RE: Comment on 3.3 [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

UNCLASSIFIED

As an intermittent follower of the deliberations of the EvalTF I'd like to support David's point about the importance of including a 'random' sample of pages in addition to more structured sampling. The augment he makes applies equally well in the Australian situation - most agencies are right behind the need for accessibility, however some may take whatever shortcuts are on offer.

Keep up the good work - looking forward to the finalisation of the Methodology.

Regards, Andrew

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Andrew Arch
Australian Government Information Management Office
Dept. Finance and Deregulation
p: 02 6215 1618 | w: www.finance.gov.au/agimo/

UNCLASSIFIED

From: David MacDonald [mailto:david100@sympatico.ca]
Sent: Friday, 21 September 2012 2:31 PM
To: public-wai-evaltf@w3.org
Subject: Comment on 3.3

I think Random Sampling is a critical aspect of the evaluation. Although it is extremely important to carefully select representative pages and templates etc... as per this methodology, there is also a significant risk that only the most accessible samples will be chosen by authoring teams that are trying to put their best foot forward. There may be many situations where it is not practical or possible to have the evaluation conducted by an arm's length reviewer.

There are also situations where content that is considered more important gets selected as representative content. This is as it should be.

However, random sampling has a similar effect on web audits, as having a Government department conduct random taxation audits on citizens of the country. It keeps everyone on their toes and keeps them ensuring ALL of their pages are accessible, in case they are selected in a random sample. This strategy has helped the Government of Canada's evaluation process significantly.

Cheers
David MacDonald

CanAdapt Solutions Inc.
  "Enabling the Web"
www.Can-Adapt.com<http://www.can-adapt.com/>

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