Dashboard Week September 2022
Dashboard Week can be described as five consecutive days of applying to The Data School. Each day Data Schoolers are given a dataset with explicit directions, a few hours to prepare the data (as needed), sketch the dashboard design, create vizzies and dashboard, and present. Sometimes additional lectures are provided. Crying and gnashing of the teeth are optional.
The Challenge for Day 1 - create a digitally accessible dashboard after a lecture on inclusive digital design.
Universal Design
Homes are generally designed with the assumption inhabitants don’t need assistance with daily living. Residents may have to remodel or relocate if vision or mobility is considerably reduced, resulting in the inability to climb stairs. Imagine the benefits of constructing houses with wider entrance ways and low-rising ramps instead of staircases. Moving furniture, hauling groceries, carrying children, using a wheelchair or returning home is easier. Universal design in architecture includes building features which meet the needs of various users.
This is where I compare your dashboard, replete with filters, parameters and striking colors to a NYC brownstone. A four-story, pre-war (WW I) structure with access to a private backyard is the epitome of residential success in a crowded city. Unless you cannot easily navigate the high stoop, rush up the steep staircase to use the facilities, or descend the spiral staircase to the backyard. Your dashboard may be stunning, yet not all who access can similarly appreciate the design and technicality. Limited vision, hearing, finger dexterity, differing brain function and behavioral traits affect the digital experience.
Digital Accessibility
Tableau employs some universal design features to ensure greater diversity of interactivity for clients. Some accessibility elements built into the program include color-blind palettes, labeling conventions, ability to customize font and mark sizes, dashboard captions and interaction instructions which can be read aloud with the use of screen reader, focus order and the ability to navigate and select using keyboard only controls.
The World WIde Web Consortium's (W3C) core tenets of digital accessibility are:
Perceivable
Navigable
Adaptable
Distinguishable
How well did I incorporate the four aspects of accessibility?
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/kdh2192/viz/FIxMyStreets/AcessibilityDashbaord
Not bad for my first foray. I can improve by making the text and marks larger, using a darker orange to provide better color contrast, customizing the captions and providing interactivity instructions. I can also ask more detailed questions about potential dashboard audiences.
How will you make your dashboards more accessible?
Resources
https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/accessibility_best_practice.htm
https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/accessibility_dashboards.htm
https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/accessibility_create_view.htm
https://community.tableau.com/s/question/0D54T00000C6nsjSAB/faq-accessibility
Color Palette contrast checker -
Color Oracle - Color blindness simulator -
Edit XML for Focus Order Walkthrough - Kelly Gupton, Director of Project Management, Tableau
TC19: Designing Accessible Dashboards in Tableau - Kelly Gupton
Chartability – Rubric for scoring “Data Experiences” on accessibility