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Assessing Agency Wide EIR Accessibility and Implementing Changes to Address Issues (Case Study). Index. 01 Cover 02 Index 03 Presenters 04 Why 05 What 06 Who 07 NTT DATA Key Differentiators 08 When 09 Criteria for Accessibility Compliance 10 Findings 11 How Part 1
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Assessing Agency Wide EIR Accessibility and Implementing Changes to Address Issues (Case Study)
Index 01 Cover 02 Index 03 Presenters 04 Why 05 What 06 Who 07 NTT DATA Key Differentiators 08 When 09 Criteria for Accessibility Compliance 10 Findings 11 How Part 1 12 How Part 2 13 Results 14 Actions Taken 15 Current Trends to Consider Part 1 16 Current Trends to Consider Part 2
Presenters Heather Hall, Ph.D., PMP Interim Director of Information Technology Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services Stephanie Lendecky Texas Sales Executive NTT Data, Inc. Alan Smith Accessibility Specialist Member of the W3C WCAG workgroup, Mobile Accessibility taskforce NTT Data, Inc. Currently on assignment at TIAA-CREF, Charlotte, NC
Why DADS was required to meet the Accessibility standards and remediation as outlined in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) and Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)/Department of Aging and Disability (DADS) policies, standards, and guidelines. The effort was too big for internal resources to complete – 76 applications and 178 Web pages. Agency had limited tools available for testing. Technical resources struggled with how to get started, how to test, how to document findings, and how to develop a roadmap. We needed to know where we were at as a starting place. The Accessibility analysis needed to be a formal project with a Project Manager and project team assigned that was supplemented with a Deliverables-Based IT Services (DBITS) vendor that would bring expertise and tools.
What F169M – DADS EIR Compliance Project 08/29/2011 Executive Summary The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) Information Technology (IT) is seeking Deliverables Based Information Technology (DBITS) Vendor(s) to perform Technology Upgrade/Migration and Transformation services. This project will involve assessing Electronic Information Resources (EIR) Accessibility compliance for approximately 76 DADS IT-supported business applications and an estimated 178 Web pages. The DBITS Vendor is expected to perform analysis to determine which DADS IT applications and DADS IT Web pages are exempt from, meet, or do not meet Accessibility standards and require remediation as outlined in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) and Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) policy, standards, and guidelines.
Who DADS utilized the DBITS procurement method to select a vendor: • Developed SOW • Routed for approvals • Solicited vendors in appropriate category – Technology Upgrade/Migration and Transformation • Reviewed responses • Selected Vendor NTT DATA (Formerly Keane) was the selected Vendor. After the kickoff meeting, NTT DATA’s Project Manager and the Agency Subject Matter Experts met on a weekly basis to plan and execute the project.
NTT DATA Key Differentiators At the time of this project (2011) NTT DATA had provided the following Key Differentiators: • As a result of working with and meeting the various unique needs of clients around the globe, NTT DATA has gained experience in the space of accessibility and TAC/Section TAC/508 compliance through the completion of recent projects similar to that of this DADS project for the State of Massachusetts NTT DATA was the selected Vendor. • Included on our proposed team where two visually impaired, experienced accessibility/TAC/508 compliance test analysts, who will provide key direction as it relates to the testing and analysis for this project. • Additionally, NTT DATA is a trusted partner and advisor to many Federal, State, and local governments, including DADS and its Public Sector service is one of NTT DATA’s largest business verticals. Since 2011 NTT DATA has been involved with other similar projects in the USA and UK • Multiple projects and personnel at client sites offering these services • Has representation on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (W3C) Working Group and Mobile Accessibility Taskforce
When The project was initiated via a kickoff meeting on July 7,2011 and included the key leadership and sponsors for this project. The final report and all supporting documentation was completed on August 29, 2011.
Criteria for Accessibility Compliance NTT DATA used a combination of data, resources and tools to determine all accessibility and TAC/508 compliance requirements for intranet and internet interaction by both internal and external users. These included standards currently (2011) developed and approved by the State of Texas. If any of the requirements were less than the Federal TAC/Section TAC/508 compliance standards or the state did not include requirements set by the federal standards, NTT DATA and the subject matter experts as assigned by the state determined which guidelines to incorporate into the specific requirements.
Findings The project involved assessing Electronic Information Resources (EIR) Accessibility compliance for approximately 76 DADS IT-supported business applications and an estimated 178 Web pages. The assessment effort uncovered: a total of 2,060 findings included the following: • Color contrast issues • Table formatting and structure issues • Meaningful link issues • Misc. HTML coding and validation errors • JAWS related issues (items not properly read by screen reader) a total estimated effort to remediate all issues of 13,828 hours ($1.3M) An Implementation Plan/Roadmap document included: Enumeration and recommended prioritization for remediation Proposed timeline for remediation.
How Part 1 Accessibility Testing Automated Testing and Analysis- Began by scanning the site with an automated analysis tool, and interpreting the results. The results of the testing were evaluated with regards to each of the sites being tested and the required changes documented. • Tools included: SortSite (automated site testing tool) and WAVE (code analysis and compliance tool) Manual Testing and Analysis- Second, screen reading software was used, to do a by-hand analysis of the site to verify that all content read correctly, and all interactive aspects of the page were usable. The entirety of each page was examined and any errors documented in a spreadsheet. • Testers included two visually impaired test analysts experienced in accessibility • Tools included: Keyboard, JAWS and ZoomText • Web and internet applications testing performed on IE v6.0 and Mozilla Firefox
How Part 2 The key tasks that were executed during the course of this project included: Developed project artifacts (Project Plan, Work Plan, Test Plan, Status Reports). Prioritization of the SysCat List – Each application was assigned a priority based on the usage and mission critical nature of the application. Requesting access to systems based on the priority. Created Exemption Forms for those applications that are not supported by IT. Completed Waiver forms for those applications that are aged and considered older legacy applications as per TAC guidelines.
Results SyscatList No. Application Grouping and Disposition Count 1. Accessibility Applications Testing completed 18 * Out of Scope Applications 58 Watchfire Report No. Web Page Disposition Count Accessibility Testing completed 178 Exemption/Waiver List No. Web Page Disposition Count 1. ** Remediation waivers requested for Applications tested 5 * Exemption of those applications that are not supported by DADS IT as supplied by DADS IT staff. ** Recommended Waiver for those applications that are aged and considered older legacy applications as per TAC guidelines.
Actions Taken Used reports to educate stakeholders on Accessibility deficiencies. Developed Legislative Appropriation Request Exceptional Item for 83rd Session but it was not approved. Requested funding for discretionary projects in 2012, 2013 and 2014 but other projects have taken priority. Utilized the NTT DATA report to group defects and enter them into our Applications Management defect/enhancement tracking system. Developers work on them as they change the code. DADS currently has about 468 open Accessibility defects and, so far, in 2014 we have we have closed about 45 (10%) of the defects. Although progress is slow to remediate the Accessibility defects, we are able to quantify the defects and track progress thanks to a successful private/public partnership to perform the analysis.
Current Trends to Consider Part 1 At time of NTT/DADS (2011) assessment Jaws was leader in screen reader Since then NVDA (free) has gained market share/usage Window-eyes formed partnership with Microsoft and now free for MsOffice users ZoomText company joined forces with Window-Eyes iPad has gained leadership role in Accessibility and mobile device usage Apple has lead the way for Accessibility for mobile/touch devices iPad has become the main device among the blind and visually impaired community Android has become the main player in mobile space and now supports more Accessibility features as well Sites and apps need to consider iOS VoiceOver and Android Talkback testing Browsers now more supportive of ARIA and HTML5 coding for Accessibility HTML5 has gained acceptance Sites need to consider HTML5 support for video/auto players WCAG 2.0 became ISO standard as world-wide acceptance of guidelines
Current Trends to Consider Part 2 PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) now ISO standard Accessible PDF is now much easier Many government agencies and states make this a mandatory component for websites to comply with Aging population more tech savvy and disability factors for Accessibility websites/apps more important to them As we age visual/dexterity and cognitive issues become a bigger factor in their lives USA Federal Gov's refresh of Section 508 (to be law soon) to align with WCAG 2.0 means 508 is not good enough for level of Accessibility functionality Section 503 now mandates disabled employment and compliance guidelines ADA and federal government have been aggressive in legal battles over Accessibility Many companies/gov agencies moving more aggressively to comply with 508 and WCAG 2.0 guidelines Government agencies, companies and associated Accessibility Audits and remediation efforts now need to consider the impact of all of the above