CSA Preface
Standards development within the Information Technology sector is harmonized with international standards development. Through the CSA Technical Committee on Information Technology (TCIT), Canadians serve as the Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC) on ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 on Information Technology (ISO/IEC JTC1) for the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the ISO member body for Canada and sponsor of the Canadian National Committee of the IEC. Also, as a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Canada participates in the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (ITU-T).
For brevity, this Standard will be referred to as CAN/CSA-ISO 9241-171 throughout.
This International Standard was reviewed by the TCIT under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Steering Committee on Information Technology and deemed acceptable for use in Canada. From time to time, ISO may publish addenda, corrigenda, etc. The TCIT will review these documents for approval and publication. For a listing, refer to the Current Standards Activities page at standardsactivities.csagroup.org. This Standard has been formally approved, without modification, by the Technical Committee and has been developed in compliance with Standards Council of Canada requirements for National Standards of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group.
Scope
This part of ISO 9241 provides ergonomics guidance and specifications for the design of accessible software for use at work, in the home, in education and in public places. It covers issues associated with designing accessible software for people with the widest range of physical, sensory and cognitive abilities, including those who are temporarily disabled, and the elderly. It addresses software considerations for accessibility that complement general design for usability as addressed by ISO 9241-110, ISO 9241-11 to ISO 9241-17, ISO 14915 and ISO 13407.
This part of ISO 9241 is applicable to the accessibility of interactive systems. It addresses a wide range of software (e.g. office, Web, learning support and library systems).
It promotes the increased usability of systems for a wider range of users. While it does not cover the behaviour of, or requirements for, assistive technologies (including assistive software), it does address the use of assistive technologies as an integrated component of interactive systems.
It is intended for use by those responsible for the specification, design, development, evaluation and procurement of software platforms and software applications.
