IVR Accessibility -- Application View

For each application, there are positive and negative implications. Each application has two rows. The barriers are in the first row; the attractors are in the second row.

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Application
Deaf; TTY users
Hard of hearing
Vision loss
Dexterity
Cognition
Speech (incl. HCO)
Direct TTY TRS - text only TRS - VCO          

Auto attendant (The system gives callers a menu of options and routes the phone call to a specific person or department.) and audiotext (The system gives callers a menu of options and then plays the selected information with recorded or synthesized speech.)

TTY compatibility

Some TTYs cannot play touchtones during a call

Time-outs may be too short for relay operator to type and user to reply

Audio quality (both technical and as recorded by info provider) may be too low for users

  Time-outs may be too short   Speech may not be recognized
        Access to company directory and information

Control via same interface for placing calls

Speech recognition interface can eliminate need to press buttons.

No need to remember to turn it on.

Control via same interface for placing calls

 

Voice mail (The system acts as an answering machine, playing the outgoing message and recording incoming messages, with an interface for both the caller and the subscriber.)

TTY compatibility

Required DTMF tones pose difficulties for TTYs that cannot play touchtones during a call

Time-outs (see above)

Audio quality (both technical and as recorded by info provider) may be too low for users

  Time-outs may be too short Complexity and invisibility (compared to answering machine) Speech may not be recognized
       

audible message waiting

could have voice notification of all messages

     
All IVRs with screen-based features, including soft keys (such as business phones) TTY compatibility Time-outs Time-outs Audio quality (both technical and as recorded by info provider) may be too low for users

Screen information may not available in another format

May not be able to use keyboards, mice, etc.

May be too complex  
could provide text access;could provide visual notification of voice messages and opportunity for transcription of voice to text.     Could provide redundant voice and visual simultaneously

could provide voice notification of email, opportunity for transcription of email to voice

for low vision users, could provide redundant voice and visual simultaneously

  Could provide redundant modes of information presentation.  
Audio network messages TTY Compatibility     Audio quality (both technical and as recorded by info provider) may be too low for users        
               
Visual network messages                
               
Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)                
       

 

     

All of the preparation, training and end user documentation must be accessible. (i.e., captioning for all videos, braille or accessible electronic format for all paper documents)