be the fireman and not the cop

Laying the groundwork for online accessibility success in a large environment

Current Problems

• Lack of accessibility planning / pre-planning

• Stakeholders already on the defensive

• Tight deadlines

• "How Much Does It Cost?" - No budget

allotted

• Content being developed for the web that

was never designed with web accessibility in

mind

• Sum total = Resistance

Resistance to change

Resistance to change manifests in different

ways:Confrontation Avoidance

Rejection Insincerity (hand waving)

Finding the champions

It takes a

Cultural shift.

The key is good

communication and

good communicators.

The Law of the Few

• Connectors– Knows everyone,

has done everything(institutional knowledge)

• Mavens– Tech gurus. Follows web trends

and tries new technology early(implementer)

• Salesmen– Boosters, promoters,

persuader, helper(enthusiasm)

Communication Skills

• Be Likable - Stay positive

• Connect - Find mutual points of interest

• Solve Problems / Build Trust - Teamwork

starts with you

• Create Positive Experiences - Make learning

fun!

• Build relationships – You can’t do it alone.

• Identify and work with Connectors, Mavens

and Salesmen in your organization.

Establishing the systems to get you there

Tackling Technical ChallengesPublishing & Tracking systems

Drupal, CQ5, etc.

Bugzilla, Mantis, Trak, etc.

Frameworks

jQuery, Dojo

Consider custom tools

Stanford’s Caption tool

Establishing the systems to get you there

Tackling Technical Challenges

Evaluation tools

Deque Worldspace, SSB Bart AMP,

IBM Rational Checker

WAVE, eChecker

Establishing the systems to get you there

Tackling Cultural challengesGoals and Expectations

Provide detailed expectations of Outcomes, not process - encourage creativity

Set realistic goals and expectations

Lay out the efforts as challenges, not consequences

Pursuit of Quality

Establishing the systems to get you there

Tackling Cultural challengesTimeline/milestones

Fostering empathy and

understanding

Brownbag events - invite

actual users with

disabilities

Establishing the systems to get you there

Addressing Financial challengesThe hardest problem to solve

today

Honesty is important

Scaled question - the longer

you delay, the more it costs

Establishing the systems to get you there

Transition towards team based approach • Project Manager

• Tech Team

• Design, User Experience

• Marketing/Content Dept.

Identify bottlenecks for each group independently

Roles based accessibility: http://www.w3.org/community/wai-engage/wiki/Accessibility_Responsibility_Breakdown

Establishing the systems to get you there

Establish Training and internal

resourcesMotivation (internal awards,

recognition, etc.)

Knowledge wiki or

other Knowledge Base

Consistency of

implementation

Legislation, Policy & Best Practices

Accessibility is a governance issue and a shared responsibility

Appeal to Pride versus Fear

• Policy: work with existing standards - avoid re-inventing the wheel

• Best Practices: document your internal interpretation and implementation - consistency trumps all

• Legal threat is heavy-handed: use as last resort. (IANAL)

Measuring success

• Avoid checklist mentality

• Avoid appearances of

concessions and sacrifices

• Avoid the Brick!!

Measuring success

• More than just QA

Process: multiple rounds

of testing for accessibility

• Work with milestones:

test early, test often

• Be specific in what you

ask for, generous in what

you accept*

* (Within reason)

Measuring success

Celebrate successes - Recognize efforts

great and small

Thank You

Questions?

Contact Mejohn@foliot.ca

http://john.foliot.ca

Be the Fireman and not the Cop:

Laying the groundwork for online accessibility success in a large

environment

February, 2013