Introduction
How does one design an interface?
When webaccessibility by physically challenged people are brought into equation, itbrings many parameters into play as that population consists of deaf, dumb,blind, mentally challenged, etc. How do we take care of their needs too whilebuilding or maintaining websites or Products? What about the often-forgottenleft-handed people?
Will addingread-aloud option in the website say that we are catering to blind people'sneeds? First, they should be made aware that indeed there is such an optionavailable and where it is available. But unless it becomes a universalguideline and all websites by default have this option, this will lead to thelist of challenges already faced by these people as they might observe thisonly in few websites.
Have younoticed that shirt buttons for ladies and gents are placed differently? Well,what about left-handed people!!! Should there be a different consideration for them,or will this still be fine for them? How do we bring variants within Productsby considering this point too? Lots to ponder about but do you think that atleast Software Product Companies are spared in this regard. Ever wondered onwhether developers take a conscious note while developing digital content to beaccessed in digital devices like laptops, tablets, mobiles as by default theyare mostly skewed towards right-handed people 😊 There is this classic example of YouTube'svideos recorded by left handed people were shown upside down.
This is whereguidelines come to rescue, and we shall see more on it below.
What is Web accessibility?
Webaccessibility is providing access to the information available on the internetto people with disabilities. This is applicable to any kind of disability,hearing impairment, visual imparity, speech, cognitive disorder or disabilitiescaused due to aging factors. In the most generic terms, access will enable themto interact, share, navigate and contribute to the Information Technologyavailable to everyone. People with disability should enjoy equal access to theweb and should be given the space to do everything which people without adisability can do.
The WebContent Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were created by the non-profit WorldWide Web Consortium (W3C) and is the most accepted and popularly followedUniversal guideline for web accessibility. WCAG consists of a series ofguidelines for making web content accessible. WCAG 1.0 was introduced in 1999,and has since been superseded by WCAG 2.0, published in 2008. WCAG 2.0 isorganized into four universal design principles and consists of three levels ofcompliance. A decade later, WCAG 2.1 guidelines were published which had all successcriteria of 2.0 and additional ones for mobile accessibility, people with lowvision and people with cognitive and learning disabilities.
The levels ofCompliances are
1) LevelA (Minimum Accessibility Requirements)
2) LevelAA (More Involved Accessibility Requirements)
3) LevelAAA (More Comprehensive Accessibility Requirements)
Even thoughthere is no mandate to adhere to any compliance level, websites that adhere to'Level AA' are generally considered to be compliant.
The Americanswith Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. TheADAis a Civilrights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals withdisabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools,transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the generalpublic.
TheDepartment of Justice (DOJ) looks to theWorld Wide Web Consortium(W3C)for guidelines to follow regarding how to regulate ADA compliantwebsites. The W3C has created theWeb Accessibility Initiative(WAI)to lead the web to its full potential to be accessible, enablingpeople with disabilities to participate equally on the web.
There is onemore which is 508 Compliance and refers to a Federal law.
One can learnmore on the differences among these 3 in this link.
Rest of theWorld too follow these WCAG guidelines and are at various compliance levels interms of adoption. As noticed with any other guidelines, this too has alimitation as certain rules are misleading or confusing.
Mobile accessibility
There are noseparate guidelines for accessing mobile content as most user interfacepatterns are similar for desktop/laptop and mobile devices but one is supposedto refer to these guidelines.
What it is its relevance for ProductCompanies?
ProductCompanies focus towards building viable Products that meet Consumer's needs butat the same time remain profitable too. Over a period, CSR (Corporate SocialResponsibility) arm turns up and fulfil Social responsibilities too. But the basic principle should be to see howas an Organization, one can be inclusive in all its communications be itinternal or external. Everybody is aware of Success mantra "Customer is King"and efforts are put to make "The King" happy but it's equally important to makeinternal Customers like Employees happy too.
ProductCompanies make releases on a periodic basis based on their roadmaps. Theirwebsites are accessible publicly in applicable cases and hence there is defaultobligations for them also to adhere to these guidelines and add any localflavor (based on cultural differences) to it if possible. If there is any toolwhich will be used by its Employees to build a Product then, it's imperativethat relevant guidelines are followed there too.
WCAG Compliance and Infosys Nia ChatbotPlatform
Infosys NiaChatbot Platform helps Enterprises to build Chatbots according to their needsand consists of Chatbot Studio, which is an internal tool used to createand maintain bots, Chatbot Application which is used by end users. Botscan be built in various languages with many front-end channels and canintegrate with all back-end applications. It supports building text and voice-basedbots.
We makeperiodic Product releases and are striving to meet success criteria of WCAG 2.1guidelines which will take care of ADA Compliance.
Web accessibility for Bot Studio
Bot Studio ismainly for bot configuration and an admin utility. Will voice based interfacebe useful in this case? It's better to have this provision at all levels andcontrolled through parameterization. Assuming that hardly a physicallychallenged person will be an admin, or a bot designer is again making a mistakeof ignoring inclusivity!!!
Formaking Bot Studio ADA Complaint, we are referring the standard guidelines.
Inthe previous release 1.7.5.0, we had incorporated the below guidelines:
- Resize Text(1.4.4): Text must be able to be resized up to200% without negatively affecting the ability to read content or use functions.(Level AA)
- Keyboard(2.1.1): All contentand functions on a website must be accessible by keyboard only (i.e. no mouse).(Level A)
- FocusVisible (2.4.7): Any"user interface control" that receives focus from a keyboard user shouldindicate that focus on the current selected element (e.g. add a visible borderaround a text link). (LevelAA)
Resizetext:
All studioscreens are now responsive up to 200% browser zoom, except 'Decision TreeHierarchy view'. People with low vision, low-contrast vision, or otherwiseless-than-perfect vision can now use zoom in browser to have a better studioexperience.
The belowscreenshot is at 200% zoom size. We can see the menu icon at the right sideinstead of navigation bar. This is how the screens are made responsive.
Keyboard:
Improved userexperience by enhancing keyboard accessibility support on all screens. It isnow possible to create a bot using keyboard alone without using mouse.
Followingoptions in Studio which earlier used to work on mouse hover have been modifiedto click event to support keyboard accessibility:
- User Role dropdown in Navbar
- Menu in Chat window
- Bulk Ignore and Bulk Approve dropdown in Review Screen
Focus visible:
Any elementwhich receives focus from keyboard is easily recognized with outlines. So, now wecan easily understand on which element the current focus is present.
In the belowscreenshot, we can see focus is present on Home link on the navigation bar.
In our latestrelease 1.8.0.0, we have adhered to the following guidelines.
- Sensory Characteristics (1.3.3): Instructionsprovided for understanding and operating content do not rely solely on sensorycharacteristics of components such as shape, size, visual location,orientation, or sound. (Level A)
- Headings and Labels (2.4.6): Headingsandlabelsdescribe topic or purpose. (Level AA)
- Consistent Navigation (3.2.3): Navigational mechanisms that are repeated onmultipleWeb pageswithin aset of Web pagesoccur in thesame relative ordereach time they are repeated, unless achange is initiated by the user. (Level AA)
- Consistent Identification(3.2.4) : Components that have thesame functionalitywithin a set ofWeb pagesareidentified consistently. (Level AA)
- Error Identification(3.3.1): If aninput erroris automatically detected, the item that isin error is identified and the error is described to the user in text. (LevelA)
Sensory characteristics:
Tooltip has been added for all elements to ensureaccessibility to information and textual information has been added forproduction and design environments such that the elements are not reliant on asingle sensory ability.
Headings and labels:
Provided clear headings for all the pages in the Studioand provided descriptive help information for better understanding offunctionality of any screen.
Consistent Navigation:
Provided clear and understandable navigation menuthroughout the Studio screens. Cancel buttons have been provided to reset formvalues on the screens.
Consistent navigation:
Provided clear and understandable navigation menuthroughout the Studio screens. Cancel buttons have been provided to reset formvalues on the screens.
Consistent identification:
Studio maintains consistency in icons/elements used forthe same functionality at different screens.
Error identification:
Clear and descriptive validation for every form field hasbeen provided. Provided clear identification for required fields for all theforms.
Web accessibility for Chatbot Application
This is anend user interface wherein configured bot can be accessed. Since this part fallsunder the purview of Clients who make use of this, they need to take care of compliancein case any default Product offering is customized, or visual elements arebuilt according to their needs.
Mobile accessibility
While Studiois accessed via Desktop/Laptop, Bot Application developed can be accessed via mobilesand even an advanced feature available in Studio named, Document Comprehension onceconfigured, made available in Bot Application can be accessed via mobile in anoffline mode.
Applicability of guidelines in Studio vs.Application
Should therebe differences in the way these guidelines are made use of in studio andapplication? Yes, as the target audience is different but to avoid thepitfalls, control the functionalities via parameterizations wherever possible.
- Avoice-based application is of better usage compared to studio since the numberof end users are far more compared to those who develop and maintain bots andwould be helpful to get queries answered via voice commands rather thanconfiguring bots via commands which is also complex to achieve.
- Screenzooming or use of colour to highlight action completion will be more useful inapplication compared to studio.
- Keyboardusage would be more in studio compared to application.
Conclusion
Inclusivityneeds to become ingrained in everyone's minds and not just in Organization'sVision statements or in Product guidelines portals, so that we become sensitivepeople and look out for ways to adhere to it in all our acts. As digitaladoption is set to grow at an exponential pace soon, more and more adherence tosuch guidelines would be beneficial to one and all.
With respectto Nia Chatbot Platform, web accessibility is a continuous journey and we willbe taking this forward in future releases too.
References
https://adata.org/learn-about-ada
https://www.webfx.com/blog/marketing/what-is-ada-compliance/
read://https_www.searchenginejournal.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.searchenginejournal.com%2Fwebsite-accessibility-compliance%2F374878%2F%23close
https://siteimprove.com/en/accessibility/ada-compliance-website/
https://www.ameexusa.com/sites/default/files/users/user467/ADA_v1-White%20paper.pdf
https://www.wuhcag.com/wcag-checklist/
https://mayecreate.com/blog/what-does-ada-compliant-mean/
https://www.digitalauthority.me/resources/ada-compliance-website/
https://ada-compliance.com/
https://www.webfx.com/blog/marketing/what-is-ada-compliance/
https://www.interactiveaccessibility.com/services/ada-compliance
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/
https://www.interactiveaccessibility.com/services/508-compliance
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/Guidance2010ADAstandards.htm
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/mobile/#:~:text=There%20are%20not%20separate%20guidelines,WAI%20Guidelines%20Apply%20to%20Mobile
https://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-accessibility-mapping/
https://vimm.com/accessibility-ada-wcag-2-0-508-refresh-mean/
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
https://www.webfx.com/web-design/ada-vs-508-compliance.html/
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-21/
Authors
Kavitha Sundararajan
KavithaSundararajan, Senior Consultant working with iCETS Unit especially in LargeTransformation Deals team and handles multiple activities like interactionswith various stakeholders, developing marketing Strategies and building Productroadmaps.
Shazia Bavalla
ShaziaBavalla, Technology Analyst, was a full stack developer for Infosys Nia ChatbotPlatform, involved in developing many features in the platform.
FAQs
What is Nia in Infosys? ›
Infosys Nia is a knowledge-based AI platform that brings machine learning together with the deep knowledge of an organization to drive automation and innovation and enables businesses to continuously reinvent their system landscapes. Infosys. www.infosys.com.
On which platform can a chatbot be deployed? ›Chatbots can be deployed on website landing pages, mobile applications, or messaging platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, etc. Many vendors that provide chatbots, conversational platforms, or virtual assistants market them to a specific type of user or department.
What are all considered to be best practices in chatbot building? ›- Define Your Objectives & Goals.
- Chatbot With a Personality.
- Increase Engagement With Proactive Greeting Messages.
- Use Interactive Rich Media Elements.
- Provide Help Cues to Your Users.
- Make the Chatbot User Friendly.
- Use Suggested Replies.
- Use Fallbacks & Hybrid Support.
- Does my chatbot understand the user's questions?
- Does it respond promptly to them?
- Are its responses accurate enough and relevant?
- Are there enough conversation steps or… too many?
- Does it keep the user engaged?
Nia Chatbot is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based platform that enables enterprises in bringing conversational capabilities to existing and new enterprise applications.
What is the name of Infosys AI platform? ›Infosys Mana
Infosys Automation Platform - a platform that continuously learns routing logic, resolution processes and diagnosis logic to build a knowledge base that grows and adapts to changes in the underlying systems.
- Lobster by EBI.AI. EBI.AI have created their own advanced conversational AI platform that comes with a free trial. ...
- ProProfs Chat. ...
- Chatfuel. ...
- MobileMonkey. ...
- Aivo. ...
- ItsAlive. ...
- Imperson. ...
- Pandorabots.
Rank | AI Chatbot | Rating (Out of 5 Stars) |
---|---|---|
1. | Netomi | 5 |
2. | atSpoke | 4.8 |
3. | WP-Chatbot | 4.7 |
4. | Microsoft Bot Framework | 4.6 |
- 2.1 1. WotNot.
- 2.2 2. Intercom.
- 2.3 3. Drift Chatbot.
- 2.4 4. Landbot.io.
- 2.5 5. LivePerson.
- 2.6 6. Bold360.
- 2.7 7. Octane AI.
- 2.8 8. Flow XO.
At the most basic level, a chatbot is a computer program that simulates and processes human conversation (either written or spoken), allowing humans to interact with digital devices as if they were communicating with a real person.
How do you maintain a chatbot? ›
- Update protocols and responses. A chatbot development process is a never-ending cycle of monitoring, updating, and testing until it is ready to be deployed. ...
- Monitor user interactions. ...
- Provide human-based support. ...
- Leverage data and analytics. ...
- Integrate where you can.
Chatbots can be tested via a number of techniques – using RPA, Security testing, UFT testing, and many more. Additionally, there are various tools like Botium useful for testing chatbots. For this piece, let's explore how to handle the chatbot using Selenium.
How do I check the accuracy of my chatbot? ›K-Fold Cross Validation
The bot is trained with four of the folds, and the fifth fold is used to test (just like the 20% GT in the above example). Repeat this so each fold has a turn as the testing fold. Afterwards, average the overall accuracies of the folds together to get the accuracy of the chatbot.
- Automation.
- Document AI.
- Supply Chain.
All India Number(s): 080-2852 2405 (For enquiries) 080-2852 0261 (For other queries)
Which company has recently launched its new artificial intelligence platform NIA? ›Infosys has launched Infosys Nia, an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) platform for businesses. Nia builds up on the success of the software company's first generation AI platform for businesses, known as Mana, as well as its robotic process automation (RPA) technology, AssistEdge.
Which is the default RPA option in CIAP? ›Answer: Capgemini intelligent process automation position robotic process automation (RPA) as part of a borader approach that includes Al and smart analytics to boost robotic processing performance and created augmented workforce solution so employees can focus on more productive and value added tasks.
What are robots with artificial intelligence called? ›AI Robot Technology
Combined with the field of robotics, AI has been used to develop and innovate intelligent machines that can be used for everything from manufacturing to assisting healthcare providers.
While making chatbots, Python makes use of a combination of Machine Learning algorithms in order to generate multiple types of responses. This feature enables developers to construct chatbots using Python that can communicate with humans and provide relevant and appropriate responses.
Which company uses chatbot? ›Vendor Name | Location | Platform Capabilities* |
---|---|---|
IBM Watson Assistant | USA | NLP Engine |
Meya.ai | Canada | Chatbot Platform |
ManyChat | USA | Chatbot Platform |
Microsoft Bot Framework | USA | NLP Engine |
What is the best free chatbot platform? ›
- Tidio. Tidio offers a live chat solution with chatbots to help you improve customer support. ...
- MobileMonkey. ...
- Chatfuel. ...
- ManyChat. ...
- Snatchbot. ...
- Aivo. ...
- Dialogflow. ...
- Engati.
1. Replika. With over 10 million users, Replika is one of the most popular and advanced AI companions. Unlike traditional chatbots, Replika can recognize images and continue the conversation using them.
Are chatbots successful? ›Most industries are on board
Used as a targeted tool, chatbots can increase engagement up to 90% and sales by 67%.
Belfius: managing over 2,000 claims per month. Rawbank: AI chatbot succes with over 50 different use cases. Proximus: help employees focus on what really matters. Salud Digna: Helping millions of people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What is the easiest chatbot builder to use? ›Chatfuel (Web)
If you're looking for an easy-to-use chatbot builder with a simple setup process that's specifically designed for Facebook Messenger and Instagram (though it can also be embedded on your website), Chatfuel is a great option.
- Type. Type defines how the user engages with the AI chatbot system. ...
- Platform. Platform defines what platform the chatbot works on, and the list may not include all platforms.
- Fees. Fees are the chatbot costs shown on each company's website on the date when this table was created.
Considering all the factors, custom development of your chatbot can approximately cost anywhere between $20,000 to $80,000. This chatbot price range would include everything, right from the overall design to the development, and integration of data analysis features like machine learning.
What is full form NIA? ›National Investigation Agency (NIA) is functioning as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency in the country.
What is next generation integrated AI platform? ›Nia is a customisable, unified and modular platform, that allows clients to build their own experiences around it to suit their needs. Nia can forecast revenues, identify requirement of potential products, understand customer behavior, provide deep understanding of contracts and identify lack of compliance or fraud.
Which of the following components are present in the training models of the Infosys NIA vision platform? ›- Automation.
- Document AI.
- Supply Chain.
What are the products of Infosys? ›
- EdgeVerve.
- Infosys Live Enterprise Suite.
- Infosys Meridian.
44,900,/- to Rs. 1,42,400/-
What is the duty of NIA? ›The NIA can investigate terror cases across the country without having to get permission from the states. The agency investigates terror offences, waging war against the country, offences on nuclear facilities, etc. It came into force after the Parliament passed the National Investigation Agency Act 2008.
How do I get a job at NIA? ›UPSC Exams- The UPSC or the Civil Service Exam is a direct way to join NIA in the officer position. Candidates can join IPS, IRS, or any other law enforcement agency after clearing the UPSC exams. These candidates can then apply for a transfer to NIA in an Officer position.
What are robots with artificial intelligence called? ›AI Robot Technology
Combined with the field of robotics, AI has been used to develop and innovate intelligent machines that can be used for everything from manufacturing to assisting healthcare providers.
Reduced operating costs, increased revenue, and optimized customer experience is three of the main benefits of artificial intelligence for business today. AI tools and solutions are becoming more advanced, changing the entire way companies work, market products, and communicate with consumers.
Which of the following are the option S is are provided by the Google's computer vision platform? ›The Google Cloud Vision API allows developers to easily integrate vision detection features within applications, including image labeling, face and landmark detection, optical character recognition (OCR), and tagging of explicit content.
Who was the first client of Infosys? ›1981 – Infosys was incorporated by N R Narayana Murthy and six engineers in Pune, India with an initial capital of $250. In the same year, the company received an order from its first client Data Basics Corporation of New York.
Is Infosys a learning organization? ›The Education, Training and Assessment team offers over 1500 courses for its employees and has been catering to the evolving learning needs for over 3.5 decades. With this background, Infosys developed the next-gen learning platform imbibing these learning principles and launched it for our employees in April 2018.
What is AssistEdge RPA? ›AssistEdge is an enterprise-grade RPA product that excels in enabling enterprises to adapt to market challenges that demand Scalability, Security, Intelligence, and Innovation. It spans across the automation continuum from deterministic through intelligent to human-empowered automation.