In the Australian context, web accessibility is beginning to change from a niche issue to a vital element of mainstream websites. The Federal Government has led this push by requiring their agencies’ websites to meet WCAG 2.0 AA standards by the end of 2014. Additionally, the Australian Human Rights Commission has stated that this standard should apply to all non-government websites by the end of 2013.
Project managers are in a position to ensure that the implementation of accessibility techniques is an integral part of the website building process.
Here are our top tips for project managers:
1. Accessibility increases quality and usability
Like Groves, we believe there is a need to present accessibility as part of both usability requirements and best practice in building a quality website, mobile site, app or other online software. Accessibility has a positive impact for all users, and it is important that practitioners and managers alike understand this.
2. Include accessibility at the beginning
Regardless of which approach you use, it is essential to include accessibility as a requirement and consideration from the beginning of any project.
Many project managers make the mistake of leaving accessibility until the end of the website building process, for example, by contracting someone to audit their website. This creates a much higher overhead in terms of time and money, as often elements of the website will need to be redeveloped or redesigned.
3. Ensure your team or service provider really knows how to implement accessibility
Conversations with other organisations building accessible websites tell us that it is also essential to ensure you have a developer who really knows about accessibility. Like any business requirement you may have for a website, you want to ensure the service provider really knows their stuff. As Henny suggests, you should ask for examples of websites they have built that have met accessibility standards and ask them to explain how they test the accessibility of the site throughout the development. It’s definitely a good sign if they test your site with assistive technologies, like screenreaders such as JAWS and NVDA.
For detailed information on how to include accessibility in the project management process, both Henny Swan’s ‘Accessibility for Project Managers’ and Karl Groves’ articles entitled ‘It’s time to let go of the waterfall model of accessibility’ are good guides.
Top of page