Cooperative Effort Brings Accessible Technology Solution for Computer Products Specialist in UK Intelligence Unit

COTS Product Specialist Paul Holliman has built a successful 20-year career in UK Intelligence—and he's not finished yet. Despite being blind, Holliman routinely fields numerous questions ranging from the simple to the complex on the use of standard computer software used in his United Kingdom government office. Holliman relies on an assistive technology tool called "Hal" and its adaptability to the management tools his team uses.

Paul Holliman is totally blind and has been from birth—a fact that has done nothing to limit his drive to learn, grow, and advance in his career. As a college student he earned a BSc honors degree in mathematics before finding his way to UK Intelligence—Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK, where he has since built a successful 20-year career.

Holliman maintains the fast pace of his current post as a COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf) Product Specialist for GCHQ with the aid of the Dolphin Computer Access screen reader called "Hal." He has had the support of his employer—the government of the United Kingdom, assistive technology vendor Dolphin, and GCHQ technology solutions vendor Hewlett Packard in developing the highly effective accessible technology solution he uses.

Assistive Technology Provides Bridge to Full Functionality

Holliman's job is to provide technical support to GCHQ employees who use the standard Windows desktop build as well as contractors and other temporary workers. He focuses particularly on Microsoft products including Microsoft Office 97, Office 2000, and Office XP.

Holliman's computer is equipped with Hal v5 screen reader developed by Dolphin Computer Access, Ltd. The screen reader allows him to hear, rather than see, what's happening on the screen. Information in the on-screen display can be converted to speech—or to Braille—output. "Hal provides me with highly stable, totally cross-platform and robust Braille and synthetic speech access to the Windows NT family of operating systems and the Microsoft Office environment," Holliman says. "I would not be able to perform any of my duties without this software. Clearly, I rely on my assistive technology completely throughout the day."

Cooperative Effort with Hewlett-Packard and Dolphin Ensures Compatible Solution

When Holliman's unit decided to replace its Incident Management tool—the tool used by the team to log-in and track requests for help—Holliman was concerned. He needed assurance that whatever product was eventually purchased would be accessible to him using his assistive technology. "This is a tool I use constantly—it is crucial that I have immediate and effective access."

To ensure that the tool would be accessible to Holliman and others who might need it, the accessibility requirement was specifically written into the contract before it was bid. When Hewlett-Packard won the contract with their Service Desk product, (a part of Hewlett-Packard's comprehensive service management suite HP OpenView) they assumed responsibility to ensure accessibility and began working with Holliman to find a solution. In the testing phase, Holliman attempted to use Service Desk with two other screen readers. "Those attempts were not successful," he says. "Keyboard support was poor and the order in which the focus moved from control to control was not satisfactory."

That's when Dolphin's recently released screen reader, Hal—version 5, came into the picture. The product contains support for application-specific configuration files that could be customized to the Service Desk product. Hewlett-Packard asked Dolphin Support to adapt a file for Service Desk. Dolphin did, and as Holliman says, "I have been successfully using the application ever since."

Diversity Unit Oversees Process to Obtain Assistive Technology

In the UK, generally, there is government funding available for providing assistive technology to a person—subject to an assessment of their needs, explains Holliman. "Although we can and do make use of this funding line, in general we prefer to purchase assistive products directly so that we have complete control of what products are and are not supported within our unit.

"In our case, if a need for equipment is identified, the staff member with the disability and his/her manager can discuss the matter with our Diversity Unit," Holliman says. "Because some of the visually impaired staff such as myself do their best to keep abreast of what equipment is around via articles, the Internet, and exhibitions, one or more of us is then consulted as to what equipment might best meet the needs of the person concerned."

If a person is already familiar with a particular product, and if it's considered to be technically compliant with the desktop standard configuration, GCHQ will usually allow it to be purchased for the job, Holliman says. "We also maintain a list of what we consider 'acceptable' products which have already been tested for compliance with our workstation configuration." Holliman considers this process effective—"It provides people with the assistive technology they need to do the jobs they are fully capable of."

Assistive Technology Allows Communication with Colleagues

"We operate in a very 'electronic-office' kind of way, within a strong culture of knowledge-sharing," says Holliman. "With the help of my assistive technology products, I can fully integrate with my team."