Section 508…What you don't know may hurt you…

What you do know

Embracing accessibility and Section 508 requirements into your products and services broadens your opportunity to reach an untapped market opportunity of approximately 54-million people, reduces the liability of legal repercussions, and enhances your corporate image.

What you don't know may hurt you…

  1. Compliance Validation - Currently, no government agency or trusted third party exists that can validate that a website or software application is or is not compliant. Worse yet, there is no guarantee that if every Section 508 requirement is met, that a site is accessible or usable by those with disabilities. Section 508's status as an unfunded mandate makes it difficult for agencies to support. No single clearinghouse exists for interoperability certification and testing of Information Technology (IT) products.

    As compliance determination is currently hit or miss, some tried and true methodologies work. Experts agree that agencies cannot judge compliance using automated test tools alone.

    According to Jim Thatcher, of Accessibility Consulting, “Any testing for web accessibility must be viewed as a process which combines automated software tools with human judgment. It is not possible to purchase any web accessibility evaluation tool, no matter how expensive, run it on your site, and conclude that your site (or even page) is accessible, or whether it complies with the Section 508 provisions. Human judgment is absolutely required.”

    It is highly recommended that websites and software applications be tested with assistive technologies used by end-users who are disabled. Working directly with the disabled has proven to be the real test to determine true accessibility.

    Karen Evans, Administrator for IT e-government of the Office of Management and Budget states that “While automated accessibility assessment tools are useful, human testing with expert screen readers is critical to ensuring that your application meets the standards.”
  2. Cost - How much will it cost to add accessibility features and functionality to your product? Should you retrofit your existing product, or build from scratch? What are the training costs for internal development, testing and support? The cost for internal development includes money, time, and dedicated resources.

    There are many costs associated with incorporating accessible features into your product design, from accessible design training for your development, quality assurance and support staff, to decisions regarding whether to retrofit or start from scratch for design implementation.

    Working with expert consultants can save you money as they employ proven techniques and a variety of tools to cost-effectively design or modify web sites and software applications to ensure accessibility requirements.

    A recent Forrester report estimates that it can cost at least 10 times more to fix problems after a site launch than to do it correctly the first time. The report says,” The average Global 3,500 company can expect to pay about $160,000” to retrofit a website and that the cost falls to around $60,000 if accessibility is “front-loaded into a new design or a complete redesign.”
  3. ROI - What is the market potential? How can I determine my ROI?

    Current estimates indicate that there are 54-million Americans with disabilities. The overall population in general is aging; and those with temporary disabilities are not included in this number. According to another Forrester report, it is estimated that consumers with disabilities represent $175 billion in discretionary income.

    It is true that the expense of incorporating accessibility features and functions are up to the vendors to incur, however, there are many ways to minimize your costs and risks. Accessibility consultants have the expertise and knowledge to assist you in planning the most cost-efficient way to develop your Web sites and software applications. In addition, they have proven methods to re-coup your investment, and measure your potential new market.

    Developing for the federal government today sets you up for success in emerging markets, such as State and Local Government, Higher Education and most commercial and global enterprises where efforts are already underway to mandate accessibility requirements.
  4. Investment Protection - Once the investment is made, how do I maintain compliance in the midst of ongoing software changes? How do I keep up with changes in technology, government mandates, and new user requirements?

    There are several ways to protect your investment. You can develop in-house experts, you can hire third-party accessibility consultants, or you can create a team of both. Any of these approaches will enable you to cover all bases faster, in a less expensive fashion, and more knowledgeably,. Plus, they will enable you to provide quick responses to internal and external clients.

Ten Steps to help you develop an Accessibility/Section 508 Roadmap .

Step #1 – Initial Assessment

An initial assessment is a high-level analysis of your company's software product, content creation tools, and architecture. The review should consist of interviews with your senior technology team. Automated tests will be run. The result of an initial assessment is a snapshot of how your company's product compares to Section 508 standards, notes on areas needing further examination, and suggestions on remediation.

Step #2 – Technology Audit

A technology audit entails a detailed analysis of the architecture and the software product to be defined by your company. It includes both automated and manual testing. The result is a detailed assessment of the current state of your company's implementations.

Make sure the following information is provided to you in your audit report

  1. Review and/or develop requirement documents
    • Include reference for all viable specifications, standards, and policy
  2. Validate source code to ensure that it is well formed, and structured. Validate:
    • HTML/XHTML/XML
    • JavaScript, Flash, Visual Basic, Java, MSAA
    • Results of a manual code review
  3. Validate Accessibility
    • Use automated validation tools to establish an initial base review listing all tools used.
    • Test for assistive technology compatibility (screen readers, magnifiers, etc.) listing all tools used
  4. Validate Usability
    • Write usability test scripts for controlled-task testing
    • Test your “average” user base, and include key sensory disabilities, such as vision, hearing, mobility, and voice/speaking

Step #3 - Remediation, Consultation and Implementation Plan

The results of a technology audit provide details that can be used to formulate a Remediation, Consultation, and Implementation Plan that will help you more efficiently evaluate measurable cost options before continuing development. This plan will leverage your company's investment in accessibility, assist in overall planning, and better assure that the client receives the best value for the efforts that are applied.

Step #4 – Architecture and Design Plan

With the information from the initial assessment, audit, and a review of your company's objectives, you will have the data needed to draft your Architecture and Design Plan. Application design addresses a multi-tiered architecture. Accessibility issues always manifest at the presentation layer. But, the most cost-effective solutions frequently require elements or objects to be added to more internal layers, so that they can be drawn upon during page construction for presentation layer rendering.

Step #5 – Quality Assurance & Usability Testing

Once you have an established Architecture and Design Plan, a test plan should be written to assure that the elements and objects that support accessibility are implemented successfully for all components identified in the Design Plan. Training for your quality assurance testers can be specified within the existing test environment, and delivered at this point.  Your quality assurance team should become familiar with your company's accessibility policy in the planning stage as the goal of this test plan is to surface non-compliance issues at the earliest stage of the project.  Therefore, the tests scripts, even for the earliest developed components, should incorporate checks for accessibility supplements.

First, plan to test all standard configurations supported for your product. Automated test tools are also available and have varying degrees of results. Second, you should perform a code and user interface inspection, and then test your product with the actual assistive technologies that you plan to support. Finally, and this is the most crucial aspect of usability testing, you must test your product with actual users, people with disabilities.  Each of these testing techniques has an associated cost.  Trained consultants can assist with you with a recommended plan for the most cost-effective solution.

Step #6 – Independent Validation

Current law indicates that vendors can self-certify, meaning that they can claim accessibility certification on their own. As you can see by reviewing the top five steps listed above, there is nothing to say that a company cannot accomplish those steps alone. However, the reality is that in order to fully ensure compliance, many companies don't have the internal resources and proven experience to audit, design, and test all of the different variables with success. By teaming with an outside expert, who specializes in accessibility requirements and laws that federal government agencies use to procure products, companies can be in a better position to win contracts. Consultants with good reputations and repeated success add credibility to your claim.

Step #7 - Corporate Awareness, Training and Seminars

Your technical staff may know what to do to make your software and web site accessible, but the rest of your organization will need training. An accessibility training consultant can help you develop your own customized training, or provide you with standard training on how to develop, sell, market, and support your accessible solutions. Creating a Corporate Accessibility Policy for your website further confirms your commitment to accessibility.

Step #8 – Monitoring

Software solutions are in a continuous state of change. You have invested to make your website or software application accessible and 508 compliant. As you enhance or make changes to your solution, you will need a set of tools and a process to monitor your ongoing changes. Again, you can create this service within your organization or turn to a consultant with an established service that will protect and maintain your investment by monitoring and ensuring ongoing compliance. Here's an example of how it would work; each month, an Accessibility Expert will scan your site or software application for changes. These changes will be evaluated against the accessibility standard you desire. If you are no longer compliant, a report will document the issue and a suggested solution will be provided.

Step #9 – Accessibility Help Desk

Many problems for users with accessibility issues are very different from problems for users in your mainstream. Do you have an on site expert on accessibility issues? Who do you ask about the effect a design decision may have on accessibility? Who responds to government requirements and RFPs that request that you document your 508 status?

You will need to employ and train a dedicated internal resource, or better yet, team with an experienced accessibility help desk to ensure answers and solutions to the most up-to-date (and long standing) questions your clients may encounter.

Your engineers and sales professionals can submit questions to the experts. Questions and answers can be made available to your entire staff. Follow up questions can be easy to track. A help number could be available to call if you require additional services, or if you require a more in depth explanation of a response.

Step #10 – Market Your Solution

Once you've completed your solution and it's ready for market, there are several ways to “get the word out” to the right audience. Consultants can guide you through a series of strategies, lists and publications that will get the attention you need to finalize your success.

Conclusion:

Use the table below to assess your company's website or software product. The table is a tool that can help you to determine:

  1. What steps to address
  2. Internal Resources - Whether you have the knowledge and resources within your company
  3. External Resources - Areas where you don't have knowledge and or resources and you would benefit by hiring an Accessibility Expert
  4. Team of Internal and External Resources - Areas where you may want to team or partner with an Accessibility Expert.

What you don't know about Section 508 can hurt you. What you do know and how you take action can position your product in both the private and public market to win business and attract new customers.

 

What Steps to Address

Internal Resources

External Resources

Team of Internal and External Resources

 

Step 1
Discovery Engagement

 

 

 

Step 2
Technology Audit

 

 

 

Step 3
Remediation Consultation Implementation Plan

 

 

 

Step 4
Architecture and Design Plan

 

 

 

Step 5
Testing

 

 

 

Step 6
Validation

 

 

 

Step 7
Corporate Awareness, Training and Seminars

 

 

 

Step 8
Monitoring

 

 

 

Step 9
Accessibility Help Desk

 

 

 

Step 10
Market Your Product

 

 

 

About the author… Mike Paciello is the President and Founder of The Paciello Group, a provider of the complete set of Accessibility and 508 compliance services. Mike is an international authority on Web accessibility and assistive technology. He co-founded the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). He is the author of the best-selling book, "Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities."

Contacts:

TPG: Dick Mahoney ( [email protected] )
603-882-4122 ext 101