RE: Proposal for definition of levels

This revision is an attempt simplify it. In doing so, it separates the normative part (what claimants must do) from the informative part (the rationale for the levels approach that UAWG has taken).

The Three Levels of Conformance (Normative)

A user agent may conform at any of three levels - A (single A), level AA (double A), and level AAA (triple A) - with the more A's being indicative of a higher degree of accessibility. The requirements for these levels are cumulative, in the sense of requirements for one level building on upon requirements for lower levels. Specifically, in order to achieve one of these three levels of UAAG conformance, the user agent must satisfy success criteria (i.e., specific technical requirements) as follows:

1.	Level A conformance level: All applicable level A success criteria.
2.	Level AA conformance level: All applicable level A and AA success criteria
3.	Level AAA conformance level: All applicable level A, AA, and AAA success criteria.

A later section explains how to determine which of the success criteria may be declared by the claimant as "not applicable."

Rationale for the Conformance Levels (Informative)

UAAG2 conformance is based on the "level" (A, AA, or AAA) designations of the more than 100 success criteria (i.e., specific requirements) as found this document. In making these designations, the UAWG considered both the impact of the success criterion of individuals with disabilities as well as the likely degree of technical challenge in satisfying the success criteria. 

The level A designation was given to success criteria for which both to satisfy would block access for one or more groups of individuals with disabilities. [Eric comment: I am wondering if this is more accurate that saying that they would both block access and "are relatively minor for developers to solve." In a sense, if it would block access we do we really care if it is hard or easy to solve?]

The level AA designation was given to success criteria where failure to satisfy would make access difficult for one or more disability groups and where the technical challenge in satisfying would small to medium. 

The level AAA designation was given to success criteria where failure to satisfy would reduce access for one or more disability groups and where the technical challenge in satisfying may be large.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeanne Spellman [mailto:jeanne@w3.org] 
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 12:03 PM
To: UAWG
Subject: Fwd: Proposal for definition of levels

Some additional explanatory material:

For comparison, the earlier draft of level definitions was from 6 December. If I remember correctly, that was drafted by a sub-group after an impromptu or post teleconference call.

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/2012OctDec/0045.html

The major audience for this new proposal for Definition of Levels section will be both developers and policy makers. It is valuable to have a clear explanation of how the levels were developed when persuading policy makers to adopt the guidelines or to set a recommended adoption level as part of their policy.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Proposal for definition of levels
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:54:35 -0400
From: Jeanne Spellman <jeanne@w3.org>
To: User Agent Working Group <w3c-wai-ua@w3.org>

Here is my first pass at writing a definition of levels proposal.  This material would go in the introduction. It would not be normative material, and should be easy to read.

Proposed:

UAAG conformance levels (A, AA, AAA) provide a path for user agent developers to improve their product over time and to prioritize new features to develop.  UAAG conformance levels attempt to balance the needs of people with disabilities with the difficulty the user agent developer could experience in meeting that need. There are many different types of disabilities and different types of user agents, so the UAAG level assigned to a success criterion may not precisely match the definition of the level in all circumstances.

Level A success criteria represent needs where different groups of people with disabilities are blocked from receiving information or accomplishing a task AND that the solutions to those needs are relatively minor for developers to solve or the solutions are common in the marketplace.  In some cases, extensions or addons to popular browsers provide solutions.

Level AA represents needs where people with disabilities have difficulty accessing information or accomplishing a task (including tasks causing excessive fatigue), and where the solutions may be more difficult to implement or requires developing a new subsystem for the product.

Level AAA represents needs where the solution improves accessibility for some information or task, but the solution is challenging to solve, requiring a major effort or development of intelligent algorithms.

Received on Thursday, 2 May 2013 15:39:11 UTC