Help! My Client Needs a VPAT

What is a VPAT? Why do my clients keep asking about them? These questions are becoming more and more common with the rise of accessibility lawsuits. VPATs (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) are the common ask for companies to make sure they are buying software that is accessible.

This talk will go over what a VPAT is, how to start auditing your websites for accessibility, and the basics of how to write a VPAT. You'll leave this session with a greater knowledge of accessibility, and the current legal landscape, as well as how to go back to your company and answer some of your clients questions about accessibility.

Transcript

1. Help! My Client Needs a VPAT AND OTHER ACCESSIBILITY QUESTIONS Slides http://tiny.cc/CodePaLOUsa-VPAT/ @courtneyheitman
2. COURTNEY HEITMAN TECHNICAL ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALIST 3
3. Opportunity 4 “THE POWER OF THE WEB IS IN ITS UNIVERSALITY.” Tim Berners-Lee, Director of W3C and Inventor of the World Wide Web
4. WCAG ADA 508 WAI A11Y VPAT JAWS NVDA 5
5. WCAG WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES 6
6. CAN YOU USE IT WITH A KEYBOARD? WHAT WCAG COVERS 7
7. DO YOU HAVE A SKIP NAV? WHAT WCAG COVERS 8
8. IS FOCUS VISIBLE? WHAT WCAG COVERS 9
9. DO YOU DEPEND ON COLOR? WHAT WCAG COVERS 10
10. IS THERE PROPER ERROR MESSAGING? WHAT WCAG COVERS 11
11. DO YOU HAVE CAPTIONING ON VIDEOS? WHAT WCAG COVERS 12
12. DO YOU HAVE ALT TEXT? WHAT WCAG COVERS 13
13. WILL THIS CAUSE SEIZURES? WHAT WCAG COVERS 14
14. WCAG 2.1 THE REFRESH 15
15. • 17 new guidelines were added • Backwards compatible with WCAG 2.0 • Addresses gaps found between 2008 and now https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-21/ What’s Changed? 16
16. Understanding WCAG 17
17. Why Should My Company Care? 18
18. Inclusive Design SOLVE FOR ONE, EXTEND TO MANY 19
19. Inclusive Design 20 Permanent Temporary Situational Credit: Microsoft
20. Inclusive Design 21 Permanent Temporary Situational 26,000 13,000,000 8,000,000 Number of people who benefit: 21M+ Credit: Microsoft
21. Search engines are a blind user. A MORE ACCESSIBLE SITE = BETTER SEO 22
22. • Using Alt Text • Providing Descriptive Link Text • Using Standard Web Formats • Providing Transcripts For Videos • Identifying The Language Of The Page A More Accessible Site = Better SEO 23
23. $$$$$ WEB A11Y IS THE NEW WHEELCHAIR RAMP 24
24. WINN DIXIE NOT JUST ANOTHER SALE 25
25. Accessibility Lawsuits 26 7,663 2017 11,053 2019 11,452 2021
26. DOMINOS ONE HOT LAWSUIT 27
27. Well, that’s scary 28 How do I protect myself or my company?
28. VPATs VOLUNTARY PRODUCT ACCESSIBILITY TEMPLATE 29
29. VPAT 30 https://www.oracle.com/corporate/accessibility/templates/t2-8396.html
30. Audits 31
31. • What standards are you testing against? • What can be tested with algorithmic testing? • What needs to be manually tested? Auditing 101 32
32. Tools 33
33. • Simple algorithmic automated testing • Great “how to fix it” tools • Can audit 20% of your site with a few clicks Axe 34
34. Axe 35
35. Axe 36
36. Axe 37
37. • Runs on aXe core • Allows quick and in-depth audits • Great for people who are just learning how to audit Accessibility Insights for Web 38
38. Accessibility Insights for Web 39
39. Accessibility Insights for Web 40
40. Accessibility Insights for Web 41
41. • Keyboard • JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver • Color Oracle Other Tools 42
42. How do I create a VPAT? 43
43. Audit Your Site AND REVIEW THE RESULTS 44
44. Create Your VPAT AND MARK THOSE EXCEPTIONS 45
45. UNDERSTANDING 1.2.2 1.2.2 Captions (prerecorded): captions are provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such. (Level A) Create Your VPAT 46 Criteria Conformance Remarks and Explanations 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (Level A) Supports with Exceptions There is a video on the account page for resetting your password that does not have closed captioning.
46. Review Your VPAT AND START SHOWING IT TO CLIENTS 47
47. • https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-21/ • https://www.microsoft.com/design/inclusive/ • https://webaim.org/blog/web-accessibility-and-seo/ • https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat • https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/ Resources 48
48. Thank you! CONNECT TWITTER: @COURTNEYHEITMAN GALLUP INSTA: @LIFEATGALLUP SLIDES http://tiny.cc/codepalousa-vpat/