Someone Found Accessibility Barriers on Your Site. Now What?

Date & Time

Friday, March 22, 2024 - 4:20 PM PDT  

Location

Orange County 3-4  

Description

Try as we might, accessibility issues are inevitable. One mark of a mature organization is how effectively it can respond to and address any discovered accessibility bugs. While issue-reporting systems should never be a starting-point strategy, they are often required in legal dispute resolutions which may be the starting point for an accessibility initiative. Thus, the importance of a well-developed process should not be overlooked. Thoughtfully considering the bug report process can pressure test an organization’s accessibility maturity, especially in a complex organization like a large enterprise or university (like ours at Harvard).

This session will discuss how legal agreements and organizational policies can lead to a widely deployed accessibility issue reporting system. We will discuss all the organizational infrastructure that needs to be in place to ensure this can operate smoothly and effectively behind the scenes and lead to successful outcomes for bug reporters.

When done well, the reports can do far more than monitor issues and fixes. They can measure cultural responsiveness and effectiveness in addressing them. We will discuss an approach that led to an increase in the use of accessibility bug reports, even by members within our organization. We will discuss factors that have led to increased reports, timely responses in a highly decentralized environment and refinements to our process over time.

This Presentation Link is provided by the Presenter(s) and not hosted by the Center on Disabilities at CSUN. The Center on Disabilities has confirmed, as of March 26, 2024, content linked is relevant to the presentation, but has not been reviewed for accessibility nor will the Center on Disabilities attempt to remediate any accessibility issues in the linked content. Please contact the Presenter(s) with any accessibility concerns.

 

Audience

• Higher Education
• Government
• Media & Publishing
• Legal
• Administration & Business Support

Audience Level

Beginning  

Session Summary (Abstract)

Accessibility issue reports are necessary–or should be–in many settings. Learn how we can be responsive to user needs while turning negative user experiences into positive opportunities for organizational responsiveness toward access and inclusion.  

Primary Topic

Digital Accessibility  

Secondary Topics

• Education
• Information & Communications Technology (ICT)
• Law, Compliance, and Policy
• Web

 

Session Type

General Track  

Presenters

• Janell Sims
  Harvard University
• Kyle Shachmut
  Harvard University

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