Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype)
Date: 07 September 2015
Version: 1.0
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The ABLE-TO-INCLUDE project has received funding from the European Union’s ICT Policy Support Programme as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. 621055- The views and conclusions contained here are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the ABLE TO INCLUDE project or the European Commission. The European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
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D6.1 Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype) Version 1.0
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
2 Labour integration pilot .................................................................................................................................................. 6
3 Description of labour integration tool ......................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Works done .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
3.1.1 Initial works (1st meeting) ............................................................................................................................... 7
3.1.2 Design and analysis of state of the art ...................................................................................................... 7
3.1.3 Second meeting ............................................................................................................................................... 9
3.1.4 Integration of accessibility layer and development of first prototype ................................................ 9
3.1.5 Next steps ....................................................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 2. Design #1 of Labour tool ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 3. Design #2 of Labour tool ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 4. Design #3 of Labour tool ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 7. New mail ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Figure 8. People ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 9. Received mail ........................................................................................................................................................ 12
D6.1 Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype) Version 1.0
1 INTRODUCTION
In this deliverable we explain how we have defined the labour pilot and how the integration of the accessibility layer was made.
As told in previous deliverable the accessibility layer is the core development of ABLE TO INCLUDE, which main objective is to improve the quality of life of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) and similar conditions such as people affected by dementia or any kind of cognitive impairment.
To achieve this, the project have integrated a set of technologies to create a context-aware accessibility layer that, by being integrated with existing and future ICT tools, can improve the day-to-day life of people with IDD by understanding their surroundings and helping them to interact with the information society.
In the next figure we present an overall structure of the Accessibility layer:
Figure 1. Accessibility layer structure
The accessibility layer was developed and the APK files are already available to all the technical partners of the consortium to continue their developments.
Also, two mobile applications have been developed by Ariadna’s developer team to validate that all the services have been integrated in a common interface and work properly. In these applications you are able to introduce an input text and you have the possibility to select one of the services (Simplext, Text2Picto and Text to speech) to obtain the corresponding output (Simplified text, pictogram or voice).
The next step was to define the labour integration pilot, having in mind the needs of people with IDD in a labour environment.
At this respect, we present next the progresses made in this work package in the first months of the perio 2 of the project.
D6.1 Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype) Version 1.0
2 LABOUR INTEGRATION PILOT
This usage scenario consists in taking advantage of all the new ICT solutions to help people with IDD in their transition from education to the job market. This scenario will be built on the existing teaching program of partner FP for the work integration of people with IDD. The programme trains users in several subjects tending to develop emotional and technical skills to be used in a work environment, such as bank and documentation, archive and organization, calculation and accounting. FP selects companies in which the students can be integrated. Once the new worker begins their tasks, FP specialized personnel provide him/her with an intensive coaching to adapt the acquired general skills to the specific job. After the coaching stage, a labour mediator stays permanently in touch with the worker in case an intervention is needed to resolve any emotional or technical conflict.
This work package will demonstrate the use of the accessibility layer by creating a technological tool in order to facilitate labour integration for people with IDD. Led by Fundacion Prodis, with extensive record of successful labour integration cases, and with the collaboration of Ariadna, providing the technological knowledge, this pilot will take place in Spain with a minimum of 50 users, making us of all the potentialities of the new accessibility layer. The results will be transferable to other countries with a language adaptation.
The task where this deliverable is associated with is Task 6.1. Integration of the accessibility layer for labour integration (ASI). In this task the accessibility layer will be integrated with one e-mail client. The integration with the accessibility layer will allow the simplification and summarization of written content in the document and the access to the content by text-to— speech functionalities.
Inspiration:
“Paul is an administrative assistant working in a rental car company. He has a mild intellectual disability and some tasks represent a big challenge for him. Tasks related to the comprehension and writing of emails and customers forms are very difficult for Paul. He needs a lot of time to understand the emails sent by the customers and to find the information that they are requesting before he writes a proper answer to them, so he depends a lot on his colleagues to get these tasks done.
One of his colleagues has just installed a new tool on his computer that makes it easier for him to read and write emails. By integration of the ABLE TO INCLUDE accessibility layer with his email client Paul is able to access a simplified version, a picto version and a voice version of the emails that he receives, he is able to understand more and faster the content of each email and find the specific information needed to complete each client sheet.
Now, Paul can perform his work in less time, without depending on his colleagues. He is also able to take care of new tasks that were out of his reach due to his reading difficulty. He is even thinking of asking for a pay raise!
D6.1 Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype) Version 1.0
3 DESCRIPTION OF LABOUR INTEGRATION TOOL
3.1 WORKS DONE
3.1.1 Initial works (1st meeting)
On May 11th a meeting between Ariadna and Prodis was hold in Prodis Facilities
Some ideas were put on the table:
− We found that the main tool (at technological level) our users use in a labour environment is the e-mail − They do have problems with the interaction with current mail clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) − There are no open source and easy working mail clients for people with IDD
In conclusion we decided that the Labour Integration Pilot should be focused in the development of a web mail client tool.
The potential advantages of this development would be:
− Ease the transition from education to the job market − Ease the communication in a labour environment with other employees − Possibility to receive easy instructions from their boss or caregiver via mail − Decrease the gap between actual mail clients: could be used as a bridge between handwritten
instructions and current mail clients − Helpful for people with IDD but also for people with other physical disabilities − Could be used also for leisure or mobility issues
We also defined some features and functionalities that the web mail client should be developed with:
− Few functionalities − Easy operation − Simple − Fast − Easy log in − Non-intrusive with external tools − Integrated with our accessibility layer
3.1.2 Design and analysis of state of the art
From May 11th to June 17th:
An internal meeting in Ariadna was held to define the appearance of the tool taking into account Prodis recommendations. Following tasks were done:
− Analysis of current solutions (state of the art) − Analysis of open source tools to be used − Defining the first designs − Beginning of the developments of the Labour Pilot
On June 3rd, first screenshots were sent to Prodis to receive feedback (find them below):
D6.1 Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype) Version 1.0
Figure 4. Design #3 of Labour tool
3.1.3 Second meeting
On June 17th the 2nd meeting between Ariadna and Prodis took place in Prodis facilities with the objectives of:
− Present technical developments − Receive feedback from care givers and professionals − Discuss design − Define functionalities
3.1.4 Integration of accessibility layer and development of first prototype
From June 17th until now. The development team of Ariadna were working on the building of the mail client, the definition of the design and the integration of the accessibility layer.
A first prototype was obtained by August 31st, to start the deployment stage in the next 6 months:
D6.1 Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype) Version 1.0
Figure 9. Received mail
3.1.5 Next steps
For the coming months next tasks should be done:
Task 6.3. Deployment of the pilot round 1
The pilot will be demonstrated during a first round of 6 consecutive months of continuous usage in order to test its validity and its conformity to the needs of the users. This first round will be followed by a period of 4 months of modifications and improvements of the accessibility layer and its integration with the applications (task 3.5) in order to fix any problem that may appear and to take into account improvements suggested by the users. First round trials will include:
− Set-up a protocol that will test and demonstrate the changes in the labour activity of the test group − Set-up a protocol that will test and demonstrate the changes in the organisational aspects for the
companies employing the users with IDD − Run the pilot and collect data for its evaluation in WP7
Task 6.4. Deployment of the pilot round 2
Using a user-centric approach, after fixing potential bugs and usability problems detected in the round 1, a second round of 7 consecutive months of continuous usage will be performed in order to test its validity and its conformity to the needs of the users in the scenario of labour integration (administrative tasks).
4 CONCLUSIONS
This work package is demonstrating the use of the accessibility layer by creating a web application, based on a webmail client with the intent of easing the labour integration for people with IDD.
D6.1 Release of integration of acc. layer to labour tools (Prototype) Version 1.0
This pilot is being developed by Ariadna in collaboration with Fundacion Prodis. Ariadna has a lot of experience on the development of UCD applications in the areas of eIntegration and eHealth. Fundacion Prodis also has an extensive record of successful labour integration cases.
This pilot will take place in Spain with the involvement of more than 50 users, making us of all the potentialities of the new accessibility layer, with strong emphasis in the text simplifier Simplext. The results could be transferable to other countries with a language adaptation.
