Enabling accessibility in BMC Helix ITSM

BMC Helix ITSM includes an Accessibility View that allows the use of supported screen reading software with compatible browsers. The Accessibility View enables enhanced keyboard access, such as the ability to skim through content, or to drill-down into a specific element (row) of a console, by using the keyboard. The Accessibility View can be enabled from the login screen or from the menu bar after logging in. This preference is saved in browser cache, so that it stays enabled until the user clears it, or until the cache is cleared. The user must also enable (or disable) the preference again if a different browser or computer is used to access BMC Helix ITSM.

BMC has worked with an independent company to formally assess support for Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 in BMC Helix ITSM version 21.02. For information about the results of this assessment, contact your BMC representative.

Notes

Accessibility is not supported for mobile clients.

This short video demonstrates how Allen, a blind Service Desk agent, works with BMC Helix ITSM tickets.



icon_play.pnghttps://youtu.be/QEcC-hLeHtU

Accessible areas of the UI

Accessibility is supported in the following areas:

  • Consoles (including filtering tickets and knowledge articles, and adding and sorting columns)
  • Create New options (for creating new tickets and broadcasts)
  • Dashboard (except for charts)
  • Ticket details (including SLA milestones, chat, and email functionality)
  • Profiles
  • Smart Recorder

Maps are not accessible by screen readers, and they cannot be enlarged. Accessible users cannot use any of the functionality on the Configuration tab, such as adding custom fields.

To enable accessibility from the login screen (recommended)

  1. In the universal client log in screen, enter your user ID in the User Name field and press Tab.
  2. In the Password field, enter your password.
  3. Tab twice to set focus to the Use Accessibility Mode check box, and press the space bar to select it.
  4. Press ENTER to log in.

To enable accessibility from the universal client menu bar

  1. In the universal client, tab to your profile icon at the top of the screen, and press ENTER.
  2. From the menu, arrow down to Accessibility View, and press ENTER.

Exceptions

When you are using BMC Helix ITSM in the Accessibility mode, and when JAWS (screen reader application) is running, you might experience incorrect behavior such as:

  • On any ticket type, after you specify the date, you cannot access time by pressing ENTER once. You must press the ENTER key twice to access time.
  • On any ticket type, the Up and Down arrow keys that are used to select time, do not function as expected. If you press the arrow keys multiple times, the system does not select the revised time, and the focus is lost from the time selection. Instead of using the Up and Down arrow keys, use the number keys to insert the required time.
  • When creating change requests, after you select a template, instead of a single press you have to press the Tab key twice to select the Continue button.
  • While viewing an incident, a work order, or a user profile in progressive web application screens, if you click on a collapsible panel like Show details or Show location, you must use the keyboard to manually focus on the hide button again to collapse the panel. Also, the screen reader does not announce if the panel is in expanded or collapsed status.

 

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