1. Procurement of Accessible ICT The Procurement Process
Sharon Trerise & Kara Patten

2. Topics IT accessibility – The Legal Perspective
IT accessibility – The User’s Perspective
Evaluating your website for accessibility
Intro to screen readers
Mobile applications
How IT Accessibility fits into the Procurement Process
VPATs and other questions for vendors
Accessibility evaluation of your application

3. Where should we engage accessibility in the procurement process?
AT THE BEGINNING!

4. ICT Accessibility Procurement Process diagram
Text version
Purchaser selects a product and contacts the vendor
Purchaser gathers information from the vendor:
See the list of vendor pre-purchase questions
Request a VPAT
Fill out Part A of the ICT Accessibility Procurement Form
Accessibility evaluator starts the accessibility assessment
Did the vendor provide a VPAT?
If so, Evaluate the VPAT (see Tips for Evaluating a VPAT)
Does the VPAT provide enough information to make a judgment about accessibility?
If so, does the product comply with accessibility criteria?
If so, proceed with purchase
If not, ask vendor for a demo version or trial account to perform an in-house accessibility evaluation
Conduct a manual accessibility evaluation.
Report findings using Part B of the ICT Accessibility Procurement Form
Did the Manual Evaluation show that the product does comply with accessibility criteria?
If so, proceed with purchase.
If the VPAT shows that the product does not comply with accessibility criteria OR the manual evaluation shows that the product does not comply with accessibility criteria
Evaluate the impact of the product's accessibility on the University (See the list of impact considerations)
If it is determined to have a low impact on the University, 
submit Parts A and B of the ICT Accessibility Procurement Form to the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee
If the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee approves the product, proceed with purchase
If the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee does not approve the product, look at other products and follow the procurement process from the top.
If it is determined that the accessibility of the product will have a high impact on the University,
Request an Exception by completing Part C of the ICT Accessibility Procurement Form and submit it to the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee
If the Exception was approved by the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee, proceed with the purchase
If the Exception was not approved by the ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee, look at other products and follow the procurement process from the top.

5. 1. Fill out Procurement Form, Part A
Can be completed by purchaser
Requester information
Requester’s name, department & contact info
Date response requested
Product information
Type of product
Function of product
Who will use product by role?
Is the product required for academic or work purposes?
Is the product already in use at SU?

6. 2. Ask vendor about Accessibility
Do they understand and comply with accessibility guidelines (Section 508 or WCAG 2.0 AA)
Is a VPAT available? If so, ask for a copy.
What is their process for testing accessibility?
Do they test with actual users with different disabilities?
Have they tested with any assistive technologies? Which ones?
Do they have staff that specialize in accessibility?
If product is not accessible, do they have a roadmap for improvement? If so, ask for a copy.
Who to contact if product is found to have accessibility problems?

7. VPAT Voluntary Product Accessibility Template
Created by the Information Technology Industry Council & General Services Administration for government procurement
Version 1.0 – conformance with Section 508 accessibility standards
Version 2.0 Beta – conformance with WCAG 2.0 guidelines
Format
Criteria
Conformance Level
Remarks & Explanations – known issues or workarounds

8. VPAT: Conformance levels
Supports: The functionality of the product has at least one method that meets the criteria without known defects or meets with equivalent facilitation.
Supports with Exceptions: Some functionality of the product does not meet the criteria.
Does Not Support: Majority of functionality of the product does not meet the criteria.
Not Applicable: The criteria are not relevant to the product.
Not Evaluated (Limited to WCAG 2.0 Level AAA): The product has not been evaluated against the criteria. This can be used only with WCAG 2.0 Level AAA.

9. VPATs Know the difference between a truthful and fictitious VPAT
“vendors tend to fall into three categories, according to Jackson: The first doesn't know much about accessibility at all; the second knows a little but tries to pull the wool over your eyes; and the third is knowledgeable and highly engaged. "It requires technical know-how to ferret out which [category] they fall into and how far you can trust the statements they are making,” he said.” from Building Accessibility into IT Procurement

10. 3. Does the VPAT look reliable?
Characteristics of a reliable VPAT
The salesperson knows what a VPAT is
VPAT was completed by a 3rd party rather than the product vendor
Every criteria is not “Supported”
It is dated within the last year or two
There are Remarks and Explanations
Real examples are provided
Testing procedures are referenced
The vendor has a reputation / history of dedicating resources to accessibility, e.g. Microsoft, Google, Blackboard

11. 4. Ask vendor for a demo version
Most vendors want to provide a canned demo – never good enough
Sales staff don’t know about accessibility
Hands-on testing is more informative
Make sure it is the current version

12. 5. Conduct a manual accessibility evaluation
How precise do we need to be?
Complete WCAG 2.0 AA testing? – probably not
Enough to determine:
Are there any “show stoppers” – inaccessible features that would prevent users from completing the primary functions
What audiences will be effected by the accessibility issues found

13. Show stoppers - examples
Can’t perform major functions using keyboard only
Keyboard trap
Can’t operate controls on critical videos
Critical videos are not captioned
Can’t perform major functions using screen reader
E.g. items in drop-down list are not read by screen reader
Form fields are not labeled
Contrast between text and background is poor throughout and cannot be changed through OS

14. 6. Gauge the potential impact of accessibility issues
Will the product be used by a large number of people?
Will access to a University program or service be denied?
Are there workarounds to the accessibility barriers?
Will a critical program or service be impacted?
Will the use create significant legal exposure?
Will the cost of providing accommodations (alternate access) be high?

15. 6. Complete Procurement Form, Part B
Product information
Vendor & contact info
Product name & version
Accessibility Evaluation
VPAT
Results of Manual Accessibility Evaluation if done
What’s next?
What is the potential impact of an inaccessible product?
What are the vendor’s plans for fixing accessibility issues?
If moving forward with an inaccessible product, what is the justification?

16. 7. Request an Exception to the Policy
Exception Categories
Commercial non-availability
Required by governing body
Restricted access to the technology
Fundamental alteration to the nature of the product
Undue burden
Explain

17. 8. Develop a Plan to provide equally effective alternate access to affected populations
Who will be responsible for implementing the plan when needed?
What are the details of the plan?
What resources are required to implement the plan?

18. 9. ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee reviews Exception Request
Membership
Co-chairs: CIO, ADA Coordinator
faculty and student representation from schools and colleges
Academic Affairs
Division of Enrollment and Student Experience
Equal Opportunity Inclusion and Resolution Services
Human Resources
Information Technology Services
Office of Marketing and Communications
Office of Disability Services
Office of University Counsel
Purchasing Department
SU Libraries

19. 10. Proceed with purchase or look at other products

20. Resources
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Accessibility Toolkit
webAIM.org
Tips for Getting Started with Web Accessibility, W3C