ia050074


June 3, 2005




Subject: Contribution on definition of "accessibility"
From: Frank Farance, Farance Inc.



The following is taken from ISO/TC 16027:
accessibility: usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities

NOTE: Although "accessibility" typically addresses users who have a disability, the concept is not limited to disability issues.
The following are related definitions that help explain the above definition:
disability: impairment that interferes with the customary manner in which a task is performed or that requires accommodation in order to perform a task    NOTE: Note that the legal definitions of a disability vary from country to country, and may differ from the definition stated here.

impairment: any deficit in psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function   NOTE: An impairment is not a disability if it does not interfere with task performance. See also disability.

usability: extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use [ISO 9241-11:1998, definition 3.1]
Although organizations and governments have their own particular *specialized* definition of, say, "accessibility", from a terminological perspective it is also possible to give a broad/general definition.

This terminological scenario is no different than any of the standards (or statutes) we work on: the dictionary might have a broad/general meaning that is applicable of (say) "motor vehicle" and an individual standard or statute might have a specialized definition of "motor vehicle".

Also note that even though two terms are spelled the same, from a terminology perspective they are considered separate terms.

-FF
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Frank Farance, Farance Inc.