UML Profile to Model Accessible Web Pages

Abstract

Creating accessible websites is essential to ensure the inclusion of users with disabilities, as defined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). In many countries, compliance with these guidelines is often legally mandated. Consequently, it is crucial to integrate accessibility considerations into Web development projects from the beginning. Unfortunately, accessibility requirements are often addressed only after the website is completed. To ensure compliance, it is proposed to incorporate accessibility requirements into system specifications and models. A Unified Modeling Language (UML) profile, called WebPageAcc, is introduced to streamline this process, allowing developers to incorporate accessibility requirements without extensive knowledge of accessibility standards. This profile provides stereotypes, data types, tagged values, and restrictions necessary to meet accessibility requirements. This study uses a four-stage method to create, apply, and validate the profile. Initially, an analysis of the WCAG 2.2 criteria is performed to define stereotypes, attributes and limitations aligned with the success criteria. Subsequently, the WebPageAcc profile is developed in Eclipse Papyrus, considering the identified elements. The third stage is to apply the profile to create a UML class diagram model of a real web page. Validation occurs in the final stage by executing Object Constraint Language (OCL) rules associated with attributes defined by the profile. Furthermore, an experiment is carried out to evaluate the usability difficulty of the profile among software developers. This multifaceted approach aims to improve the integration of accessibility into website development, ensuring inclusivity for a diverse user base while simplifying the implementation process for developers.