Today in dashboard week we were tasked with making an accessibly designed dashboard. Accessibility Guidelines consist of 4 parts (Perceivable, Navigable, Adaptable, Distinguishable). This blog will describe how each can be achieved in Tableau.
Perceivable
This means ensuring that all users can easily see, hear, or access the data and visual elements of a dashboard, regardless of any disabilities. This can be achieved by:
1) Providing text alternatives for non-text content (e.g labels)
2) Make use of assistive technology such as Tableau's screen reader compatibility.
3) Ensure to use a colour blind friendly pallet.
Navigable
This refers to how easily users can move between different elements, views, or components within the dashboard. This can be achieved by:
1) Using a logical and consistent layout
2) Ensure interactive elements are reachable via keyboard
3) All interactivity should be clearly labelled
Adaptable
This refers to the ability of the dashboard to be presented and interacted with in different ways, ensuring it works for a variety of user needs, devices, and screen sizes without losing meaning or functionality. This can be achieved by:
1) Mobile friendly dashboards
2) Providing multiple ways to view the data. (E.g colour and shape)
3) Language support and personalisation
Distinguishable
This refers to ensuring that the content is easily perceivable and distinguishable for all users. This can be achieved by:
1) Efficient colour contrast
2) Readable and large fonts
3) Whitespace
4) Use of shapes and patterns
5) Sound and audio for multimedia content