ATI Best Practices Presentation

Accessible Technology Initiative:
Enrollment Services IT Project

ATI Project Workspace in SharePoint

Screen Shot of the ATI Project Workspace. Detailed description follows:

Enrollment Services IT uses a project template within SharePoint to manage projects. The project template includes four tabs: Home, Tasks, Resources and Timeline. The Home tab includes the project objective, project team and project lead as well as other information defining the project. For the ATI project we have also included the project deliverables and constraints. The Task tab has been repurposed and is now the location of the Web site inventory and the Web site manual checks. The Resources tab has links in the following categories: Accessibility Training/Conferences, CSU ATI Links, Development/Accessibility Tools and General Accessibility References. Also on the Resources tab is the project document library. This will contain the various documents created for this project. The last tab is the timelines. We have four overarching timelines: the Web inventory, the Web site design process, the plan for making Web sites accessible and the report to our ATI coordinator. Under each of these there are individual tasks broken out (for example, performing automated checks on the WebPortal applications, the communications Web sites and on other Web sites we maintain). These subtasks are assigned a task lead, but are generally the responsibility of 2 to 4 members of the project team.

Project Team

  • Cyndi Chie, Enrollment Services IT, Project Lead
  • Kim Bayona, Enrollment Services Communications
  • Brent Coe, Enrollment Services IT
  • Javier Gudino, Enrollment Services IT
  • Rick Nornholm, Enrollment Services IT
  • Sue Reyes, Enrollment Services IT
  • Polly Sipper, Enrollment Services Communications
  • Stu Smith, Enrollment Services IT

Deliverables

  1. An inventory of Enrollment Services Web sites and Web applications, with an indication of initial compliance.
  2. A process by which new Web sites are designed to be accessible, including static and dynamic sites.
  3. A plan for making Enrollment Services Web sites accessible.

Web Site/Application Inventory

Screen shot of Web site inventory. Detailed description follows:

Within SharePoint two Inventory entry forms are used. The first is the Web site inventory form. This form includes:

  • The name of the Web site or application
  • URL
  • Site or application owner (Communications, Web Systems Group or Other)
  • The audience for the site/application
  • The type of site or application (static, dynamic or a combination)
  • The technologies used to create the site or application and the technologies used to display the site or application (for example, Java or DreamWeaver Templates may be the creating technologies, while HTML, CSS, and JavaScript may be the displaying technologies)
  • Passed or failed the automatic check, including description of the problems and proposed solutions
  • Passed or failed the manual check, including description of the problems and proposed solutions
  • Plans for the site or application (No action needed, Fix, Replace, Retire or Accommodate)

The entries in the Web site inventory are first grouped by owner and then by Plan. This helps us to determine who is responsible for a site or application and what needs to be done with it.

Screen shot of the Manual Check page, New Item. Detailed description follows:


Second screen shot of the Manual Check page, more information for the New Item. Detailed description follows:

The second entry form is the Web site inventory manual check form. Initially, we will be doing manual checks on a sampling of the Web sites and applications; we have 165 sites/applications in our inventory already. Manual checks will be performed on any new or redesigned sites and applications before they are implemented. The manual check entry form has three fields for each check point in the manual check form put together for the ATI:

  • A radio button field with Yes, No or N/A
  • A problem description field
  • A solution description field

The purpose of the manual checks (beyond the fact that the ATI requires it) is to determine what problems we are encountering in our designs. For example, we have already discovered problems with how we have done forms in the past. When we write up our design guide we will include a set of standards for forms, covering all the techniques necessary for how we use forms. In the manual check entry form we have included the text from the ATI manual check list for each check item. In some cases we have added additional instructions. For example, for Semantic checkpoint 1, the ATI manual check list says "1. Must repair: Does the text of each link describe where the link goes? (fix if no)." We added "Use Link Phrase quality report in AccVerify, but don't rely entirely on report" as part of the instructions. Whenever appropriate, we are also using the quality reports from AccVerify to check our sites and applications.

In addition to the checkpoint items, the manual check entry form asks for a title and Web site title. The title is unique to the page being checked. The Web site title matches the name of the site or application from the Web site inventory. This will allow us to link the two inventories and do a better analysis of the results of both the automated and manual checks.

Process by Which New Web Sites are Designed to be Accessible

  • Identify technologies used
  • Research best practices for technologies used
  • Review/edit current processes
  • Write appropriate use guidelines for each technology
  • Develop reference materials and training for IT and Communications staff
  • Write design guidelines for each technology
  • Create pre-implementation checklist

All of these pieces together will provide a style guide to be used when creating or redesigning sites and applications.

Plan for Making Enrollment Services Web Sites Accessible

  • Create timeline for conducting manual checks on remaining Web sites and applications (not including sites slated to be replaced or retired)
  • Determine future of Web sites and applications
  • Create timeline for repairing or replacing Web sites not in compliance

The goal is to replace existing sites and applications within the next five years using the style guide. This will ensure not only accessibility, but global usability using Universal Design techniques.

Fitting the Pieces Together

  • Deliverable 2: Process by which new Web sites are designed to be accessible, is key to success
  • Web Site/Application Inventory with automated and manual checks is research in preparation for deliverable 2
  • Plan for making Enrollment Services Web sites accessible will be result of deliverable 2

Our goal is to spend our time designing new and replacement sites and applications to be accessible from the start. We will minimize the amount of time we spend repairing existing sites. We will work with our departments on developing accommodation plans to be used in the interim.

Contact Us

Cyndi Chie
chie@mail.sdsu.edu

Polly Sipper
psipper@mail.sdsu.edu

Kim Bayona
klacson@mail.sdsu.edu