Evaluating the accessibility of websites to define indicators in service level agreements

Abstract

Despite the evolution of the Internet in the past years, people with disabilities still encounter obstacles to accessibility that impede adequate understanding of website content. Considering that Web accessibility is an added value to the website, it is important to have in place monitoring mechanisms and website accessibility controls. Service level agreements (SLA) can be used for this purpose, as they establish, by means of a service catalog, measurable indicators that certify the fulfillment of preset goals. This paper proposes a way to evaluate the accessibility of websites through a practical approach utilizing software measures, with the purpose of collecting data to define indicators for a service catalog of an SLA of website accessibility. Initial application of the approach was conducted on Brazilian federal government websites with the participation of ten users with visual disabilities. The study shows the viability of defining indicators. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.