Technologic (In)accessibility
Technology as a barrier to the beach
I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago.
Beaches are hard to come by on the bald Canadian prairies, so this was a rare treat for my wife and I. Having moved from a coastal city, we were looking forward to getting a chance to just wade into some water, as well as introduce our young dog to swimming. Having learned about Sandy Point Beach, in Lacombe County, we were very excited and more than willing to spend a couple hours in the car.
Upon arriving, an older gentleman wearing a “security” uniform informed us that parking had recently become paid parking (no problem) and that we just had to scan a QR code on a card he gave us (big problem).
I immediately asked if the facilities offered free WiFi to be able to connect to the payment service, and was assured there was plenty of service just up ahead. I tried to be specific that I do not have a data plan on my phone, but he did not seem to understand. I rolled the dice and proceeded in, found a parking spot, and proceeded to attempt to pay: no WiFi. It did occur to me that perhaps it was closer to the change building so I walked over to the building and tried there: no WiFi.
This was going to be a problem.
Upon getting back to my car, I found the security guy had already taken my plate number. I did ask him what alternate options were available for me to pay. I did try to explain that I did not have any means to connect to the internet, but that only resulted in him getting frustrated with me and simply stating, “you just open your phone and you get the internet”.
Unfortunately, this just isn’t true for everyone, and (as is often the case) assumptions regarding capabilities of people result in barriers to accessibility. It is these assumptions regarding customer abilities that lead to wheel-chair ramps not being considered, hazards not being demarked for the visually impaired, and audio tutorials not being offered to the hearing impaired.
To some extent, assumptions are inevitable: not having lived a particular experience, it is natural to be unaware of the nuances involved in that experience. Fortunately, society is (mostly) aware that we are sometimes unaware of these physical barriers to entry, and we realise the importance of seeking expert advice on the matter.
Unfortunately, there is another set of barriers to that can be described as “Technological Barriers”, which are often not even considered. Due to marketing and increased cost of implementation, technology is sold as being “simple to implement”, which unfortunately overlooks some of the complex nuances of where humans interact with technology. It is important that we be thoughtful in our design of technological space, as well as physical space.
Thoughtful design means to consider how a space is to be used … The objective is to remove as many barriers as possible.
— Alberta Government, Barrier Free Design Guidelines (p.2)
Accessibility of Technology
As a user progresses from the discovery of the service through the decision to seek out the service, there is any number of things that can prevent them from actually engaging with the service. We all know that technology offers a significant means for reducing these barriers: digitally readable text increases the options for consuming text, networking allows communication to reach the consumer rather than the consumer having to come to the message.
By diversifying our modes of communication, we create redundancies and alternate paths for our consumers to follow, these alternative paths allow those with various barriers to seek an alternate path to the same outcome.
One of the risks of easy and low-cost solutions is the temptation to use it to the exclusion of all else. This leaves no means for those with accessibility issues to bypass the barriers in their way … and without personal experience, we are likely to be unaware that those barriers exist. We need to rely on experts with domain knowledge to avoid making assumptions based on our personal experience.
In this case, the assumption is that everyone has access to mobile devices and mobile data plans through one of the major Canadian providers. Unfortunately, this just isn’t true for 34% of Canadians, who, in a 2019 study, did not have access to a Smart Device; and there are many more of us who do not pay for the internet to be accessible from our devices.
This appears to have changed during the pandemic, but is still not complete coverage. Statistics Canada’s observes that 20% of Canadians do not have data plans on their mobiles as of 2021. This is even more pronounced among rural Canadians at 27%, the very customers the rural county of Lacombe is trying to serve.
Cost of Technology
In the mid-2000s, the trend was toward shared WiFi and WiFi networks, this was a low-cost and ubiquitous solution to internet connectivity in urban areas (I loved my Nokia N800). As WiFi became ubiquitous in coffee shops and offices, many people have never felt the need to purchase data plans.
In Canada, it is not unreasonable for a couple to be paying $1800–$2500/year for internet connectivity on their phones, phones which themselves cost $720–$1200/year (Shaw & Telus Mobile Plans). If the average income of a couple in Lacombe County is about $82,000/year, a total data cost of $3700/year represents a significant proportion (4.5%). Considering the significant acceleration of inflation in Canada, leading to a current 8.1% inflation rate, one can foresee that Canadians will be seeking means to reduce their household expenses, and a 4.5% budget item, with an easy workaround (public WiFi), is an obvious candidate for cost reduction.
… and that is not even the group we are concerned with.
When designing a system, with an eye to accessibility, it is important to consider those that are outside the norm. Having an average or above average income represents a privileged group of decision-making individuals. It’s easy to forget about the 16% of the population that is financially vulnerable.
In the case of governmental resource management, it is important to consider the less advantaged and vulnerable populations of the community. A day at the beach represents an attractive, cost-effective, activity for low-income and vulnerable individuals (retired pensioners, single parents, or those who have just fallen on hard times). Socially, these are the people best served by having access to public resources, and at the same time are also those most vulnerable to having to make hard budget decisions.
Table Topping
When engaging in designing of a technological system, it is important to “walk through” your proposed system with the intention of identifying vulnerabilities that may be present. This walk-through need not be done on-premise (though that is advisable), rather it is often worth doing as a “Table Top Exercise” in the early stages.
By designing the system, and then testing it by visually describing the anticipated process, you can begin to map points in the process that may be subject to issues and barriers. This is similar to risk mitigation in project planning, but differs in that it required system to have been designed first. You are testing a design to ensure you have handled all cases, rather than trying to plan for all cases. This should also be an iterative process: design system, identify flaw, propose change, repeat.
These issues and barriers can be documented, and then considered for the probability of occurrence, significance of impact, and mitigation plan. Not everything need be handled, but they should at least be addressed.
It is very common in this process to have our bias show through and to be dismissive of an issue that is difficult or uncomfortable to address or sometimes just challenges our worldview (eg. I have internet on my phone, everyone I know has internet on their phone. Therefore everyone has internet on their phone). This is most dangerous at executive levels, as off-hand remarks may communicate decisions and desires to analysts and designers (having opinions is normal, but voicing them can be dangerous).
Conclusion
Having walked through the case, we can see how important it is that organisations approach their system design with an eye to accessibility and take active measures to not allow analyst and executive privilege to create a bias that excludes the vulnerable. We can also see some of the tools used to mitigate and manage some of these issues.
Unfortunately, this particular implementation of technology, to support parking payment at Sandy Point Beach, has made the beach inaccessible to many people. While I understand and agree that the county should be charging some fee to offset the creation of an artificial beach in the middle of The Prairies (I saw the mountain of sand off to the side), having no onsite means of payment available to patrons (WiFi, cash kiosk, or digital kiosk) means that what should be an affordable, and accessible, form of entertainment for residents, and tourists, has an insurmountable technological and financial barrier for many.
In response to a draft of this article, Lacombe County indicated that this has been a trial run, focusing on education, and therefore no tickets were issued. They also pointed out that payment can be made in advance at the County Office or online, though neither of those options are present on their website at this time. I hope they take this feedback into consideration during their evaluation, and consider consulting with appropriate domain experts.
Unfortunately, this demonstrates how we (as decision makers) can fail to identify these issues as we rely on our own life experience, failing to be aware of the diverse experience of others. We can fail to address issues in advance, or fail to create viable alternative success paths.
In the end, it was a frustrating start to what was supposed to be an exciting day for my wife, myself, and my dog; and has resulted in turning a public resource into a resource technologically accessible only to the privileged.
UPDATE 2022–08–12
Healthcare professionals say that dangerous heat puts marginalised and vulnerable communities at risk because low income populations have a more difficult time accessing cooler spaces and green-spaces
— Millions of Canadians try to stay cool during heat wave, CBC, 2022–08–12
Also
- apparently Canadians pay a lot for their mobile data
- the World’s most expensive according to some
