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
   

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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
   

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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!
   

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4. Digital Project Management
   

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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
   

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6. Accessibility Leaders
   

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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
   

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8. 8
   What Is Accessibility?
   

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10. It’s About People
    

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11. 11
    Can people with disabilities get the
    same information, perform the
    same interactionsand function as
    others with comparable ease?
    

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12. 12
    Why Is Accessibility
    Important?
    

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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/
    

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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
    

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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
    

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16. 16
    Do You Have an
    Accessibility Policy?
    

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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/
    

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18. Create Your Own
    

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19. 19
    Getting Buy-In
    

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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
    

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21. 21
    • Review competitors for accessibility
    • Reputation among people with disabilities
    • Diversity rates
    Competitive Analysis
    Disability Equality Index
    disabilityin.org
    

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22. 22
    • Loss of enrollments
    • Damage to reputation
    • Lawsuits
    • Loss of funding
    Risk of Doing Nothing
    

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23. 23
    Do You Have the
    Resources?
    

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24. Project Lifecycle
    

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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
    

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26. 26
    Role-Based Accessibility
    

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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
    

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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
    

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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
    

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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
    

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31. 31
    • Color
    • Typography, structure & hierarchy
    • Interactions
    • Proximity
    • Controls for motion
    • Responsive
    Designers
    

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32. 32
    • Use code libraries wisely
    • Operability
    • Meaningful structure
    • Parsing
    • Interaction support
    • Performance, optimization
    Front-end Developers
    

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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
    

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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
    

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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
    

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36. Collaboration
    

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37. 37
    Managing Risk
    

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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
    

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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
    

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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/
    

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41. 41
    • Educate and translate
    • Check-ins to ensure cross-functional accessibility
    • Proactively explain any relevant tradeoffs tied to solutions
    Communicate Early & Often
    

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42. 42
    • Define metrics from the start
    • Always reference metrics
    • Strong “executive summaries”
    • Quantitative and qualitative measure
    Measurement & Reporting
    

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43. 43
    • Living documentation
    • Ongoing training
    • Usability studies
    • Monitoring
    • Track standards, legislation
    • Track new technology
    Maintenance
    

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45. @emilylewis
    emily@knowbility.org
    training@knowbility.org
    

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