Improving web accessibility can be challenging, particularly for organizations with large, complex digital estates and internal organizational structures. Efforts can be guided by technical standards, but there are shortcomings with treating accessibility for people with disabilities as a compliance effort. What if we take a process-oriented approach to accessibility, focusing on making a commitment and demonstrating progress? In this session we explore an approach to improving digital accessibility that places value on conscious, pragmatic decision-making and sharing of evidence of progress. Presented as part of Inclusive Design 24 (#ID24), May 21, 2015: http://www.inclusivedesign24.org.

1. Complementing Accessibility Standards with
Evidence of Commitment and Progress
Sarah Horton, UX Strategy Lead
ID24 2015 inclusivedesign24.org

2. Screenshot of compliance audit with
red “Fail” notations

3. Meme: Munch “The Screen” saying,
You’re telling me I have 433 alt texts
to fix?

4. What if we define accessibility as
making a commitment and
demonstrating progress?

5. What would accessibility look like?

6. Accessibility maturity
Moving your organization along the continuum toward a
mature approach to accessibility

7. Accessibility Maturity Continuum
• Identify
• Prioritize
• Inject
• Integrate

8. Phase 1: Identify
• Identify

9. Identify and repair accessibility
issues based on standards
compliance

10. Context
• Customer for software company puts accessibility
requirement in contract
• Vendor is asked for evidence of state of accessibility of
product

11. Activities
• Identify methodology
• Identify samples to test
• Test samples against standards
• Write up issues
• Test and recommend code fixes

12. Deliverables
• Audit results spreadsheet
• Common issues report
• Accessibility documentation (e.g., VPAT)
• Help desk support
• Remediation support

13. Example of accessibility audit
spreadsheet

14. Details
• Issue name
• Who is affected by issue
• Issue description
• Examples of issue
• Recommendations for repairing issue
• Resources
• Relevant guidelines

15. Example of success criteria failuresError message not
announced by screen
readers
Form labels not
programmatically
associated with inputs

16. Insights
• Frequency and distribution of issues
• Estimate of impact and effort of issues
• Potential design and code changes to repair issues

17. Example of accessibility issues
overview

18. Potential outcomes
• Clients have accessibility documentation
• Clients work to fix issues
• Clients engage for retest and revised accessibility
documentation

19. Phase 2: Prioritize
• Identify
• Prioritize

20. Prioritize evaluation and repair
activities based on real-world impact

21. Context
• Transit system provider with legal obligation to provide
accessibility
• Group of people with disabilities demanding accessibility
improvements

22. Activities
• Conduct contextual inquiry interviews
• Create sampling strategy based on insights from
interviews

23. Details
• 9 people over 2 days
• Sessions lasting ½ to 1 hour
• Low vision: Large monitor, ZoomText, large type,
high-contrast mode
• Blind: JAWS, VoiceOver
• Deaf: Captions
• Limited mobility and dexterity: Dragon

24. Deliverables
• Same as “identify” activity, plus…
• Task-based sampling strategy
• First-person perspectives in report

25. Several people commented that there is a lot going on with
the site, which can make it difficult to use for everyone, but
especially for people with vision impairments. One
participant does not use the site because it’s too busy, and
“things jump around.” Another can’t use her preferred mode
of large text because the site is not designed to be flexible,
and adapt to large fonts—when she enlarges the font,
things get “jumbled.” Another prefers to look at the print
preview of the itinerary page because it is less cluttered
than the main page.

26. Insights
• Real issues encountered by people with disabilities
• Accessibility issues not surfaced in standards review

27. Example accessible user experience
issue
• The right column is a bad location for critical information

28. Potential outcomes
• Clients focus on issues that impact stakeholders
• Clients fix issues related to accessible user experience

29. Phase 3: Inject
• Identify
• Prioritize
• Inject

30. Inject accessibility best practices into
the design and development process

31. Context
• Vendor has customers that demand accessible products
• Vendor knows that remediation is costly and ineffective
• Vendor knows current processes do not support
accessibility

32. Activities
• Determine appropriate interaction points and methods
• Review and respond to design artifacts

33. Deliverables
• User stories to help guide design decisions
• Design reviews (wireframes, style guides)
• Training in accessible design best practices
• Code library reviews (technical and design)
• QA test design and implementation

34. Details
• Annotating wireframe PDFs
• Collating information into accessibility guides
• Webinar training for developers in best practices and
creating coding standards

35. Example annotated wireframe

36. Example writeup of issues with
placeholder text

37. Insights
• Optimal time to address accessibility in
design/development lifecycle
• Roles and responsibilities with respect to attention to
accessibility
• Appropriate and effective ways of communicating
accessibility knowledge

38. Potential outcomes
• Clients address accessibility issues during the
design/development process
• Clients build internal capacity for accessibility

39. Phase 4: Integrate
• Identify
• Prioritize
• Inject
• Integrate

40. Integrate accessibility best practices
into culture and practice

41. Context
• Advocacy group makes a complaint to University about
digital accessibility
• University cannot fix all IT services
• University understands it must fix culture and process to
respond

42. Activities
• Perform gap analysis to understand current state
• Build understanding of desired future state
• Assess gaps between current state and future state

43. Deliverables
• Roadmap report
• Commitment to ongoing partnership

44. Details
• Definition of future state
• Assets and opportunities
• Challenges and barriers
• Roadmap toward Accessibility in Practice
• Supporting information: Applicable policies

45. Insights
• Perceptions of accessibility and responsibility within an
organization
• Governance requirements to advance an integration
agenda
• Requirements for activities for change

46. Outcomes
• University makes visible commitment to providing
accessible IT services
• University embarks on initiative to address shortcoming
in existing services
• University establishes policy and processes to support
accessibility in new services

47. Reference
An Accessible Design Maturity Continuum
By David Sloan, UX Research Lead, The Paciello Group
uxfor.us/mature-it

48. Accessibility process standards
Engaging your organization in activities that demonstrate
commitment and show progress

49. Make a commitment to IT
accessibility

50. Responsibility and accountability
• Designate a senior official for “plain writing”
• Explain the Act’s requirements to staff
• Establish a procedure to oversee the implementation of the Act
within the agency
• Train agency staff in plain writing
• Designate staff as points of contact for the agency plain writing web
page
• Post its compliance plan for meeting the requirements of the Act on
its plain language web page
Plain Writing Act of 2010—uxfor.us/plain-writing

51. Activities
Establish leadership
• Chief Accessibility Officer (CAO)
• Director of User Experience/CAO
• Accessibility Program Lead
• Accessibility Specialist

52. Commitment through skilled and
knowledgeable product teams

53. Establish an accessibility baseline
and track progress

54. Documentation
(a) Each manufacturer and service provider…must create and
maintain…records of the efforts taken…as applicable, including:
(1) information about the manufacturer’s or service provider’s efforts
to consult with individuals with disabilities;
(2) descriptions of the accessibility features of its products and
services; and
(3) information about the compatibility of its products and services
with peripheral devices or specialized customer premise equipment
commonly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve access
CVAA—uxfor.us/cvaa-final

55. Activities
• Set a standard, e.g.,
– Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0
• Define scope of applicability, e.g.,
– Teaching and learning
– Research
– External communications and business processes
– Internal communications and business processes

56. Commitment through specification of
policies and standards

57. When acquiring information and communication technology
(ICT), we will acquire products and services that comply
with the standards defined in the University Accessibility
Policy. When there are several products or services under
consideration, the one that best meets the standards will be
chosen. If the procurer determines that compliance with a
provision of the standards is unfeasible, then such
exception will be fully documented and approved by
University Procurement Services.

58. Commitment through documentation of
accessibility

59. Foster a community of practice

60. Accessibility in practice
C201.5 Design, Development, and Fabrication. Telecommunications
equipment manufacturers shall evaluate the accessibility, usability, and
interoperability of ICT during its product design, development, and
fabrication.
Advisory C201.5 Design, Development, and Fabrication.
Conducting market research, and holding product design testing and
trials that include individuals with disabilities, are examples of ways to
meet this requirement.
Section 508—uxfor.us/section-508

61. Activities
• Integrate usability and accessibility support into existing
IT facilities
• Tie accessibility into existing professional development
and training activities
• Include expectations around accessibility awareness and
skills in position descriptions

62. Commitment through engaging with
people

63. People working together, committed
to making progress, and targeting
success

64. Thank you!
@gradualclearing
shorton@paciellogroup.com