Quentis Scott IT Specialist - Section 508 Coordinator General Services Administration Office of the Chief Information Officer Washington, D.C. Developing An Effective Section 508 Program

First Things First – Take A Deep Breath and Don’t Panic! You’re about to make a difference!

Where Do I Start? Began building business relationships: Start within your own organization Internet and Intranet Project Managers and Developers Content Managers Acquisition Officials Office of Civil Rights HR Find others interested in or knowledgeable of Section 508 to help

Let’s Look at Roles and Responsibilities

Roles and Responsibilities of the Section 508 Coordinator pg.1 Setup and manage the agency-wide Section 508 program Establish, monitor and enforce Section 508 agency policy Develop critical guidance and resources such as Section 508 Handbook, Tutorials, Checklists

Roles and Responsibilities of the Section 508 Coordinator pg.2 Begin a 508 testing environment Provide expert technical advice and guidance Provide agency and individual training Acquire a working budget

Roles and Responsibilities of the Section 508 Coordinator pg.3 Inform agency employees on how to file a Section 508 complaint Generally responsible for bi-annual Section 508 agency report Agency advocate for persons with disabilities Much more….

Recruit Regional s508 Coordinator’s and POCs – Add to agency Section 508 policy – Request appointees from the HSSO level – Reach out to known interested employees – Meet with agency coordinators

Establish a Working Group A working group can help with establishing policy, procedures and other mission objectives. – Users with disabilities – Users of assistive technology – Good way to find detailees

Set Agency Policy and Procedures

Policy and Handbook Policy on publishing accessible online content Policy on Section 508 compliance of agency web systems Policy on posting accessible online content & documents Policy on multimedia (video and audio) How to create accessible online content How to test for 508 compliance during the development lifecycle How to create accessible documents Where to go for video captioning

Section 508 Policy and Procedures Outline your agency expectations / requirements to comply with 508 law Consider modifying what may be already in place View other agency policies and procedures

Vetting the s508 Policy Send out for Review and Comments – OCIO and HSSO vetting process – HSSOs generally include those organizations cited in the directive Receive and address agency comments Revise the policy accordingly Initiate agency wide communications and publish

Assemble a 508 Test Team

Test for Section 508 / WCAG 2.0 – Obtain an automated tool for web testing – Provide manual and automated testing – Establish a manual test methodology – Recruit assistive technology users

Testing for Section 508 / WCAG 2.0 Consult with your CIO or agency contact to find websites, web applications that need testing Get commitment from customers to remediate after testing Advertise availability of testing resources through agency channels

Testing for Section 508 / WCAG 2.0 Slide2 Expand your testing capability over time Maintain a database tracking system Include Usability testing when possible

Document Remediation

Document Remediation slide 2 Assemble a team that can help with remediation of office documents Start simple and expand over time Cost effective, use in-house service Got money? Solicit the requirement.

Setup A Website

Intranet/Internet Website Roles and Responsibilities Policy Handbook 508 Coordinators by Region Link to Section508.gov How to Guidance (Tutorials and Checklists) Technical Tools and Federal Resources Complaint Procedure Training

Intranet/ Internet Website Information should be easily to find Clear menu items Accessible Usability test recommended

Professional Development

Training How to… Accessible training online 24 hours Individual and group Office document remediation (Word, Excel, PP and PDF) Remediation, testing to standards Use video communications

Agency Solicitation Reviews slide 1

Agency Solicitation Reviews slide 2 – Partner with procurement officials – Discuss need for evaluation and review process for IT procurements – Discuss OMB Reporting Template requirement – CO accountability, CIO Policy

Agency Solicitation Reviews slide 3 – Buy Accessible Wizard – Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) – Facilitate a tracking method for solicitation assessment reviews

Summary Develop a plan based on your resources Plan to focus on those targeted metrics required in the Section 508 Reporting Template – Testing and Validation – Lifecycle activities – Complaints Process – Training – Acquisition

Summary slide 2 Be realistic in your plan Connect with other federal coordinators when needed Remember, you can only do what you can do Document your efforts

Contact Me Quentis Scott

QUESTIONS?