Re: WCAG 3.0: Conformance model - a different view

I think there is a misunderstanding of what an assertion is - and when it is used.

As I  understand assertions (and as they were first proposed )


Assertions are just assertions of process.

And the only valid test of an assertions is whether or not it has been made.   (Kind of self-testing.  If you make an assertion you conform that that item asking that an assertion be made - about some process.)

Assertions are not a guarantee of, or even statement of, any outcome - (So it is true that there is no outcome to test.)   
If the outcome were testable - it could/should have been a fundamental or supplemental requirement - not an assertion. 


(Note Assertions are also different from conformance claims.  Assertions are of process — and don’t even assert that a single provision has been met.  )





> On Nov 19, 2025, at 12:32 PM, Sailesh Panchang <sailesh.panchang@deque.com> wrote:
> 
> Note: The first message (Nov 14, 2025) does not mention assertions at all. This is deliberate. 
> View about Assertions:
> Assertions are mere statements in the nature of representations that may need to be validated. As such, they cannot be used to establish conclusive evidence of conformance.
> Refer to a previous email that suggests how assertions  might be used:
> https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2025OctDec/0057.html
> Thanks
> Sailesh Panchang  
> Principal Accessibility Consultant
> 
> Email: sailesh.panchang@deque.com <mailto:sailesh.panchang@deque.com>
> Deque Systems Inc | - Accessibility for Good | www.deque.com <http://www.deque.com/>
>  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Nov 14, 2025 at 2:46 PM Sailesh Panchang <sailesh.panchang@deque.com <mailto:sailesh.panchang@deque.com>> wrote:
>> Issue related to functional needs:
>> https://github.com/w3c/wcag3/issues/416
>> Sailesh Panchang  
>> 
>> Email: sailesh.panchang@deque.com <mailto:sailesh.panchang@deque.com>
>> Deque Systems Inc | - Accessibility for Good | www.deque.com <http://www.deque.com/>
>>  
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Nov 14, 2025 at 2:43 PM Sailesh Panchang <sailesh.panchang@deque.com <mailto:sailesh.panchang@deque.com>> wrote:
>>> 1. First the list of functional needs need to be finalized and requirements (foundational level / supplemental level) need to be mapped to these needs.
>>> 2. The goal is to help policy makers determine  if WCAG 3 compliance has helped to make digital  content accessible  in those various settings identified as functional needs. 
>>> Like in WCAG 2.X an enterprise may choose to meet only Level A criteria (I know the recommended standard is Level AA) or Level AA or Level AAA, going forward, organizations should have the liberty to meet only foundational level requirements or both foundational and supplemental level requirements as they choose. 
>>> The bronze, silver and gold route  for conformance level may become unnecessary IMO. With that, the complication of associating a percentage against those levels becomes redundant. Though one can associate some rationale with the percentages for bronze, silver and gold, at the end there will still be an element of arbitrariness to the process.
>>> 
>>> 3. So consider a conformance statement  along the lines of a VPAT with one important caveat . It can be set out  in a format that corresponds to the organization's accessibility goal: only foundational level if that is the choice or both foundational and supplemental levels.
>>> The caveat: the conformance statement only tabulates all functional needs as identified for WCAG 3.0. Against every need there is one value: Satisfied / partly Satisfied / Not Satisfied. 
>>> In other words this statement will not list all the requirements like a VPAT does but simply the functional needs and state whether the requirements for the selected level have been met or not based on the established mapping.
>>> Thanks,
>>> Sailesh Panchang  
>>> Principal Accessibility Consultant
>>> 
>>> Email: sailesh.panchang@deque.com <mailto:sailesh.panchang@deque.com>
>>> Deque Systems Inc | - Accessibility for Good | www.deque.com <http://www.deque.com/>
>>>  
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>