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Why didn’t you know this? Are you not the ******* “expert”?. a11yCamp Toronto 2014 Integrating Accessibility in the Web Project Lifecycle. Denis Boudreau Web Accessibility Avenger Deque Systems, Inc. db@deque.com @dboudreau. Unlikely Heroes… (capes and spandex are optional). Roy. Elena.
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a11yCamp Toronto 2014Integrating Accessibility in the Web Project Lifecycle Denis Boudreau Web Accessibility AvengerDeque Systems, Inc. db@deque.com @dboudreau
Unlikely Heroes…(capes and spandex are optional) Roy Elena Amy Chris Mike Julie
Meet Amy RoleWeb Accessibility Specialist ScenarioAmy has recently been tasked with assessing the redesign of a new client’s website for compliance against WCAG 2.0 AA. She quickly discovers that no prior accessibility testing has been conducted on the project. The site launches in less than two weeks.
Dealing with web accessibility at the end of the project lifecycle leads to costly retrofitsthat could’ve otherwise been avoided Lesson no.1
Meet Roy RoleWeb Accessibility Coordinator ScenarioRoy is leading the accessibility taskforce in his Fortune 100 organization. His role is to make sure they never get sued by people with disabilities advocacy groups. Leadership has yet to provide him with clear top-level support however.
Without clear top-level support from their leadership, web accessibility champions are ultimately bound tobe ignored by their peers Lesson no.2
Meet Elena RoleQuality Assurance Lead ScenarioThe agency Elena works for is under litigation because their website was inaccessible to people who are blind. She has built a checklist that will be used by her Centralized Testing Team, so all pages can be internally tested with a series of tools to comply with accessibility requirements.
Centralized testing teams who fail toinclude end userstesting in their process are likely to miss significant issues when assessing content Lesson no.3
Meet Chris RoleBusiness Analyst ScenarioChris has been tasked with selecting the next platform for their website’s redesign from a short list of three vendors, all of which have VPATs claiming their product is fully compliant with Section 508. Their accessible content will be integrated by an offshore third party vendor.
Never underestimate the impact of external factors – for they can make or break all effortstowards web accessibility Lesson no.4
Meet Mike RoleFront-End Developer Lead ScenarioMike is a gifted web developer who understands web standards and realized long ago that accessibility was mostly about testing with your keyboard and using native semantic HTML. He introduced his team to various browser toolbars and everyone now feels confident they have accessibility covered.
Developer toolbars, semantic markup and automated testing tools can only get you about 30% of the way towards accessibility Lesson no.5
Meet Julie RoleWeb Accessibility Champion ScenarioJulie is the acting web accessibility champion at her organization and is very dedicated to digital inclusion. However, there is so much work to do, so many people asking for help and so little time, that she often becomes a bottleneck. As a result, requests sometimes fall through the cracks.
Accessibility resources who allow themselves tobecome bottlenecks give everyone else an excuse to overlook web accessibility Lesson no.6
Common PitfallsIdentify, Prevent & Avoid Them! • Web accessibility impacts every discipline • Accessibility must be included from phase one • Don’t just rely on a web accessibility champion • Go beyond technical criteria and checklists • Accessible results beyond standards compliance • Automated tools will only get you so far • 3rd party platforms can make or break accessibility
What do these people have in common? Roy Elena Amy Chris Mike Julie • They truly want to do the right thing. • They are pretty much left on their own. • They are ultimately bound to fail.
Integrating Accessibility in the LifecycleOnly One Part of the Solution Organizations can only be successful if every stakeholder chooses to take ownership of accessibility.
Three-Tiered ApproachThe Secret to Implementing Accessibility Realization Best practices, design patterns, style guides, tools, testing methodologies, etc. Alignment Internal and external policies, Web accessibility support groups, standards and guidelines, etc. Awareness Training and learning, building the business case, communicating the message, etc.
Today’s FocusThe Secret to Implementing Accessibility Realization Best practices, design patterns, style guides, tools, testing methodologies, etc.
Amy Meets Her New Team Team Mascot Web Accessibility Analysis Back-End Development Content Strategy HTML/CSS Prototyping Information Architecture UXDesign Front-End Development QA Testing SEO UI Design Front-End Development Project Manager
Web AccessibilityWhose Job is it, Anyway? • Business Analyst • Information Architect • Content Strategist • UX Designer • UI Designer • SEO Specialist • Prototype Developer • Front-End Developer • Back-End Developer • QA Tester
The Traditional MindsetAccessibility and the Web Project Lifecycle UX Design ContentStrategy Back-End Development Front-EndDevelopment HTML/CSSPrototyping SEO Web Accessibility Analysis InformationArchitecture QA Testing UI Design
Changing the MindsetAn Accessibility Focused Eco-System UX Design ContentStrategy Back-End Development Front-EndDevelopment HTML/CSSPrototyping SEO End Users Analysis InformationArchitecture QA Testing UI Design
W3C WAI-Engage WikiDistributed Responsibilities Model http://bit.ly/WsdeYh
Every stakeholder involved needs to stay alert and pay attention to accessibility at his or her level in the web project lifecycle Lesson no.7
Different Teams, Different ProcessAdapting to the Team’s Reality • UX Designer • UI Designer • Content Strategist • Web Developer • QA Tester Web Accessibility
Different Teams, Different ProcessAdapting to the Team’s Reality • UX Designer • UI Designer • Content Strategist • Web Developer • SEO • QA Tester Web Accessibility
Different Teams, Different ProcessAdapting to the Team’s Reality • Business Analyst • UX / UI Designer • Content Strategist / SEO • Front-End Developer • Back-End Developer Web Accessibility
Make subject matter experts in your lifecycle accountable, so the right questions are asked at the right time by the right people Lesson no.8
Planning the right intervention at the right time by the right people prevents costly errors & oversights Lesson no.9
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for Business Analysts
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for Information Architects
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for Content Strategists
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for UX Designers
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for UI Designers
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for SEO Specialists
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for HTML/CSS Prototype Developers
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for Front-End Developers
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for Back-End Developers
Distributed Responsibilities ModelAccessibility for QA Testers
Uneducated decisions will yield significant consequences for accessibility later in the project Lesson no.10
The largest room in the world is the room for improvement- Meiji Stewart