Expanded Implementation Plan for Web Accessibility
intro - responsibilities - assessment - policy - software - training - monitoring - collapse all
After an organization makes a commitment to make its Web site accessible, it is important to plan the process for implementing accessibility. This page lists detailed considerations for the planning process. Actual implementation plans will vary from organization to organization, and optimal order of the steps below will also vary.
To return to the outline version of this page, select "collapse all", or in the navigation bar above.
- Identify a high-level champion for Web accessibility
- champions can reinforce organizational commitment as
implementation progresses
- corporations: accessibility champions are most
effective if at least at the level of senior vice president [CAV: I would substitute vice-president for management, more common everywhere (not all the companies have VPs)]
- Assign a lead coordinator
- small organizations: it may be sufficient to
designate a "point person" for Web accessibility
- Identify representatives from key departments
- corporations: departments might include
marketing, Web development, technical support, usability, etc. [CAV: They may want to designate
someone to track new techniques for accessibility]
- education: in decentralized systems, include
representatives from each school jurisdiction
- Web design businesses: may want to designate
someone to track new techniques for accessibility
- Establish a coordination team with communication plan
- decentralized organizations: coordination may
need to be flexible when Web development is decentralized
- Conduct an initial assessment of organization's Web site, using
Preliminary Review
method
- quick review of the Web site can provide information about
potential extent of problems
- Assess current awareness of need for Web accessibility by
survey or interviews within the organization
- large organizations: survey individuals in
departments with different roles relating to the Web site
- Assess expertise of organization's Web developers on accessible
Web design
- self-reporting can be adequate for initial assessment [CAV: combined with random detailed checks by experts to ensure the quality of the evaluation]
- Assess suitability of current software to support development
of accessible Web sites
- decentralized organizations: organizations
with decentralized software procurement practices will need to
review more products
- Estimate resources required to address needs identified in
initial assessment
- include software replacement, staff training, retrofitting of
site, monitoring of site, etc., as needed
Key resource: Evaluating
Web Sites for Accessibility
- Find out whether the organization is subject to external
requirements regarding Web accessibility
- government and commercial
sites: check requirements early in the process
- Find out whether the organization has an existing policy on Web
site design and technologies
- large organizations: note whether some
department is already developing a general policy for Web site
management, and if so what the timeline is
- Establish an organizational policy on Web accessibility, organizational policy on Web
accessibility [CAV: The text is repeated twice, the link should be in the first one]
- important to address issues such as conformance level, scope of
site, use of proprietary formats, milestones, etc.
- government and commercial
sites: organizational policy should at least reflect minimum
accessibility requirement by government
- large organizations: a concise high-level
statement of commitment, plus a comprehensive
implementation-oriented statement, may both be useful
- Develop initial and ongoing promotion plans to increase
awareness of organization's policy, internally and externally
- plan for ongoing internal promotion as staff and
responsibilities change over time
- Conduct briefings on new organizational policy
- for large organizations may need executive briefings
Key resources:
- Select authoring software that conforms to as many of the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
(ATAG 1.0) as possible
- decentralized organizations: organizations
with decentralized software procurement practices may need guidance
on selection process rather than centralized purchase of
software
- If current authoring software does not support production of
accessible sites, ask vendors when it will
- Install with recommendations for configurations supporting
production of accessible content
- Develop and distribute accessible templates usable with the new
authoring software
- decentralized organizations: templates for a
variety of authoring tools may be particularly helpful in achieving
a consistent level of accessibility
- Select software for evaluating and repairing Web accessibility
- decentralized organizations: a centralized
evaluation resource page may be useful
Key Resources:
- Plan a range of training options to meet needs of people with
different roles in the organization
- large organizations: conduct training sessions
for Web masters and Web content developers in different
departments
- large organizations: publicize training and
reference resources to Web masters
- large organizations: develop an internal Web
site with accessibility information and resources
- large organizations: provide online resources
to address technical questions
- small organizations: look for outside training
resources if needed
- Web design businesses: training should include
business case talking points for clients as well as technical
training
- Offer repeated training options as staff and responsibilities
change
Key resource: Planning Web
Accessibility Training
- Specify evaluation process to be used, and ensure quality of
Web site evaluation process
- Conduct ongoing monitoring of organization's Web site
- if using accessibility logos, monitoring should include some
verification of logo use
- decentralized organizations: may need some
kind of centralized accountability or enforcement
- Invite and respond to user feedback on organization's Web
site
- Periodically review all aspects of implementation plan for
effectiveness
- escalate to champion and/or reinforcing organizational policy
as needed as needed
Key resources:
Last updated 29 October 2001 by Judy Brewer with assistance from
Members of the Education and
Outreach Working Group.
Copyright
© 2000 - 2001 W3C (MIT, INRIA, Keio ), All Rights Reserved. W3C
liability,
trademark,
document
use and software
licensing rules apply. Your interactions with this site are in
accordance with our public
and Member
privacy statements.