Accessibility and Enterprise Architecture: A New Synergy

For most people, accessible human-centric services make things easier, but for many persons with disabilities, they make things possible.

Architecture has long been recognized as a requirement for building the physical structures that we take for granted, such as homes, skyscrapers or museums. The idea that well-constructed business systems need the same sort of planning and rigour is not as obvious but just as important.

The Accessibility Framework Architecture brings Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) expertise to the challenge of delivering this "one-at-a-time" quality of service to all Canadians in a cost-effective way. This provides at least two benefits:

Service Transformation through the "Accessibility Dividend"

Harvesting and applying elegant innovations and superior solutions originally designed to empower persons with disabilities to improve simpler, but more numerous, mainstream services for everyone.

One day soon …

Karen, a public service executive, is using her office PC to monitor the progress of her project when she notices a potential bottleneck in the critical path-just as the computer tells her that it's time to leave for the airport

Cost-effectiveness through "Universal Design"

Lowering the cost of providing special accommodation and equal access to Canadians-regardless of the type, severity or complexity of the disability they happen to have.

When it comes to accessibility of services for Canadians and public service employees, the Government of Canada is taking an architected approach.

…She continues the session, reading her PDA as the elevator descends. As she walks to the car, however, she switches to cell phone/audio mode for more details until the dashboard takes over as she enters her car …

Personal Services on Demand

One piece of the "personal services on demand" is the infrastructure that supports the deployment of the accessibility services on personal (assistive) technologies, either as advanced network services or as just-in-time human services that disappear as rapidly as they are made available.

The success of a given enterprise approach depends on its architecture. Transformation involving call centres, shared systems, business lines, or enterprise management requires a plan, rigour and structure, and this is what enterprise architecture provides.

Just as wheelchair ramps and curbcuts benefit other users, such as parents pushing baby carriages, so IM/IT environments that are easily usable by various individuals with disabilities will benefit everyone. The best time to build in wheelchair curbcuts is when the cement is still wet and the sidewalk is being built; this is also the best time to ensure that IM/IT environments are easily usable by various individuals with disabilities-while the environment is being architected and built.

…She tells it to pause until she has safely negotiated onto the highway and set the cruise control. Karen then resumes the dialogue with her project management software. On her early arrival at the airport, she decides to review her Web mail at a public kiosk …

…When she hears the announcement to board her flight, she wirelessly downloads the updated information to her notebook computer for further analysis on the plane.

One Day soon!

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