While outlining the ways cloud technologies can help and
hinder disabled persons’ access to government information, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology offered nine use cases that illustrate
these challenges and potential technological solutions.
Unexpected software updates make it harder for the blind
Cora is a customer service representative in a specialized
work group that covers income from foreign sources. She is blind from birth and
uses a Braille display connected to her computer. Most of the information she
handles shows up in specific blocks on the screen and she has learned the
keyboard commands to give those blocks focus on the Braille display as needed.
Unexpected software updates to the internal cloud application sometimes change
the layout and cause the Braille display to lose focus. This requires some
assistance from the IT support center to get her back on track; in the meantime
her productivity is compromised. The IT support people have come to expect her
calls whenever there is a software update. They serve other blind users, who
use a range of screen readers and Braille output devices. Cora and her blind
peers have tried to escalate this problem but have had limited success.
No resources to fix a fixable problem
Garrett is a wounded veteran with a moderate cognitive
disability as a maintenance technician in a remote area. He drives between work
sites and uses a mobile device that lets him navigate by GPS and retrieve his
work orders through the company’s app. Some work orders are confusing and he
needs help. He must place a call to his supervisor and slowly read aloud the
text of the order. The supervisor then explains the work order and occasionally
must text him a complete, simplified order, in a regular text messaging app.
Keeping track of the company’s app and the separate text messages can be
confusing as well, and makes Garrett’s recordkeeping less accurate but it does
let him get his maintenance work done. He and his supervisor talk about
creating a simpler solution but they do not have any resources to develop
software or even explore what their organization may already have that they
could use.
To read more on this story, click here: 9 Examples of Tech Making it Harder for People with Disabilities
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