DigiHandig app made fully accessible with the help of Abra

Kristel Thieme of New Future Lab is one of the founders of DigiHandig. "In the Netherlands, almost 4 million people are not fully participating in the digital society. That is a huge challenge. Together with Game Tailors and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, we developed a tool to train digital skills in a fun and efficient way."

DigiHandig is created as an educational game. The user practices every day, improving digital skills in a playful way. "The app is easy to install, for example, by a family member or caregiver. After that, the user can engage with it at their own pace. It's accessible and enjoyable. People really start to have fun with it, increasing their digital skills and self-confidence."

Kristel Thieme with the Abra Accessibility Award and Olivier Hokke with the DigiHandig app.

"From the beginning, accessibility was our priority. Inclusivity is a must for us! Starting in the design phase, we considered color contrast and button visibility. But accessibility prescribed by the law is much broader. Abra is well-versed in this and has helped us greatly."

"We started with a kick-off training, and then Abra audited our app. We received a video with improvement points, allowing our developers to start working on them right away. Sometimes it was pioneering because we built our app in Unity, and not all plugins were available. It was inspiring to do this together with Abra. In challenging moments, you get a push. It's nice to have an external party with a fresh perspective."

"Our own knowledge of accessibility grew during the app's development. All in all, DigiHandig was tested and made fully accessible in a short time!"

The Abra Accessibility Award for the DigiHandig app and several books on software development.

Paul van Workum from Abra is proud of what has been achieved. "Thanks to the kick-off training with all team members, everyone knows what is expected. You get to know each other quickly, share principles and expectations. Then the customer provides the app, and we test all functionalities: contrast, font size, and whether the screen reader works, for example. Thus, we check if the app complies with legal requirements. For apps there are 44 criteria to meet, which DigiHandig does."

"We provide concrete improvement points. If necessary, we call or email: we have short communication lines. I am very proud of the result. The creators of DigiHandig worked hard and consistently delivered improved versions of the app. Only a few testing rounds were needed."

Abra helps companies and governments to make their apps accessible. Everyone should be able to use apps, including those who depend on assistive devices. For governments, working on digital accessibility is already mandatory. From 2025, this will also be mandatory for other organizations.

For more information about DigiHandig and to download the app, visit the DigiHandig website.

Two phones with the DigiHandig app installed.