Overview
Accessibility is central to ServiceNow's approach to creating inclusive experiences for our customers regardless of ability or disability. Our goal is to ensure that every ServiceNow user has equitable access to information and functionality delivered on our platform. By integrating accessibility into our design practices, we can truly make the world of work, work for everyone.
Mobility
There are a wide variety of mobility and movement-based disabilities. They can range from permanent disabilities to temporary ones and may include disabilities such as quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, broken bones, or Repetitive Stress Injuries.
Keyboard functionality is the foundation for all computer access when experiencing a movement disability. Assistive technologies such as alternative keyboards, onscreen keyboards, switch controls, and voice input software all rely on keyboard support to provide users with access.
Horizon components are designed and developed to support people with mobility disabilities through keyboard access as well as adherence to many accessibility principles, including:
Tab Order: Interactive content is organized in a way that's logical and generally matches the visually presented order of the experience.
Visual Focus Indicators: Clear visual cues are provided to indicate the currently focused element.
Bypass blocks: Methods are provided to allow keyboard users to bypass navigation panels or other blocks of content repeated across pages.
Low Vision
While the World Health Organization defines "low vision" as visual acuity between 20/70 and 20/400, with the best possible correction, or a visual field of 20 degrees or less (ref), low vision describes a range of visual impairments that cannot be fully corrected with glasses or other assistive devices. It may be inclusive of people who experience:
- Near-complete blindness
- Partial vision loss
- Reduction in their field of vision
- The inability to perceive or distinguish color
- Difficulty seeing in low-light or low-contrast situations.
Low vision can impact a user's ability to interact with applications. Text might be too small to read. Colors may not have enough contrast to distinguish elements and their various states. Pages may not reflow responsively for users who prefer smaller screen resolutions or need to zoom web pages.
Horizon components are designed to meet or exceed the needs of people with low vision by incorporating many accessibility principles, including:
Reflow: Our components are designed to reflow down to viewport sizes as small as 320 pixels without loss of information or functionality while only scrolling in one direction.
Color Contrast: We provide themes that support WCAG 2.1 guidelines for text and non-text contrast and themes that follow APCA criteria. Our Theme Builder tool provides guardrails for meeting WCAG requirements.
Forced Color Mode: Our components are designed to support the forced colors CSS media query, allowing end users to customize their experience using assistive technology such as Windows's High Contrast Mode.
Blindness
The National Federation of the Blind encourages people to consider themselves blind "if their sight is bad enough—even with corrective lenses—that they must use alternative methods to engage in any activity that people with normal vision would do using their eyes." A screen reader is a common alternative method for accessing computers, software, and web applications. Screen readers are a type of assistive technology that converts the text and other elements on the screen into spoken output using synthesized speech.
Screen readers allow people who are blind to navigate, read, interact with, and contribute content to software and web applications. To create content that's accessible to screen reader users, Horizon incorporates many accessibility principles, including:
Semantic HTML and ARIA: Using semantic elements and ARIA markup allows content to be structured logically. This allows screen readers to communicate the layout, structure, and state of web pages and components properly.
Form Labels & Instructions: Next Experience form controls are designed for accessible naming, labeling, and description, including when adding complementary information such as error states and supporting messages.
Text-Based Descriptions: Providing descriptive text alternatives for images, icons, charts, and other visual elements provides screen reader users full access to visual content.
Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity refers to how our brains are unique and diverse. Many people experience ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and other cognitive and learning differences. With Horizon, we aim to support different ways of interacting with, understanding, and experiencing our products and platforms. Horizon supports neurodiversity by following accessibility principles, which offer:
- Consistent Navigation
- Reduced animations
- Light and dark themes
- Tables to support data visualizations
- Content density preferences
Intersectionality
Equally important to designing for people with various types of disabilities is considering that many people experience several disabilities at the same time. A person who's blind may also experience ADHD, while someone with low vision may also have a mobility-based disability. Focusing on the usability of our products for people with disabilities allows us to account for these intersectionalities.