assistive technology. Computing platforms must properly implement the accessibility features that are specified in their definition of accessibility.
Provide accessible application software - Accessible applications must be available for the platform and they must support the accessibility features of the platform.
Provide assistive technologies. Assistive technologies (e.g. screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice input, adapted keyboards) must be available for the platform so that the users can effectively interact with the technology.

The OAF categorises the steps into two categories: creation and use. The "creation" steps (steps 1, 2, and 3) describe the requirements and resources needed for technology developers to create products and applications that are accessible. The "use" steps (steps 4, 5, and 6) describe the requirements for the computing environment that the accessible applications and products will run in.