Launching a Successful Digital Accessibility Program Tim Springer Matt Arana

Agenda Key Concepts Business Drivers DAMM Roadmap Phases Roadmap Initiate Pilot Scale Up Maintain

Key Concepts

Business Drivers Digital accessibility programs are driven by a mixture of the following factors: Why do we care? Business Drivers Manage Legal Risk Eliminate Discrimination Conform to Laws Access Markets Social Responsibility

Overarching Model High level areas of activity or competence needed for an effective digital accessibility program Program maturity is measured along ten key dimensions: –Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance –Communications –Policy and Standards –Legal and Regulatory –Fiscal Management –Development Lifecycle –Testing and Validation –Support and Documentation –Procurement –Training Digital Accessibility Maturity Model (DAMM)

Roadmap Phases Overview Initiate First six months Get started Determine high risk areas Implement some quick fixes Level one maturity Pilot Six to eighteen months Define a few specific systems to work on for accessibility Understand what works and doesn’t in context of specific assets Work towards level two maturity

Roadmap Phases Overview Scale Up Eighteen to thirty-six months Implement consistent enterprise-wide systems Measure and monitor conformance systemically Work towards level three maturity Mature Ongoing Maintain and mature enterprise-wide systems Actively manage processes and procedures Reporting and active management of accessibility Work towards level four and five maturity But that’s another show….

Phase One – Initiate

Phase Overview Understand where the risk is Address specific high risk areas Get things moving Limited and reactive retrofitting and code fixes Key Activities –Define a policy –can always update later –Understand the portfolio –Start some training work –Provide clear, well-tended methods for getting feedback on accessibility –If organization is subject to regulations or settlement get a handle on reporting

Asset Reviews Accessibility Coverage Questionnaire Covers functions and markets Defines relevant laws, guidelines and standards Determining Coverage

Testing ManualAutomated Assistive Technology Identify Modules Identify Use Cases Groundwork Prioritization Analysis Authoring Delivery Reporting Asset Reviews Audit high risk systems for compliance (via third party or in house) Technical Requirements –Is it coded properly? –Testing requirements split between Automatic (24.8%), Manual (48.3%) and Global (26.9%) Functional Requirements –Can it be used by people with disabilities? Support Requirements –Is it accessibility in deployment? System Audits Global

Program Review If an organization has a program in place, do a rough review of program against DAMM Outcomes: Define key aspects to improve Define key artifacts to create Define roadmap specific to the organization Define budget requirements Define reporting and ownership structures

Key Artifacts Accessibility Coverage Questionnaire Result of systems review activity Determine the risk associated with inaccessible ICT, and inform the RoI for the cost of accessibility implementation Helps us pick pilot projects to focus on Organization Wide Compliance Statement Standard organization wide compliance statement

Key Artifacts Accessibility Policy Accessibility policy covering the entire organization and addressing key policy areas Regulatory Calendar Formal method of tracking deadlines for accessibility filings Regulatory Filings Completing regulatory filings including but not limited to responses to the DoJ or EEOC pertaining to formal ADA complaints, Section 504 plans, etc.

Key Artifacts Accessibility Resolution Policy Defines manner in which accessibility issues are handled and resolved Accessibility Issue Submission Form Publicly available accessibility issue form Accessibility Training Plan Plan for training on accessibility Spans all the phases with increasing levels of detail Start with stock SaaS model and summits Mature over time Define refresh interval and training triggers

Key Artifacts Accessibility Policy Define target technical standards Define timeline for adopting and implementing standards Provide a copy of policy to personnel Start training around it

Key Infrastructure University Accessibility Overview Course Base Technical Track –Role based –Web, iOS, Android –Top ten certification Expert Technical Track –Internal expert certification Docs Track –PDF, Word, InDesign –Top ten certification SaaS model for courses

Key Infrastructure Help Desk Contract structure for support –Expert questions –Standards conformance –Program approach Testing, testing, testing

Phase Two – Pilot

Phase Overview Work with a specific set of assets to implement reasonable level of compliance Document approaches to compliance Start to improve approach to based on lessons learned from each asset Define budgets for program Begin updates to development lifecycle

Key Activities Appoint a digital accessibility coordinator Define a Accessibility Program Office (APO) Have them report to an appropriate executive Quarterly reporting by Coordinator to executive Regulatory and settlement reporting as relevant Program Management

Key Artifacts Accessibility Program Roles and Responsibilities Roles and responsibilities of the APO Prioritization Model Organization-wide prioritization model for what gets done first Enterprise, asset and best practice level VPATs, GPATs and Conformance Statements Normalize public conformance statements for pilot products or services Accessibility Technical Standards Publish an initial set of accessibility technical standards Generally published in AMP or similar infrastructure

Key Artifacts Accessibility Testing Plan Define the overall testing approach for accessibility Define key gateways at which accessibility is evaluated in development process Quality Control Plan Integration of accessibility testing plan into current QA process Accessibility Features Document Guide for creating and example of an accessibility features document

Key Infrastructure Program Software Accessibility Validation Platform Automatic, Manual and Functional Testing Reporting and Remediation Direction Prioritization of Issues Standards Management Best Practices Standards Reporting Compliance tracking over time

Thank You Contact Us Tim Springer Matt Arana Download Slide Deck info.ssbbartgroup.com/CSUN2015 Follow linkedin.com/company/ SSB-BART-Group facebook.com/ SSBBARTGroup SSBBARTGroup.com/blog

About SSB BART Group Unmatched Experience Focus on Accessibility Solutions That Manage Risk Real-World Strategy Organizational Strength and Continuity Dynamic, Forward-Thinking Intelligence Fourteen hundred organizations (1445) Fifteen hundred individual accessibility best practices (1595) Twenty-two core technology platforms (22) Fifty-five thousand audits (55,930) One hundred fifty million accessibility violations (152,351,725) Three hundred sixty-six thousand human validated accessibility violations (366,096)

Appendix

Maturity Levels Level 1: Initial Level 2: Repeatable Level 3: Defined Level 4: Quantitatively Managed Level 5: Optimizing

Some other (interesting?) ideas More Maturity ≠ Greater Conformance Do we need it at all? –Fewer Defects –Better on-time delivery –More likely to be on budget –Increased Quality Software Management Productivity Index

Phase Three – Scale Up

Phase Overview Move from targeting specific products and projects to all enterprise activities Implement accessibility systemically –Formalize loose program aspects –Harden requirements and guidance for lines of business Standardize budgets Require online self-paced training for all impacted roles Ensure specific testing artifacts are filed with central office Clear, maintained policies and standards

Key Artifacts Organization Chart Clearly defined organization chart for Accessibility Program Office Clearly executive ownership and responsibility for accessibility Accessibility Project Management Plan Roll out plan for the enterprise Public Communication Plan Definition of how this will be communicated to the public We’re doing great work – let’s get credit for it

Key Artifacts Lifecycle Roles and Responsibilities Definition of the roles and responsibilities organization units have in implementing accessibility in the development lifecycle Development Artifact Guide A list of the specific development artifacts LoBs must create and or file with the central Accessibility Program Office

Key Artifacts Budgets! Budget Well defined, multi-year budget plan for Accessibility Program Office Driven by the organizational accessibility policy and standards LoB Accessibility Budget Guidance Budget guidance provided to individual LoBs with respect to the implementation and maintenance of the organizational accessibility policy and standard LoB Accessibility Budgets Actual budgets defined by individual LoBs with respect to the implementation and maintenance of ICT under the scope of the organizational accessibility policy and standard

Key Artifacts Assistive Technology Supports Statement Specific understanding of what versions and types of AT will be supported ICT Procurement Contract Template Template contract language for ensuring accessibility of purchased elements ICT Procurement Policy Procurement policy for ensuring accessibility of purchased elements Training Calendar Training calendar of when accessibility training is available Tracking and reporting on training plan conformance

Key Infrastructure Third Party Validations Proven methodology that addresses technical and functional criteria for conforming to guidelines Ability to prioritize trade-offs associated with accessibility implementation Functional testing done by people with disabilities Annual evaluations of web properties and mobile applications

Phase Four – Mature

Phase Overview Maintain and continuously improve accessibility program Actively monitor program implementation Use data to drive decisions and program evolution Clear measurement and reporting of accessibility levels

Key Artifacts Accessibility Monitoring Plan Monitoring plan for tracking accessibility implementations Accessibility Compliance Plan Plan for measuring and enforcing compliance with the Accessibility Policy and Accessibility Standards for all ICT Process Improvement Plans Specific to development lifecycle integration Plans resulting from trends, or post-release defects discovered to improve accessibility reliability going forward Sprint retrospectives include accessibility discussions

Key Artifacts Procurement Maturity Third Party Compliance Policies and Requirements Compliance policy for third parties Procurement Accessibility Address Address where inaccessible products or services acquired by the organizations can be reported Procurement Checklist Includes evaluating products/services for accessibility Vendor Scoring Model Model and approach for scoring vendors and evaluating vendor documentation on accessibility

Key Infrastructure Compliance Monitor A turnkey monitoring solution that allows enterprise websites to track and validate full regulatory compliance with digital accessibility laws, regulations, and standards Features: Dashboard Organization Compliance Section & Page Remediation Guidance Intelligent Violation Prioritization