Member since 1 year ago
8 ideas posted
0 comments 1 vote
10 votes
I disagreeShould the Federal government enhance the Section 508.gov website into a robust Web Portal by collaborating with the IT industry to centralize expertise to provide education, testing tools, and professional development? What else could this portal provide?
11 votes
I disagreeShould government strengthen and build on the Section508.gov site to develop a Web Portal of accessibility resources geared primarily towards core Developers, but with essential resources for the more extended development community? Could the creation of a joint public and private sector central repository of information and online community better support the development community? Would this increase equal access ...more »
Should government strengthen and build on the Section508.gov site to develop a Web Portal of accessibility resources geared primarily towards core Developers, but with essential resources for the more extended development community? Could the creation of a joint public and private sector central repository of information and online community better support the development community? Would this increase equal access to ICT in the Federal government?
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17 votes
I disagreeGovernment should support the development of Accessibility Professional Certification programs along with the education needed to support the certification process. This will build a larger pool of skilled accessibility experts and will drive the integration of accessibility training into other general IT development training programs and post-secondary educational programs.
8 votes
I disagreeContinuous Improvement Continuous Improvement Exemplary Practices: 1. Methods for ensuring continuous improvement and 2. Accountability mechanisms. Three key methods for ensuring continuous improvement: designate responsible persons/offices, encourage participation by individuals with disabilities and outside experts, and establish measurable objectives and benchmarks. Designate responsibility: Example-Chief Technology ...more »
Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement Exemplary Practices: 1. Methods for ensuring continuous improvement and 2. Accountability mechanisms.
Three key methods for ensuring continuous improvement: designate responsible persons/offices, encourage participation by individuals with disabilities and outside experts, and establish measurable objectives and benchmarks.
Designate responsibility: Example-Chief Technology Accessibility Officer. Provide top management support and, if appropriate, staff to manage the implementation of this strategic plan and a reasonable budget; identify the responsible individual(s) on all internal and external communications regarding the company's ICT strategic plan
Encourage Participation by Individuals with Disabilities and Outside Experts: Involve people with disabilities at each stage, particularly when testing whether the changes company has made are successful; Develop relationships with experts and learn what other companies are doing; Adopt the benchmarks and measures by teams that include users knowledgeable about accessible and usable electronic and information technology; Seek input from employees with disabilities using employee surveys and focus groups and discussions with employee diversity and advisory groups regarding the workplace environment
Establish Measurable Objectives and Benchmarks: “Conformance” evaluations or audits of company’s ICT will help in self-assessment of accessibility of existing technologies and plot course for improvement; Setting measurable objectives and benchmarks at the onset is key to evaluation and strategic planning process. Set measurable objectives by prioritizing ICT applications that need accessibility modifications and setting dates by which improvements will be implemented – then monitor achievement.
Many checklists, scorecards and grid-based tracking documents designed to help users evaluate compliance with Section 508 and other accessibility practices; Evaluate each ICT application or platform consistently, and to assign a benchmark “score” to each item at the start of self-assessment so that success can be measured.
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3 votes
I disagreeInfrastructure Infrastructure exemplary practice: 1. Establish infrastructure that supports accessible ICT policies and practices: Four key areas-outsourcing, procurement, training and deployment Outsourcing: Provide outsourcing guidelines to suppliers and business partners, including copies of ICT accessibility guidelines; Ensure that contracts stipulate suppliers will, where relevant, apply ICT accessibility standards ...more »
Infrastructure
Infrastructure exemplary practice: 1. Establish infrastructure that supports accessible ICT policies and practices: Four key areas-outsourcing, procurement, training and deployment
Outsourcing: Provide outsourcing guidelines to suppliers and business partners, including copies of ICT accessibility guidelines; Ensure that contracts stipulate suppliers will, where relevant, apply ICT accessibility standards
Procurement: Provide clear statement that ICT accessibility standard applies to the solicitation; Indicate the applicable technical section, functional performance criteria, and documentation and support requirements for the ICT contract deliverables; Specify applicable accessibility factors as (1) evaluation criteria and (2) inspection and acceptance criteria; Ensure the solicitation and any associated documents and attachments are in an accessible format.
Do not request that the ICT accessibility standard be determined by the vendor or ask for an ICT deliverable accessibility certification of compliance
Training: Provide accessibility training opportunities for all departments, including: ADA coordinators; program managers; contracting or procurement officers; software, web and multimedia developers; and IT Help desk staff.
Possible Topics for training: ICT accessibility standards and how to evaluate software, websites and other documents for accessibility; How to buy accessible ICT; How to create accessible software, websites, electronic forms, and documents; How to caption video or multimedia. Important to provide online resources for learning about specific assistive technology products and to train all employees so that everyone understands and can use accessibility features in any technology purchased or developed.
Deployment: Establish a mechanism for centralized expertise and/or payment for assistive technology devices and services; Provide for specialized expertise to assess and evaluate an applicant’s or employee’s need for assistive technology, where necessary and appropriate; Enter into strategic partnerships with resources in the community to gain insight, information and expertise regarding accessible ICT, including assistive technology devices and services; involve persons with disabilities in the implementation of accessible ICT policy by establishing a group of employees impacted by the policy.
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5 votes
I disagreePolicies and Practices
Policies and Practices Exemplary Practices: 1. Written policies that define commitment and identify priorities and goals and 2. Use of specific technical ICT accessibility standards
Sample guidelines that can be adopted: Access Board’s Section 508 and Section 255 guidelines, WCAG 2.0 guidelines developed and maintained by Web Accessibility Initiative/W3C
1 vote
I disagreeSelf-Assessment Self-Assessment Exemplary Practices: 1.Comprehensive Evaluation of Internal and External Technologies and 2. Priorities and Goals Comprehensive Evaluations: Make a list of all ICT used or offered, including all platforms, devices and applications; Evaluate the accessibility of each item; Can include formal testing of ICT applications with automated accessibility testing tools; Consider the user experience ...more »
Self-Assessment
Self-Assessment Exemplary Practices: 1.Comprehensive Evaluation of Internal and External Technologies and 2. Priorities and Goals
Comprehensive Evaluations: Make a list of all ICT used or offered, including all platforms, devices and applications; Evaluate the accessibility of each item; Can include formal testing of ICT applications with automated accessibility testing tools; Consider the user experience of applicants, employees and customers with varying disabilities (interviews, focus groups)
A variety of checklists exist. ODEP is developing an online tool that employers can use to check and then access online resources for the areas they need to address: Tech Check. Tech Check will be a starting point for companies to build their own self-assessment and improvement plan. Includes resources and tools for making needed improvements
Setting Priorities and Goals: Evaluation process generally identifies ICT that is not accessible to and/or usable by people with disabilities; Remedying all identified issues at once may not be realistic due to cost and legacy IT infrastructure constraints; Leading companies commit to making all the necessary changes, either immediately or in the longer term
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5 votes
I disagreeLeadership Exemplary Practices: 1. Committed Executive Leadership and 2. Accessibility Leadership Team
Creating an Accessibility Team. Possible members include human resources, ADA compliance/coordination, information and communication technology, including the chief information officer and chief technology accessibility officer, procurement, education and training, finance, marketing, and employee resource groups
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