Hong Zou

Making Stock Market Charts Accessible through Provision of Textual Information in a Common Interface

While sophisticated interactive charts provide a host of advantages to the majority of stock market investors, they also create a significant barrier to individuals with visual impairments. This paper describes exploration and usability testing of three proposed alternative accessibility solutions aimed at improving the accessibility and usability of stock market charts for visually impaired screen reader users. The findings revealed that although a dropdown menu solution was favoured over an auditory and text input solution, users prefer having as many options as possible; they would rather choose appropriate solutions according to their personal preferences and the task they wish to accomplish. In conclusion, a one-size-fits-all model is not ideal in meeting diverse users’ needs within the widest context possible. Providing options while enabling users to personalize the interface through flexible configurations is indeed the ultimate goal of a design. http://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/306/