Accessible Analytic Dashboards

Abstract

In order for everyone to be able to consume content, it is vital to consider accessibility. With this in mind and in collaboration with a visual analytics company, the purpose of this thesis was to answer the following research question: “What should data visualisation authors consider when building dashboards and applications with the intent to produce more accessible experiences for users?”. This was accomplished by conducting a prestudy and iterative design process consisting of five phases: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test. The process resulted in 15 Guidelines for Authors and 42 Requirements for Development of Visual Analytics Platforms, that were iterated throughout the project. The Guidelines for Authors are meant to help authors make accessible choices when building visual analytics dashboards. The Requirements for Development of Visual Analytics Platforms however, are meant to inform, and enable the author to make those choices. Moreover, they also provide several aspects that are essential to the accessibility of visual analytics platforms, that cannot be affected by the author. These requirements are meant to be used for those who design and develop visual analytics platforms. Eight of the requirements were also chosen for design. The solution to these acts as examples of how those requirements could be fulfilled.