Web accessibility

in the Netherlands

Raph de Rooij @ EAFRA, Frankfurt, 27 March 2009

Web accessibility

- Waarmerk drempelvrij.nl

- Quality mark and evaluation scheme

- Introduced in 2005

- Based on:- W3C's WCAG 1.0 prio 1 guidelines- Third party testing (under accreditation)

http://www.drempelvrij.nl/ (Dutch only)

Policy on web accessibility

- Mandatory, but no legal obligation

- April 2006: motion by parliament”improve the accessibility of government websites”

- June 2006: Ministerial decision- Based on a quality model- Only applies to central government

- December 2008: All government websites must comply by 2011

Effect of policy

2003-2004 2005 20080

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

municipalitiesprovincesministriesnational

Source: Accessibility Monitor 2004/2005/2008 (tested against WCAG 1.0 priority 1 guidelines)

A quality model, you said?

Ministerial decision ...… Based on a quality model …

quality model = quality mark/

Web Guidelines quality model

- Introduced in September 2004

- Defines the quality of web interfaces- Standards compliance, sustainability, semantics

- Wider scope than 'just' accessibility- Poor interface quality = problems- Other hardware and software (mobile, OS)- Helps building a stronger business case

- Accessibility: important quality aspect- Includes all WCAG 1.0 prio 1 and 2

checkpoints (and some prio 3)

Establishing an 'ecosystem'

- Quality model (125 guidelines)

- Automated test tools ('quick scan')

- Normative document for manual inspection

- Community building- Advisory group meetings / Wiki /

Blogs (web front-enders, government workers)

- Monitoring instruments- Process model (instrument for project leaders)

- Articles, books, curriculum, courses etc.

- Support by a service desk

Results so far - or still happening:

Monitoring

- Automated test for build quality

- Accessibility assurance- Is the responsibility of the government organisation- Two options for assessment:- Third party certification- Self-declaration of conformity (SDoC)

- One methodology- Normative document of the Quality Mark

drempelvrij.nl foundation

Reporting (prototype)

- Based on classificationInspired by the European Union energy label

- Two labels: build quality & accessibilityClassification Build quality Accessibility

A Conformance with all Web Guidelines: 47 points + manual assessment

Result of manual assessment: conformance with all Web Guidelines

B Automatic test on 47 guidelines: maximum score: 47 points

Result of manual assessment:conformance with WCAG 1.0 priority 1&2

C Automatic test on 47 guidelines:high score: 44 to 46 points

Result of manual assessment:conformance with WCAG 1.0 priority 1

D Automatic test on 47 guidelines:reasonable score: 38 to 43 points

Result of manual assessment:almost conformance with WCAG 1.0 priority 1

E Automatic test on 47 guidelines:low score: 29 to 37 points

Indication(s) found that accessibility is a priority, but without a verifiable positive result

F Automatic test on 47 guidelines:Very low score: < 29 points

No information found on the accessibility of the website, or a clear commitment to accessibility

Work in progress: WCAG 2.0

- Implementation requested by motion- Requests the Dutch government [...]

her accessibility guidelines to conform with current and future guidelines formulated by the International World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

- Preparation started earlier this month- Alignment necessary with European work- Will also lead to a new normative document

- New version of our test instrument- Hybrid tool: support for WCAG 1.0 and 2.0;

enabling a smooth transition from 1.0 to 2.0- Based on EARL and UWEM

ICTU / Government Answers©

Raph de Rooijweb interface quality specialist

Web Guidelines Service DeskICTU / Government Answers©

P.O. Box 840112508 AA The Hague – Netherlands

T +31-70-8887898E info@webguidelines.nl I www.webguidelines.nl

[extra slides]

Problem?

On the web, situations like this one occur often...

Solution?

... unfortunately, 'solutions' like this one occur often too.

Cause: Too often, accessibility is seen as a 'technical' problem.

Bush MB 60 (1957)

Bush TR 82 (1959)

Bush MB 60 (1957)

Bush TR 82 (1959)

Identical function, look and feel, but different technology:a valve radio and a transistor radio

www.overheid.nl (April 2005)

www.overheid.nl (August 2005)

April 2005 • Valid code: No• Accessible: Almost• Size: 26,7 Kb

August 2005 • Valid code: Yes• Accessible: Yes• Size: 5,4 Kb

Identical function, look and feel, but different technology:an example of 'old school' and an example of 'state of the art'

Links

- Quality mark Drempelvrij.nlwww.drempelvrij.nl (Dutch only)

- Web Guidelines quality modelwww.webguidelines.nl

- Ministerial decisionwww.webguidelines.nl/decision/

- Normative documentwww.drempelvrij.nl/webrichtlijnen (document in English)

- Automated Web Guidelines test toolwww.webguidelines.nl/test/ (public version)