[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
RE: I Second Bill Paul's point about the importance of integration.
Steve,
I think you have put forward the beginnings of a viable plan to aggregate
relevant information concerning adaptive solutions... I think in order for
your ideas to succeed resources (money) will need to be identified at the
front end of the project or there will be a lot of wheel spinning... Can you
estimate what the items on your laundry list will cost?
Roger Wellman
Vice President,
Chief Information Officer
Easter Seals national headquarters
******As of September 1st my email address is changing to
rwellman@easter-seals.org . Please mark this down and make any appropriate
changes in your address book.******
-----Original Message-----
From: Jacobs, Steve I
[mailto:sj131264@exchange.DAYTONOH.NCR.com]
Sent: Monday, October 19, 1998 10:27 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: I Second Bill Paul's point about the
importance of integration.
In the attached message Bill Paul stresses the importance of
"smooth
integration" as a critical success factor in successfully
accommodating
individuals with disabilities through the use of IT
products.
Bill's comments have motivated me to do the following...
Just like it was recommended (in Section 255) that AAES be
formed in support
of the success of adhering to 255's guidelines.... I
propose that Section
508 list, as a standard, that assistive technology solution
providors make
their support databases available to Federal support
organizations (in
free-form full-text format) for the purpose of establishing
an assistive
technology, cross-product, support database. Theoretically,
this should
help to minimize integration problems.
PLEASE NOTE: The number of occurrences of particular
problems, user
information, and other information deemed proprietary by the
manufacturer
will not need to be included in the information provided to
said Federal
Support umbrella Organization.
I would be intertested in everyone's thoughts concerning my
comments
above... and the following:
Potential 508 Compliance Problems:
* Difficulties with integration;
* Slow, internal, response time to correct problems;
* No organized way to determine which products are yielding
the best ROI in
the areas of supportability, dependability, functionality,
customer support
responsiveness, etc.;
Free-Form Text Database Benefits:
* Save money by enabling Federal support staff to resolve
problems more
quickly and efficiently and log the solution(s) for others
to make use of;
* Easier identification of IT support people, with specific
IT
knowledge-sets, across all disabilities and agencies;
* Easier identification of individuals using particular
assistive
technologies. This could be helpful in problem-solving and
mentoring.
* Save manufacturers money by providing mechanism for
enhanced local support
capabilities;
Proposed Free-Form Text Database Functions:
* Create similar resource to Technet;
* Track HW and SW incompatibilities between assistive
technologies and
computers;
* Document successful support and accommodation processes;
* Identify best practices;
* Create virtual communities of common users;
* Support mentorship program;
* Share hints, tips and suggestions;
* Metrics to help determine customer satisfaction;
Free-Form Text Database Critical success factors:
* Manufacturers of assistive IT will need to provide
information contained
in their technical support databases to Federal Government
Support
Organization;
* All HW and SW acquisitions, in the area of assistive
technologies must be
entered into database.
Sincerely,
Steve Jacobs, President
Individuals with Disabilities:
Enabling Advocacy Link (IDEAL) at NCR
NCR Corporation
1529 Brown St. EMD-5
Dayton, Ohio 45479
(937)445-6396 Voice
(937)445-2468 Fax
(800)855-2880 TTY
steve.jacobs@daytonoh.ncr.com
www.ncr.com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Paul [SMTP:BillPaul@compuserve.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 19, 1998 8:15 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: EITAAC - Families Subcommittee
>
>
> The list David Bolnick provides, is very comprehensive but
I would like to
> emphasize that what is often missing is the systems
integration. For
> example, Don Dillin, a recognized expert in the field of
assisstive
> technology for the visually impaired, was hired by me to
install in my
> second home, a computer, scanner, printer with Zoom Text
and Compuserve.
> He purchased an IBM computer an HP scanner and an HP
printer. He brought
> the boxes with the hardware to my home and spent about 10
hours trying to
> get the disparate black boxes and software to work. He
could not get the
> HP scanner to work with the computer, and we had troubles
with the
> compatibility of Compuserve and Zoom Text.
>
> He went back to Washington with the boxes and he worked
another group of
> hours and had to change computers to get the system to
work. He sent the
> sysstem w/o the printer to my home. I put the sysstem
together and the
> scanner still did not work. It turns out that my printer
and the
> scananner
> did not play together. Don kindly offered to fly down to
FLA to fix it.
> Instead, I sought out a local guru who in turn could not
get the system
> and
> the scanner to work. I called HP and voiced my
frusstrations that it
> shouldn't require an expert to make the basic system work.
I asked him if
> I had bought all HP equipment, would the system be
compatible. He said
> no,
> different product developers don't talk to one another and
it will never
> happen.
>
> I will now try to buy a combined printer, copier and
scanner and hope that
> it works with Zoom Text.
>
> Lesson learned buy a system unless you are a computer
buff. I and many of
> my disabled friends are users and know littele about
video cards and the
> like. This is a very tough issue but in the end, software
must not only
> be
> able to be accessible to assistive software purchased by
the government,
> but also the wquipment must be able to be put into a
system wihich works
> without requiring a software and computer expert in
residence.
>
> Bill Paul