2.5: Tasks
Just like there are many roles involved in an accessibility strategy, there are several tasks in the process.
Design
Accessibility assessment begins at the design level of a product life cycle. Design isn’t necessarily inclusive (good will and best intentions will not achieve expectations). Design features that enable people with disabilities today will be the standard expected by all consumers tomorrow. Design requires a roadmap or a strategic approach to achieve a unique expectation, and that roadmap defines what you need to do to achieve that expectation.
Development
Using materials from the design phase, you can begin to build a standards-compliant website. Using WCAG success criteria, define and track accessibility techniques and remediation plans for functional and usability testing.
Functional Testing
Functional testing ensures that the browser renders web page content as expected before usability testing begins. If native HTML and CSS do not meet accessibility requirements, use ARIA (Accessible Rich Interface Applications) to achieve a accessibility defect free design.
Usability Testing
Functional testing is about the technology, whereas usability testing is about how humans interact with the technology. Coordinate groups of test participants who have different needs, skill sets, browser configuration options, and assistive technologies. The goal of this phase is in identifying user experience problems revealed in the testing. Meet with developers and functional testers to develop solutions to resolve those issues.
Product Documentation and Training
The technical writer or editor must make sure that product documentation and web content is accurate and accessible. The support and training staff need to understand the product accessibility features and be able to work with end-users.
Evaluation Review
The evaluation review should be based on the project scope and the accepted conformance standards. The initial review should focus on the general user experience. This evaluation process will help your organization build an accessibility maturity governance model.
Deployment and Support
Support costs can be significant. There may be customer satisfaction or legal risks associated with inappropriate application support. Under the legislative requirements, there are obligations and penalties for customer support.