Re: Accessibility testing for onrr.gov

Steve and Dan,

Whereas I do agree that the Trusted Tester certificate program does
prioritize repeatability, I would disagree about how it trivialises WCAG
testing.  Its structured and objective repeatability ensures a reliable
level of quality that doesn't depend on the individual analyst's feelings
in the matter. I realize that we each feel we're good at our job, but
federal Program Managers need an assurance beyond, "trust me, I'm talented".

In cases where a lot of money is on the line, federal Procurement Agents
want to check their Section 508 compliance box confident that they are
getting accessibility even when the Procurement Agent doesn't have the job
skills to verify. And they want a defensible position if they are to give a
vendor the bad news that they are not compliant. This is why the federal
Office of Accessible Systems and Technology was tasked with launching and
maintaining the Trusted Tester Program.

As a Trusted Tester myself, I do agree that such a certificate is not the
end of accessibility learning. We're given a baseline upon which we are
expected to build, and the Trusted Tester VPAT provides a way to report
beyond their baseline, particularly when it comes to remediation
suggestions which they barely touch on. I have found Deque and IAAP's
certification programs provide much of the overall accessibility training
that Trusted Testers could use, but to say the Trusted Tester Program harms
our profession, I suggest you first complete the Trusted Tester Program
yourself and then weigh in with your verdict.

Cheers,
Peter Shikli
Access2online Inc.
www.access2online.com
Prison inmates helping the internet become accessible

On Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 12:31 PM Dan Horning <dsoundmn@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you, Steve,
>
> This is one of the best ways I've seen someone address this. I completely
> agree.
>
> *Daniel Horning*
> 518-333-5100
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 1:24 AM Steve Green <
> steve.green@testpartners.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> While I would give the team credit for doing more than many, perhaps
>> most, teams, further testing would be required to meet the stated objective
>> of "make sure this website was as accessible as possible for all users",
>> which is a pretty high bar.
>>
>> As Peter rightly says, a manual WCAG audit is essential. It will find
>> most of the issues that user testing finds, but it will do so more easily
>> and cheaply. You get the best results from user testing if you do it after
>> the website is fully WCAG conformant.
>>
>> However, I do not recommend the Trusted Tester certification. It
>> trivialises the WCAG testing by reducing it to a checklist-based procedure
>> that prioritises repeatability over accuracy. It does not take into account
>> the need for investigation, which is essential given the complexity of
>> modern code. It does not allow testers to use their skill or even develop
>> their skill beyond what the course teaches. As such, I believe it harms our
>> profession.
>>
>> I recommend doing assistive technology testing before the user testing.
>> They are not the same thing at all. In an assistive technology test, a
>> skilled consultant tests every part of each page. User testing is usually
>> task or scenario based to assess whether end to end tasks are accessible,
>> so the user only views part of each page. The sessions should be moderated
>> and involve members of the general public. The two types of testing are
>> complementary and neither is sufficient on its own.
>>
>> User testing ought to include other screen readers as well as screen
>> magnifiers and voice recognition software.
>>
>> Steve Green
>> Managing Director
>> Test Partners Ltd
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Peter Shikli <pshikli@access2online.com>
>> Sent: 21 November 2022 19:21
>> To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
>> Subject: Re: Accessibility testing for onrr.gov
>>
>> Mr. Bailey / Ms. Thomas,
>>
>> Glad to hear of accessibility progress. Did you use Trusted Testers
>> certified by the federal Office of Accessible Systems and Technology to
>> audit and validate the new onrr.gov website's accessibility per Section
>> 508, perhaps by signing a Letter of Reasonable Accessibility to post on the
>> website?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Peter Shikli
>> Access2online Inc.
>> www.access2online.com
>> Prison inmates helping the internet become accessible
>>
>>
>> Bruce Bailey wrote on 11/21/2022 11:09 AM:
>> > From:  https://blog-nrrd.doi.gov/four-part-hybrid-testing/
>> >> Before launching the newly redesigned onrr.gov, we wanted to make
>> sure this website was as accessible as possible for all users.  We
>> previously chronicled our efforts to make all documents on onrr.gov
>> accessible, and developed next steps for 508 compliance within ONRR.  Part
>> of these next steps was to extend accessibility beyond linked documents to
>> the entire website...
>> > Website under discussion is:  https://www.onrr.gov/ U.S. Department of
>> > the Interior (DOI) Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR)
>> >> Open data, design, & development at the U.S. Department of the
>> >> Interior
>> > Please do not reply to me directly, as this great example and
>> interesting best practice story is not anything I was involved with.  I
>> found it worth sharing, and I pass it along with the author's permission.
>> > For more information via email, please use:  nrrd@onrr.gov
>> >
>> >
>> > From: Agency IT Accessibility Coordinators (Sec508ITAC)
>> > <SEC508ITAC@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV> On Behalf Of Thomas, Christine L
>> > Sent: Monday, November 21, 2022 11:09 AM
>> > To: SEC508ITAC@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV
>> > Subject: [508] New accessibility blog post!
>> >
>> > Hello,
>> >
>> > The newly redesigned onrr.gov is now live!
>> >
>> > We published a new blog post outlining our accessibility testing on
>> > the new onrr.gov:  https://blog-nrrd.doi.gov/four-part-hybrid-testing/
>> >
>> > The blog post focuses on testing the new website prior to launch. We
>> incorporated WCAG and Section 508 requirements "from the ground up" during
>> the design process.
>> >
>> > Ensuring that our websites are accessible is an ongoing and iterative
>> process for us, and we're happy to share these first steps.
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > Christine Thomas
>> > Program Analyst
>> > Open Data, Design, & Development
>> > Office of Natural Resources Revenue
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>