Accessibility Best practices – Microsoft Forms and Polls

Introduction

Many ESDC teams are looking for ways to connect with their remote teammates in our new hybrid work model. The Microsoft Teams Forms application and Polls application options are popular Information and Communication Technology (ICT) options adding interest to a virtual meeting and are used to engage teams when they are in different places around Canada.

However, some features of the Microsoft Forms and Polls applications can be difficult for certain users and may create an experience that is hard to enjoy.

The IT Accessibility Office is aware that there are issues with Microsoft Forms and Polls. The Shared Services Canada M365 issues ops team is managing the M365 Accessibility Issues tracking lists. These tracking lists outline the accessibility issues needing to be fixed to meet the accessibility criteria established by the Government of Canada.

Shared Services Canada and the product vendor are working toward making Microsoft products used by the Government of Canada accessible for all employees. In the meantime, the IT Accessibility Office recommends ESDC teams use a more accessible option for their forms, surveys, polls, and quizzes.

ESDC teams wanting to create forms, surveys, polls, and quizzes are encouraged to use one of the following formats.

Recommended accessible options

The IT Accessibility Office has gathered a list of options that can be used to create forms, surveys, polls, and quizzes for ESDC teams.

HTML format

When created with accessibility in mind HTML is one of the most accessible ICT formats. This allows for maximum adaptive technology support, and all Canadians can access HTML through any browser anywhere in Canada.

• For more information on creating accessible forms on the web, please review the ESDC / IT Accessibility office web accessibility course module 6- Forms.  The self-paced web accessibility course gives users examples of why forms need to be accessible, gives good and bad code examples, and lists helpful tips and best practices when coding an accessible form for the web.
• ESDC Teams wanting to check the accessibility of their web form can use the ESDC / IT Accessibility office – Web Accessibility Checklist to self-assess their web content.
• ESDC teams can use accessibility testing tools to test their content.
  • WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools..
  • axe DevTools.
  • Colour Contrast Analyser tool can be installed by making a request to the National Service Desk..
• ESDC teams can request an accessibility audit of their web content by completing the IT Accessibility Office request intake form.

PDF format

PDF forms have the ability to tag sections, elements and objects of a PDF form allowing all users including adaptive technology users to navigate, interact with and understand the information found in the PDF form.

• ESDC Teams requiring help creating or editing a PDF form can contact the E-forms team by making a request to the National Service Desk (NSD) addressed to E-FORMS WEB.
• ESDC Teams wanting to check the accessibility of their PDF form can use the ESDC / IT Accessibility office – PDF Accessibility Checklist to self assess their PDF content.
• ESDC teams can request an accessibility audit of their PDF content by completing the IT Accessibility Office request intake form.

Interactive Fact-Finding Service (IFFS)

The best option for ESDC teams in terms of a wide audience and meeting accessibility standards is the IFFS. The IFFS has been around for 17 years and is a great accessible option. ESDC teams can work with a member of the IFFS team to conduct either an internal or an external survey.

• ESDC teams wanting more information on the IFFS system can explore the Interactive Fact-Finding Service (IFFS) SharePoint page.
• Teams wanting to make a request to the IFFS team can submit a request to the National Service Desk (NSD) addressed to INTERACTIVE FACT-FINDING SYSTEM (IFFS).

Workforce Planning team

Another option for ESDC teams is to work with the Workforce Planning team through their Employee Surveys page. The Workforce Planning team produces Employee Pulse and Exit Surveys, amongst others. The Workforce Planning team is equipped to provide many services related to surveys, including advice and guidance on survey development. The Workforce Planning team can be contacted through their Workforce Planning team general delivery box.

Accessibility best practices for Microsoft Forms and Microsoft Polls

ESDC teams still planning on using either the Microsoft Forms app or the Microsoft Polls app must understand that designing their content using the following best practices will not guarantee that all users will be able to use the Form or Poll smoothly. As stated previously there are accessibility issues with the applications that will require Microsoft to address and resolve.

By following the accessibility best practice information provided, ESDC content creators will help minimize the impact to many users.

• Know your audience before deciding to use either the Microsoft Forms or Polls app.
  • If the team is holding a small team meeting and you know teammates have issues using the apps, plan to use another format or plan a different activity to include everyone equally.
  • If the meeting will be an open-door meeting where the audience is unknown, plan to use a different more accessible option.
  • If the activity is facing the Canadian public plan to use a more accessible option to include everyone.
• ESDC teams should use Microsoft Forms and Polls sparingly until the accessibility issues are addressed by the vendor.
• Title the content to clearly state if it is a form, survey, quiz or poll.
• All text should be using plain language and be easy to understand.
  • Ensure the reading level meets ESDC standards.
• Provide instructions about the content in the form description box.
  • Include the number of questions.
  • State if any of the questions require an answer and if any questions are optional.
• Use the correct form field type when creating the questions and answers.
  • Make sure the questions are clear and to the point
  • Try to use the basic field types such as textboxes, choices or dates for the questions and answers.
  • Limit the use of the more complex field types such as rankings, Likert or Net Promoter Score.
• Let users know how to provide their answers.
  • Multiple-choice answers should be straightforward and easy to understand.
  • Questions that allow more than one answer need to use the ‘Multiple answers’ option and be sure to tell the users they can  give more than one answer.
  • Be mindful of the number of answer choices being provided – do not overwhelm users with options.
  • Give users enough space to write their answers by choosing the ‘Long answer’ textbox option.
  • For timed quizzes, be sure to give users enough time to finish and tell the users of the time limit.
  • When users must provide an answer, mark the question using the ‘Required’ option.
  • Group mandatory answers together.
  • Group question and answer field types together.
• Add alt text to all images including logos.
  • After uploading the image select the Microsoft image icon that will open the Alternative text box and add the alternative text.
  • Alternative text needs to give all the important visual information presented by the image.
  • Alternative text should be a maximum of 140 characters in length including spaces.
  • When a form includes a complex image that needs more than 140 characters English or 170 characters French to describe, a long description will be required.
  • Use punctuations when writing alternative text so assistive technologies pause or stop when necessary.
• Be mindful of ESDC colour contrast requirements.
  • Text requires a minimum colour contrast of 4.5:1 for text and background.
  • Non-text content like icons and charts require a minimum colour contrast of 3:1 against adjacent colours.
  • Never use colour alone to present information.
• Avoid combining French and English text together.
  • Use the Multilingual option built into Microsoft Forms to create bilingual content.
  • The Multilingual option allows content creators to create all French or all English language content.
  • Users can then choose to display the content in their language of choice.
  • Using the Multilingual option will also display control buttons and default Microsoft text in the matching language.
  • For more information on creating multilingual content using Microsoft Forms please review Microsoft Support Send a form in multiple languages.
• Be sure to use the Preview option when creating your Microsoft Forms content.
  • Using preview will allow content creators to see how their content will be displayed to users.
  • There is an option to preview the content for mobile devices.
  • More information can be found by reviewing Microsoft Learning Preview and test a survey.
• When using the Microsoft Polls app choose the basic Poll or Quiz format and avoid the visually complex Word Cloud option.
  • By using the Word Cloud option Microsoft will display text in all different colours and does not ensure they are meeting ESDC’s colour contrast requirements.
  • Visually the Word Cloud option displays text in an unstructured way that can be hard for some users to read and navigate.
• During a virtual team meeting select someone to act as a moderator for the forms, surveys, polls and quizzes.
  • The moderator can announce when the content is open to the meeting attendees.
  • The moderator can read out the questions and explain the answer options to the attendees.
  • The moderator can announce when the questions are closed and announce the results.

Additional resources

The IT Accessibility Office has gathered resources with more information about the Microsoft teams Forms app and Polls app.

Support for screen reader users

ESDC employees who use a screen reader can visit the following sites with specific information on using Microsoft Forms with a screen reader.

• Microsoft Support Screen reader support for Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Basic tasks using a screen reader with Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to create a poll in Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Support Screen reader support for Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to create a new form in Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to create a new quiz in Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to respond to form or quiz questions in Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to apply a theme or add images to forms and quizzes in Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to check and share your form or quiz results in Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Use a screen reader to share a form or quiz to collaborate in Microsoft Forms

Microsoft provided accessibility findings

Microsoft Accessibility Conformance Reports – Search using a Microsoft product name to review the accessibility findings for the product. Please note that in the case Microsoft has found their products meet accessibility standards does not mean the product meets the accessibility standards established by ESDC.

Download the Microsoft Accessibility Conformance Reports specific to Microsoft Forms:

• Microsoft Forms Accessibility Conformance Report EN 301 549 (Word)
• Microsoft Forms Accessibility Conformance Report Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (Word)
• Microsoft Forms Accessibility Conformance Report Section 508 (Word)
• Microsoft Forms Accessibility Conformance Report EN Summary English (Word)
• Microsoft Forms Accessibility Conformance Report Section 508 Summary (Word)

Extra information

• ESDC / SC Intranet Microsoft Forms
• Microsoft Support Add a poll to your Teams channel or chat
• Microsoft Support Add a picture or logo to a form header
• Microsoft Support Add a picture to a question