Ways to make your investment in accessibility expertise more efficient and valuable. Know what you should ask, and which tasks will be better handled by other specialists than the accessibility expert you just hired or recruited.

1. Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr
@OlivierNourry
GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR
ACCESSIBILITY EXPERT
CSUN 2012 - WEB-018 1

2. What is it about?
In the Accessibility field, Expert resources are:
• Limited
• Expensive
Yet, necessary in most cases.
Let’s explore ways to use this peculiar resource
in a smart way.
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 2

3. Who can it be useful for?
Certainly:
• Project Owners
• Project Managers
Possibly:
• Procurement Managers
• Accessibility Consultants
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 3

4. Why experts?
When one starts considering Web Accessibility,
it feels like this…
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 4

5. An overwhelming challenge…
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 5

6. …for which we are not well-equipped
Lots of available Some tools available,
documentation, but: but:
• Rather impenetrable for the • They seem undersized for the
newcomer task
• Not every answer is in the • They do not solve problems –
books they are just tools
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 6

7. Fortunately, some people can take the
challenge up
Me???
Well, not exactly him, but people who know this stuff:
Accessibility Experts
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 7

8. Why optimization is necessary
Available Expert time is:
– Rare
– Not cheap
Too often, it’s an extra cost
that was not budgeted
So we need to be smart when spending it…
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 8

9. OPTIMIZING EXPERT TIME
FOR A WEB PROJECT
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 9

10. How to do this?
Basic principle of resources management:
Use people for what they are best at
That means:
• Know what Accessibility Experts are valuable for
• Know when someone else is better fitted for the task
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 10

11. What do accessibility experts bring
with them?
Knowledge
• They know the answers to your questions
(or where to find them)
• They understand the users’ needs
Experience
• They have gone through that several times already
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 11

12. In the perspective of a Web project
Whatever your project management system is,
you will go through 4 phases:
Define
What you want to do.
Design
How you are going to do it.
Do
When you, errrr… Do.
Deliver
When actual people can start using what you have done.
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 12

13. Practical application
Let’s see how we can optimize a key task for
each phase:
– Define: initial choices
– Design: requirements
– Do: coding
– Deliver: testing
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 13

14. Define: initial choices 1/2
Experts can make you avoid costly initial mistakes, thanks to
their experience.
What you can ask to your Accessibility Expert
• To help you set realistic goals
• To assess the frameworks and systems you have
chosen
• To help you with your requests for proposals
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 14

15. Define: initial choices 2/2
Don’t leave the choice of your CMS to
your Accessibility Expert only.
• There is much more than accessibility only to consider.
Many other factors are critical.
• Accessibility must be a core requirement, but can not be the
only one.
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 15

16. Design: requirements 1/2
Always remember: Things do not happen by chance or by
accident. Accessibility must be set as a requirement.
What you can ask to your Accessibility Expert
• To review your requirements or test plans
• To alter your Definition Of Done (DoD) to include
relevant accessibility items
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 16

17. Design: requirements 2/2
Don’t have them write the whole
specs for you.
• It’s a very time consuming process
• It’s not a guarantee that all your functional expectations will
be met
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 17

18. Do: coding 1/2
Coding is a key activity for accessibility. It’s a prerequisite for the
accessibility of the whole.
What you can ask to your Accessibility Expert
• To train your teams
• To provide on-going support
• To produce technical notes, guidelines, code
snippets, etc.
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 18

19. Do: coding 2/2
Don’t have them code instead of your
teams.
• Being a good coder requires a specific skill set.
• Most accessibility experts are decent coders, but the best
coders for your project are already in your teams.
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 19

20. Deliver: testing 1/2
Technical testing for Accessibility is preliminary to users testing.
It requires specific tests, but no specific technique.
What you can ask to your Accessibility Expert
• To train your teams
• To prioritize testing based on users needs
• To advise you on testing tools
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 20

21. Deliver: testing 2/2
Don’t have them test everything,
all the time.
• Acquiring the testing techniques is affordable; not expert
time.
• Save your expert time for difficult subjects: rich interfaces,
media content, user experience.
• Reminder: Technical testing is meant to avoid main pitfalls.
There is no substitute for actual users tests.
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 21

22. Let’s wrap it up
The best uses of Expert time:
• Training
• Guidance
• Support
Not such a good idea:
• Anything outside their expertise area
• Production (of requirements, code, tests)
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 22

23. To conclude: which qualities should
your expert demonstrate?
Being a good teammate
To integrate smoothly with your teams and processes.
Being a good teacher
They will train and support your teams, extensively. They’d better be
good at it.
Being pragmatic
To know when they are needed, and when they should step out and let
others do the job.
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 23

24. Questions welcome!
Olivier Nourry
Business Development Manager at Qelios
@OlivierNourry
about.me/oliviernourry
Olivier NOURRY – Qelios.fr CSUN 2012 – WEB-018
@OlivierNourry 24