Doctoral candidate Kyrie Zhixuan Zhou successfully defended his dissertation, "A Pragmatic and Human-centered Approach to Promoting Software Accessibility: Design, Education, Governance," on April 3.
His committee includes Assistant Professor Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo, Associate Professor Rachel F. Adler, Professor Ted Underwood, Assistant Professor Jessie Chin, Professor Michael Twidale, and Xin Tong, assistant professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou).
Abstract: In this dissertation, I explore three approaches to software accessibility: design, education, and governance. I aim to facilitate a discussion toward a pragmatic and integrated approach to accessibility. In the design chapter, I approached cancer survivors and spotlighted their lived experiences and challenges with software. A survey study, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and a diary study were conducted to capture the multi-faceted software experiences of cancer survivors. Cancer survivors may have multiple disabilities, including visual impairments, dexterity impairments/neuropathy, and chemo brain unique to this population. These impairments led to difficulty in using software, which is a fundamental way for cancer survivors to search for health-related information and socialize with others. Based on the results, I proposed simple yet practical accessibility guidelines to accommodate the software needs of cancer survivors. For example, bulleted content, highlighting key information, and simplified User Interface (UI) designs make navigation easier for people with chemo brain. Such guidelines can be easily incorporated into software design and development practices.