CPACC: Integrating ICT Accessibility Across the Organization
What are the prominent examples of accessibility laws and regulations applied to ICT?
ADA (US 1990) - Does not actually include legal standards 508 (US ??) - Federal, state, and local government websites follow WCAG 2.0 Web Accessibility Directive (Europe 2018) - Ensuring websites and applications are accessible (EN 301 549 standards) • An accessibility statement • A method for users to report inaccessibility • A link to enforcement procedures European Accessibility Act (Europe 2019) The Act allows for NGOs, the responsible national authority or other bodies to go to court on behalf of an individual under national law. It also allows for the imposition of penalties for non-compliance with accessibility standards. Each member state is responsible for enforcement. • Computers and operating systems • ATMs • Ticketing and check-in machines • Smartphones • TV equipment related to digital television services • Telephony services and related equipment • Access to audio-visual media services such as television broadcast and related consumer equipment • Services related to air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport • Banking services • E-books • E-commerce The Act allows for NGOs, the responsible national authority or other bodies to go to court on behalf of an individual under national law. It also allows for the imposition of penalties for non-compliance with accessibility standards. Each member state is responsible for enforcement.
What is the Business Disability Forum's Accessibility Maturity Model based on?
The Accessible Technology Charter: We will ensure people living with a disability or who acquire a disability can apply for jobs with us, be employed by us, and do business with us, by implementing an inclusive technology strategy which includes the following commitments to accessibility: 1. We will appoint an Executive Level Technology Champion who will report to the board, raise awareness of the benefits of this agenda and ensure that we achieve continuous improvement in this area. 2. We will ensure that colleagues are aware of how technology can liberate the contribution of everyone, as colleagues and customers. 3. We will routinely consult with disabled colleagues, customers and experts to ensure that we understand the impact of our technology on talent management, colleague productivity and our diverse customer base. 4. We will enable built in accessibility to allow reasonable personalisation of technology by our colleagues and customers. 5. We will embed and promote a workplace adjustment process, that provides usable technology solutions for disabled colleagues, within a reasonable timeframe. 6. We will give our relevant teams the accessibility know-how needed to deliver effective business processes and adjustments for disabled colleagues and customers. 7. We will establish our performance baseline using the Accessibility Maturity Model. We will consistently go beyond minimum compliance to bring greater benefits to our business and share best practices with others. 8. We will promote a development lifecycle for our technology solutions that is based on inclusive design from definition to delivery, to minimise the cost and reputational risk triggered by retrofitting products and systems. 9. We will include accessibility as a key requirement within our procurement process and build relationships with supply partners to develop and deliver accessible products and services. 10. We will continuously improve accessibility within our organisation, document what works and share our learning with the Technology Taskforce
What are the European Agency for Special Needs & Inclusive Education Guidelines?
The Guidelines include a model for organizational implementation, adapted here: 1. Policy • Develop a long-term strategy that recognizes all aspects of disability. • Publish an accessibility statement that includes a commitment to make your services and information accessible. • Develop a procurement policy that covers accessibility compliance for products and services, including those for information production and dissemination. 2. Plan • Develop an information accessibility plan that is detailed and ambitious, but realistic and covers small steps. • Ensure the person or team responsible for the plan has authority and resources. 3. Practice • Conduct a pilot of the Guidelines. • Provide awareness training for all staff and how accessibility applies to information. • Provide training for content specialists on tools to make information accessible. • Produce style guides and templates. • Update work processes to embed information accessibility. • Create information using the style guides and templates. • Give external providers the Guidelines and requirements for compliance. • Conduct accessibility testing before releasing any services or publishing any information.
Why are Management Champions important?
Champions within the organizations become advocates during the accessibility adoption plan, by building engaging their teams, building awareness and skills, and evangelizing accessibility. Champions will help: • Build a vision and align implementation strategies • Sustain ongoing commitment and collaboration • Support the programmatic integration of accessibility throughout organization process, make clear the distinction between it and discreet accessibility projects. • Lead the adoption of an accessibility maturity model
W3C WAI: What are the recommended steps to follow to adopt an ICT accessibility plan across your organization?
Initiate To succeed, a web accessibility effort must be well grounded in organizational culture, process, and practice. • Learn the basics • Explore the current environment • Set objectives • Develop the business case • Raise awareness • Gather support Plan • Create an accessibility policy • Assign responsibilities • Determine budget and resources • Review environment • Review websites • Establish a monitoring framework • Engage with stakeholders Implement • Build skills and expertise • Integrate goals into policies • Assign tasks and support delivery • Evaluate early and regularly • Prioritize issues • Track and communicate progress Sustain • Monitor websites • Engage with stakeholders • Track standards and legislation • Adapt to new technologies • Incorporate user feedback
What are the key practices of any accessibility maturity model?
1. Commitment to perform Establishment of organizational policies and senior management sponsorship. 2. Ability to perform Resources, organizational structures, and training. 3. Activities performed Establishment of plans and procedures, performing and tracking work, taking corrective action as needed. 4. Measurement and analysis Examples of measurements for determining the status and effectiveness of the activities performed. 5. Verifying implementation Reviews and audits by management and quality assurance
What are the maturity levels defined by the Capability Maturity Model for Software?
1. Initial The processes are chaotic, ad hoc, and usually involve individual heroics. This is the starting point for use of a new or undocumented repeat process. 2. Repeatable The processes are at least documented sufficiently such that repeating the same steps may be attempted. Processes can be characterized as: • Practiced • Documented • Enforced • Trained • Measured • Able to improve 3. Defined The processes are defined/confirmed as a standard business process.Processes are used, and changed as appropriate, to help the and staff perform more effectively. 4. Managed The organization sets quantitative quality goals for products and processes. Processes include well-defined and consistent measurements. 5. Optimizing The entire organization is focused on continuous process improvement. The organization identifies weaknesses and strengthens the process proactively, with the goal of preventing the occurrence of defects. Innovations that exploit best practices are identified and transferred throughout the organization.
Why are accessibility maturity models useful?
Using an accessibility maturity model can help an organization mature their processes so that they are: * Well-defined * Repeatable * Measured * Analyzed * Improved * Effective
What are the W3C recommendations for evaluating accessibility?
• Ensure the product or service is fit for purpose. Design for usability by people with disabilities. Consider a "born accessible" approach to design. • Create reusable design and code libraries that help developers code for accessibility. • Use quality assurance tools, methods, and protocols including accessibility evaluation tools. Human evaluation is critical to ensuring the product or service created is accessible. • Perform formative, summative, and continuous evaluations. Test throughout the project lifecycle and any time new content is added or code is updated. • Include people with disabilities in evaluations. • If there are gaps in your organization's capabilities, use outside expert analysis and consultation until you build up in-house expertise.
What are some legal & public relations recommendations for handing accessibility?
• Identify and become familiar with the relevant international, regional, national, and local laws and standards. • Assess your organization's legal liability. • Ensure the organization has created and is following an ICT accessibility plan. • Ensure the ICT accessibility plan includes documenting how products and services meet accessibility standards. • Capitalize on the positive public relations that accessibility brings your organization.
What are key accessibility considerations when recruiting and hiring people with disabilities?
• Include your organization's disability inclusion statement in job postings and on the recruitment pages of your website. • Posting job openings on disability-focused job boards. • Ensure your organization's recruitment website and all postings are accessible. • Promote your organization at disability-focused job fairs. • Ensure your facilities are accessible to applicants and employees, and that you provide reasonable accommodations including assistive technologies. • Educate all employees, especially managers, on working with employees with disabilities. • Ensure hiring and supervising managers understand their obligations for accessibility and the organizational benefits that an employee with disabilities brings to the workplace.
What is the Business Disability Forum's Accessibility Maturity Model's progress scale?
• Level 1: Informal. No documentation or process in place. • Level 2: Defined. Documented but not actioned, or completed once. • Level 3: Repeatable. Process established and actioned consistently. • Level 4: Managed. Process monitored and improved, business as usual. • Level 5: Best practice. Innovate, improve, and share.
What are key accessibility communication management strategies?
• Marketing or external, as well as internal communications must be thoughtfully created to ensure that they are accessible and inclusive. Your organization should: • Publish accessibility standards for communications. • Provide training to communicators on using people first and plain language. • Ensure the accessibility of any documents published. • Ensure the accessibility of websites and all the media types it contains or references. • Caption and describe videos and other time-based communications. • Understand and design for how people use assistive technologies. • Capitalize on the increased understanding, influence, market, and reputational potential that accessible communications provide.
What are some best practices for procuring accessible products and services?
• Verifying product accessibility claims. • Verifying a vendor's accessibility expertise and capacity. • Requiring product accessibility in contractual agreements. • Periodically reviewing a vendor's product accessibility roadmap for adherence. • Leveraging the organization's procurement policies and requirements to influence vendors.
