Project Management for Digital Accessibility

Presentation for Accessing Higher Ground 2020

If you aren’t incorporating accessibility into your project management process, you are creating risk. An effective project manager can mitigate that risk and create a better, more inclusive experience. Learn why and how project managers should be accessibility leaders, starting with understanding the business case and engaging with stakeholders. Discover how project managers can implement accessibility without sacrificing organizational goals, timelines and budgets.

Transcript

1. Accessing Higher Ground November 19, 2020 Project Management for Digital Accessibility
2. 2 • Accessibility & Universal Design Specialist - Knowbility • Formerly Bright Umbrella, CTRL+CLICK CAST & Web Standards Sherpa • Author Microformats Made Simple • Co-author HTML5 Cookbook • emily@knowbility.org • @emilylewis
3. 3 • Use Zoom's Q&A panel for questions • Use Zoom's chat for comments and interactions • Select "Panelists and Attendees" to share your comments with everyone Your Participation!
4. Digital Project Management
5. 5 No support from the top Misunderstandings about requirements Poor hiring and outsourcing Projects over budget Missed milestones, late launches Accessibility fades over time Challenges & Risks
6. Accessibility Leaders
7. 7 What is accessibility? Why does it matter? What is your organization’s policy? Where does accessibility fit into the project lifecycle? Do you have the right resources? How do you manage risk? PMs Need to Know
8. 8 What Is Accessibility?
10. It’s About People
11. 11 Can people with disabilities get the same information, perform the same interactionsand function as others with comparable ease?
12. 12 Why Is Accessibility Important?
13. 13 • 19% of all enrolled undergraduates reported having a disability Increase Admissions Students with Disabilities in Higher Education pnpi.org/students-with-disabilities-in-higher-education/
14. 14 • Design and build once • More cost effective to find and fix issues earlier Improve Efficiency How much do bugs cost to fix during each phase of the SDLC? www.synopsys.com/blogs/software-security/cost-to-fix-bugs-during-each-sdlc-phase
15. 15 • More than 11,000 ADA Title III lawsuits in 2019 • Litigation is expensive and damaging to reputation Reduce Legal Risk ADA Title III lawsuits hit another all-time high in 2019 www.hrdive.com/news/ada-title-iii-lawsuits-hit-another-all-time-high-in-2019/573393
16. 16 Do You Have an Accessibility Policy?
17. 17 • What does your accessibility policy apply to? • Are there any exceptions? • What level of WCAG compliance is required? • What types of accessibility violations would prevent a new site or piece of content from going live? • Who gets to make those calls? Developing Organizational Policies for Web Accessibility www.w3.org/WAI/planning/org-policies/
18. Create Your Own
19. 19 Getting Buy-In
20. 20 • Number of help inquiries • Change in admissions applications from students with disabilities • Change in requests for accommodations • Number of students with disabilities Statistics
21. 21 • Review competitors for accessibility • Reputation among people with disabilities • Diversity rates Competitive Analysis Disability Equality Index disabilityin.org
22. 22 • Loss of enrollments • Damage to reputation • Lawsuits • Loss of funding Risk of Doing Nothing
23. 23 Do You Have the Resources?
24. Project Lifecycle
25. 25 Administration / College & Department Heads Project / Product Managers Content Strategists / Information Architecture Copywriters / SMEs / Content Authors Designers Front-end Developers Back-end / CMS Developers Quality Assurance
26. 26 Role-Based Accessibility
27. 27 • Understand accessibility and how it applies to your institution, departments and staff • Understand risks and benefits • Build accessibility into the budget • Be an advocate Administration, Department Heads
28. 28 • Understand a11y and how it applies to your project • Communicate with and support all team members • Think about accessibility throughout process • Engage with and represent users • Hold team accountable • Stay firm Product / Project Managers
29. 29 • Know the audience and organizational goals • Clear, consistent content structure across varying viewports • Multiple paths to information, resources • Content pyramid • Simplify, simplify, simplify Content Strategists / Information Architecture
30. 30 • Alternative text, formats • Clear language, defined acronyms and uncommon terms • Instructions don't rely on color or sensory characteristics • Simplify, simplify, simplify Copywriters / SMEs / Content Authors
31. 31 • Color • Typography, structure & hierarchy • Interactions • Proximity • Controls for motion • Responsive Designers
32. 32 • Use code libraries wisely • Operability • Meaningful structure • Parsing • Interaction support • Performance, optimization Front-end Developers
33. 33 • Enforce accessible content entry • Work with code from front-end team • Use software, plugins, libraries wisely • Performance, optimization CMS / LMS / Back-end Developers
34. 34 • Develop test plans with accessibility built-in • Use automated tools where practical • Use manual testing for full coverage • Sign off accessibility with each key deliverable Quality Assurance
35. 35 • Proven understanding of requirements • Accessibility-first mindset, inclusive design process • References, examples from accessible products • Post-launch support, maintenance • Future updates remain accessible In-house & Outsourced
36. Collaboration
37. 37 Managing Risk
38. 38 • Involved in strategy and planning • Regular communication • Understand roles and constraints • In-house and outsourced Form a Collaborative Team Accessibility for Teams accessibility.digital.gov
39. 39 • Ensure staff know what’s expected of them • Ensure staff have what they need to be successful • Provide a means to track progress • Have a process for staff to flag issues Support, Resources & Training
40. 40 • Expect challenges, questions • Plan for future enhancements • Build in time for testing, remediation and re-testing Plan, Plan & Plan Some More Planning and Managing Web Accessibility https://www.w3.org/WAI/planning-and-managing/
41. 41 • Educate and translate • Check-ins to ensure cross-functional accessibility • Proactively explain any relevant tradeoffs tied to solutions Communicate Early & Often
42. 42 • Define metrics from the start • Always reference metrics • Strong “executive summaries” • Quantitative and qualitative measure Measurement & Reporting
43. 43 • Living documentation • Ongoing training • Usability studies • Monitoring • Track standards, legislation • Track new technology Maintenance
45. @emilylewis emily@knowbility.org training@knowbility.org