The Collaborative Road to Maine State Web Accessibility

1. The Collaborative Road to Maine State Web Accessibility Kelly Hokkanen, Kathy Record, Ellen Wood State Web Accessibility Sub-Committee Maine.gov - the official Web portal of the state of Maine

2. Objectives • Describe Maine’s collaborative path to increasing access to government web sites • Discuss Maine’s web standards • Describe Maine templates developed for Dreamweaver to support a consistent, accessible, and usable government web site.

3. Background • 1997 “Maine’s Opportunity: Maximizing Economic Potential conference” • Ensuring Information Technology provides access for ALL Maine citizens • White Paper with Guiding principles & recommendations • 1999 Legislation passed to create InforME, Maine’s e-government partner and portal

4. Maine’s IT Accessibility Committee • Government Information Services Policy Board recognizes State commitment to people with disabilities • Establish accessibility committee - 1998, Charter in 1999 • More than web…”to integrate accessibility into our everyday business processes and practices” • Maine Government Accessibility Committee

5. Accessibility Committee Charter • Propose and maintain standards for information technology accessibility • Expand and maintain an evaluation methodology for current and future information technology endeavors • Prepare periodic updates on technology, ADA compliance, and other legal requirements • Complete an annual report on previous year's accomplishments and proposed future work plan • Work in partnership with the Accessible Information Technology Coordinator on identifying issues and providing technicalassistance and solutions • Annual Reports –these reports go to Governor’s, Cabinet, Commissioner, Maine State Library government publications

6. The Web Problem • What we knew: The Web is a critical means by which the State communicates with the public • Where we were: • Everyone did their “own thing” • Many sites unusable & inaccessible • No compliance to standards, lack of consistency, browser compatibility issues, not forward compatible, costly to maintain, lack of accountability

7. Roadblocks to Accessibility • No coordinated state plan or management for web presence • Costs • Lack of accessibility training and information • Resistance to change; ownership issues • No accountability • No enforcement of accessibility policy • No web standards

8. Solutions – Policy & Leadership • Accessibility Committee wrote Maine State government web accessibility policy • adopted by the Information Services Policy Board July 2001 • CIO became champion for accessibility initiative: Top IT official is accountable • CIO hired half-time IT accessibility coordinator • CIO provided a budget • Web accessibility sub-committee formed & developed an action plan

9. Steps for Change • 2002 • Launched new state accessibility website - "one stop shopping" for those looking for IT accessibility information. • 2003 • Summer intern researched issues to bring Maine State websites into compliance with State policy– Web accessibility recommendations • Updated web accessibility policy & more usable format for implementation guidelines

10. 2004 Steps for Change • Accessibility Committee & IT Accessibility Coordinator, Kathy Record, worked on accountability & standards • Web Design Consistency Initiative – collaboration & support by Accessibility Committee, Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Department of Administrative and Financial Services, & InforME • InforME: Maine’s e-Government Partner and the winner of the Center for Digital Government’s 2004 Best of the Web competition. • Web Sub-Committee established • Focused on prioritizing and implementing Web Accessibility Plan recommendations • 5 Action Areas for 2004-05 goals

11. Committee Action 1: Training • Make basic web design training available for every state employee who works on web pages affiliated with Maine State Government. • InforME provides monthly webmaster training • Committee offers quarterly free half-day accessibility workshops open to state webmasters and their managers. • Review the current training course curriculum and the process for selecting training instructors • Issues- costs, time away from job, levels of skills, what to teach, who trains

12. Committee Action 2: Web Resources • Transition webmasters to one software • Support & training only for Dreamweaver • Each agency should have access to web testing and accessibility tools on at least one computer. • Committee purchased HiSoftware: 50 licenses of AccVerify/AccRepair, Hi-Caption, Link Checker • Enterprise evaluation with AccMonitor • All provided to agencies at NO cost • Develop Webmaster Resource Center Website and online forum • Set up by InforME, Fall 2004

13. Committee Action 3: Evaluation & Governance • Purchased enterprise accessibility evaluation software • Chose HiSoftware’s AccMonitor • Evaluate all state sites at least twice a year for accessibility • Hisoftware’s AccMonitor initial run Spring 2005 with ongoing quarterly reports • Agencies must develop internal web management plan • identify roles and responsibilities, site monitoring and evaluation, content maintenance, oversight, user feedback and other aspects of site management. • Web sites need project management and planning

14. Committee Action 4: Personnel • Require all agencies to appoint a primary web coordinator • Responsible for ensuring compliance to all state standards • Create Webmaster Directory for communications and security purposes • Mandate that all state employees who have access to and work on state web pages register with the Office of the CIO, using the directory • Issues • Use of employees who have both time and training to design professional pages, • Fewer working on pages, less problems • HR and job classification • Pages meeting standards • Accountability & communication of policies • Support of senior management important

15. Web Standards Purpose: • Web is one of the most important means by which the State communicates with the public • An agency's website may be the only interface that a citizen or business has with a particular agency • Maine state government's presence on the Internet must be professional, comprehensive and coordinated. • All state websites must be accessible to the broadest possible audience and easy to understand and use.

16. Web Standards – Business Value • Reinforce Maine.gov identity and make it clear to users they are on a Maine state site • Provide consistency and continuity in website appearance • Improve the quality, usability and accessibility of State websites for the public • Ensure that critical state links appear on all agency sites • Integrate agency sites and the portal, to support the "one government" approach • Increase efficiency of website development and management by agencies

17. Web Standards Developed • Web standards revised and passed by Information Service Policy Board, Spring 2005 • Governor’s Order, Jan. 2005 charging CIO and InforME to develop accessible web templates that all departments will utilize to ensure unified e-government web services

18. Scope of Standards • These standards apply to all agencies within the Executive Branch of Maine State Government. In addition, all sites must comply with the Web Accessibility Policy of the State of Maine • Web design and content requirements • Maine.gov header • Design templates – Developed at no cost to government by InforME • Style Guide • Agency Site Management Plan • Webmaster Directory • Website Coordinators • Approved Web Software: Macromedia Dreamweaver

19. Summary of Standards Benefits • Improved usability for the public • Professional presentation • Improved accessibility for all users • Consistent branding of state sites • Browser compatibility, standard code, fast download • Easier development and maintenance by agencies • Reduced costs

20. Next Steps • Support webmasters in transitioning to templates with resources and training • Continue monthly InforME webmaster meetings with targeted training • Hold monthly web coordinators meetings • Monitor level of accessibility through quarterly AccMonitor testing • Full Accessibility Committee broader initiatives – More PR, studying legal aspects, network with others • E-government Manager position from Office of Information Technology • Continue summer intern program

21. Maine State Library HomeUse of Template

22. Agency Leadership makes a Difference • With the strong support of the State Librarian and the Deputy Librarian, Maine State Library is reporting close to a 100% web accessibility compliance for Maine’s Web Accessibility Policy • Other key factors for Maine State Library: • Use of the templates, InforME’s training, HiSoftware’s tools, Dreamweaver /Contribute accessibility settings, and the continual support of InforME and the CIO’s Accessibility Coordinator

23. Template - Bureau of Parks & Lands (green style)

24. Another Template Example – Maine’s Fall Foliage • Some flexibility in color scheme, header, use/non-use of right navigation

25. Template Accessibility Features – Skip Nav • “Skip navigation” links (required by federal Section 508) • These “invisible” links allow a blind user with screen reader software to skip over repetitive header and navigation links and move directly to the page’s main content. • Two levels of “skip” links are included: Skip header links, & skip to content.

26. Template Accessibility Features –Text Nav Text navigation • Very few graphics are used in the templates. • All navigation is text. • This is more accessible than graphical text, since it can be enlarged as needed. • It also downloads more quickly. • Uses CSS

27. Template Accessibility Features – Alternative navigation systems • Search and site map available from every page. Specific to each site. • A textual site map provides information about how the site is organized. • Breadcrumb trail navigation provides information about site organization and another way to navigate.

28. Template Accessibility Features - Fonts Sizing & Styling • The State accessibility policy requires that sites use relative font sizing. • Effective font sizing within the style sheets that meets all accessibility requirements and is cross-browser compatible. • All font styling and sizing comes from the style sheets automatically.

29. Template Accessibility Features - CSS CSS - Cascading Style Sheets • Separation of presentation from content • Allows users to control the site display to their own preferred settings • Provides a cleaner page that is more accessible to screen reader software, text browsers, and alternative devices. • Improves download speed of web pages.

30. Template Accessibility Features - Other • Consistency of layout, navigation and appearance. • Home link and “Contact Us” link available from every page • Navigation systems include clear “you are here” indicators as the user moves deeper into the site.

31. Presenters’ Contact Information • Ellen Wood, Web Coordinator for Maine State Library, Chair of the State Web Accessibility Sub-Committee, ellen.wood@maine.gov, www.maine.gov/msl/ • Kelly Hokkanen, Director of Creative Services, InforME: Information Resource of Maine, and member of Web Accessibility Sub-Committee, kelly@informe.org, www.maine.gov • Kathy Record, IT Management Analyst/Accessibility Coordinator, Office of the CIO, kathy.record@maine.gov, www.maine.gov/cio/

32. Resources mentioned (in order of appearance) • Maine.gov - the official Web portal of the state of Maine http://www.maine.gov/ • White Paper with Guiding principles & recommendations -http://www.mainecite.org/docs/wpaper.htm • Maine State Accessibility Committee http://www.maine.gov/CIO/accessibility/committee.htm • Accessibility Annual Reports http://www.maine.gov/CIO/accessibility/annualreports.htm • Website Accessibility Policy of the State of Maine http://www.maine.gov/CIO/accessibility/policy/webpolicy.htm • Office of the CIO Accessibility web site http://www.maine.gov/CIO/accessibility/index.htm • Web accessibility recommendations http://www.maine.gov/msl/accessibility/recommend03.htm • Accessibility policy implementation guidelines http://www.maine.gov/CIO/accessibility/policy/guideline1.htm • InforME: Maine’s E-Government Partner http://www.maine.gov/informe/ • HiSoftware http://www.hisoftware.com/ • Maine State Library http:www.maine.gov/msl/ • Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/ • Maine’s Fall Foliage http://www.mainefoliage.com