proposed procurement assistance tool accessibility forum
TRANSCRIPT
Proposed Procurement Assistance Tool
Accessibility Forum
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Accessibility Forum Overview
• Over 640 Organizations are Members, including more than 100 Federal Agencies / Organizations– 249 E&IT Vendors ; 44 AT Vendors; 51 Advocacy Groups;
116 Researchers and other experts; 49 Services Groups
• Objective: To assist government in making informed decisions about Section 508-related procurement– Through two projects, Forum members developed a substantial set of
resource documents on technology and accessibility information directly related to the 508 technical standards
• Documents available, extensive, complex, hard to use, need structure
– Produced a “paper tool” consolidation of the resource documents
• Next Steps – Design and development of a Section 508 Procurement Assistant for federal requiring officials– Developed a general model of 508-related procurement
– Characterized Section 508 requirements within the model
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Presentation Overview
• Activity with the Section 508 Working Group
Review of the project team Resource Documents
• Analysis of the process for federal E&IT procurement, including interviews with 10 agencies
A process framework for Section 508 requirements
• Continuing dialogue with federal requiring officials as we develop and test the Procurement Assistant
Today is one example
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Section 508 Working Group Review of Accessibility Forum
Resource Documents
• Some material isn’t necessary– Focus on the provisions
• Some material is too technical– Layman understanding
• Unlikely to use complex measurement methods– Lack of time and expertise
• Some material is helpful– Assumptions, clarifications, related resources, comments and
suggestions
• Wish list– Need help on “how to” implement requirements within the
procurement process
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Analysis of Federal E&IT Procurement Processes
• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)
• Research on current Federal Agency practices
• Interviews with Federal Agencies
• Review of tools to support E&IT procurement
• Section508.gov, FAQ’s, IAE, etc.
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Some Observations about the Federal E&IT Procurement Process
• There are multiple processes in place for E&IT procurement
• There is variation from agency to agency in the implementation of Section 508 requirements
• Responsibility for E&IT requirements is becoming more distributed throughout the federal government
• The process must address basic procurement requirements– Can we abstract a process framework for Section 508
requirements?
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A Process Framework for Federal E&IT Procurement
1. Needs Assessment– Determine program requirements for E&IT
2. Solicitation– Produce RFP
3. Source Selection– Evaluate RFP responses and select proposal
4. Delivery – Inspection and acceptance evaluation of purchased
products
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Section 508 Requirements in the Procurement Process
1. Needs Assessment– Intended need – what is the agency requirement and technical
environment?
– General exceptions – who must comply with Section 508?
– Applicability – specifically which Section 508 requirements apply?
– Market research – how do available E&IT products meet the requirements?
– More exceptions – what if specific requirements cannot be met?
2. Solicitation– More market research – what specific functions of E&IT are
needed/implied?
– RFP process - what standard language is needed?
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Section 508 Requirements in the Procurement Process
1. Source Selection– Even more market research – how to interpret information
from vendors?
– Proposal evaluation – how to assess for source selection?
2. Delivery– Inspection and acceptance – what are appropriate criteria?
– Contract lifecycle – what is the plan for E&IT evolution/upgrades?
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Needs Assessment - Intended Need
• Need to understand if agency needs E&IT products or services– Does Section 508 apply at all?
• Need to know how a product will be used, not who will use it– Section 508, not Section 504
• Need to understand the intended technical environment for E&IT– FAR state “Technical specifications and minimum requirements
would be developed based on the market research results and agency needs.”
– What about products purchased as components of an existing system?
• Need to produce documentation for intended need
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Need Assessment - General Exceptions
• Need to determine if an exception applies to an E&IT procurement– Many different general exceptions are possible
• Micro-purchase
• National security system• Acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract• Located in spaces frequented by service personnel for
maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment
– Determining if and which exceptions apply is not easy
• Need to produce documentation for exceptions
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Needs Assessment - Applicability
• Need to determine which parts of Section 508 apply to E&IT procurements for specific products– Many multi-functional products cross the boundaries of the
technical sections of the Section 508 standard
– Requires detailed knowledge of the standard and E&IT accessibility
– Functional characteristics of certain products might exceed requirements of agency
• Need to produce documentation for applicable requirements– Required later for producing the RFP
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Needs Assessment - Market Research
• Need to gather information about available products and services
– Requiring officials have diverse levels of market research expertise.
– Variety of capabilities are available for products and services
– Information from industry about the accessibility of their products is not always consistent or comparable
– Lots of time is required to do market research on product
• Need to produce documentation for market research
– Exceptions for specific requirements on products and services
– Is there time and resource for market research on micro-purchases?
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Need Assessment – More Exceptions
• Need to determine if appropriate exceptions apply for a specific requirement
– Many different exceptions are possible
• Undue burden
• Fundamental alteration in the nature of a product or service or its components
• Commercial non-availability
– Determining if and which exceptions apply is not easy
• Need to determine if a product provides equivalent facilitation for a requirement
• Need to produce documentation for specific exceptions and equivalent facilitation
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Section 508 Requirements in the Procurement Process
• Needs Assessment
• Solicitation – how to support the RFP process?– More market research – what specific functions of E&IT are
needed/implied?
– RFP process - what standard language is needed?
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Solicitation – More Market Research
• Need more detailed product information on specific capabilities and functionality of available products– Market research is an iterative process throughout
procurement
– Product functional characteristics might exceed specific agency requirements, which may result in more applicable provisions
• Need to document results of market research– Additional requirements based on product functions
– Equivalent facilitation for certain requirements by specific products
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Solicitation – RFP Process(1 of 2)
• Need Section 508 language for the Standard Uniform Contract (Solicitation) Format:
– Section C – Description/Specification/Work Statement
– Section E – Inspection and Acceptance
– Section F – Deliveries or Performance
– Government Cost Estimate(which helps to generate section B)
More …
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Solicitation – RFP Process(2 of 2)
• Need Section 508 language for the Standard Uniform Contract (Solicitation) Format:
– As well as sub-sections of:• Section B – Supplies or Services and Price/Costs• Section D – Packaging and Marking• Section G – Contract Administration Data• Section H – Special Contract Requirements• Section L – Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors or
Quoters• Section M – Evaluation Factors for Award• Source Selection Plan• Contract Administration Plan
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Section 508 Requirements in the Procurement Process
• Needs Assessment
• Solicitation
• Source Selection – how to evaluate RFP responses?– Even more market research – how to interpret information
from vendors?
– Proposal evaluation – how to assess for source selection?
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Source Selection – Even More Market Research
• Need to interpret and verify market research data to understand and evaluate product information from vendors– Dialogue with certain vendors regarding their proposed
products and services
– Sometimes difficult to interpret vendor responses to RFP due to highly technical or inconsistent language
• Need to document results of detailed market research– Characterize how available E&IT meets Section 508
requirements
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Source Selection – Proposal Evaluation
• Need to evaluate products and services against the applicable requirements of the 508 Standard– No generally accepted measurement/data collection methods
– VPAT information an important resource
• Need to assess products and services in relation to each other based on their relative satisfaction of the 508 requirements– Driven by Solicitation Section M Evaluation Factors for Award?
– How is this related to the Source Selection Plan?
• Need to select most appropriate proposal– No consistent way to compare evaluation results
– No consistent way do document selection
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Section 508 Requirements in the Procurement Process
• Needs Assessment
• Solicitation
• Source Selection
• Delivery - what are conditions for receipt?– Inspection and acceptance – what are appropriate criteria?
– Contract lifecycle – what is the plan for product evolution/upgrades?
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Delivery - Inspection and Acceptance
• Need techniques for inspection and acceptance– Difficult to evaluate purchased products and services against
the applicable requirements of the Standard
• No clear, easy to use, and consistent process for evaluation.
• No clear way to verify evaluation results
– No consistent documentation of evaluation results for re-use
• Need to document results of product acceptance
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Delivery - Contract Lifecycle
• Need to do continuing market research– What is the plan for E&IT evolution/upgrades?
• Need to do continuing needs assessment– Evaluation of E&IT utility of a continuing basis?
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Existing Pieces of the Solution for Some Requirements
• Examination of existing procedures, methods, and tools currently available to help– What do the existing methods and support tools do?
– What requirements are currently being addressed?
• Pieces of the solution include– Federal agency Section 508 specific tool
– E&IT industry product/service vendor Section 508 specific tool
– International government E&IT accessibility tool
– Web site accessibility validation tools
– Standard Operating Procedures for some agencies
– E-commerce or SBA tools??
– Automated RFP generation tools • Currently do not address Section 508 issues
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The Concept
• Information resources apply to meet some procurement process requirements– Forum resource documents relate to the requirements
• Deliver information and assistance as needed during the process– Description and example scenario to prove the concept of a
federal Section 508 E&IT procurement assistance portal
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Delivering Information and Assistance as Needed During the
E&IT Procurement Process• Some examples illustrating use cases for assistance
– User presented a ‘checklist’ of steps in an overall process to address Section 508 requirements
– User guided through a taxonomy of product types to characterize E&IT and identify specific Section 508 requirements that apply
– User presented definition and clarification information to explain an applicable requirement
– User operating input and controls to produce Section 508 requirements language for the RFP
– User presented context specific tutorial information about AT-E&IT interoperability to help interpret vendor information
– User identifying previous procurement information applicable to current procurement requirements
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Users that Need Information and Assistance During the Process
• Users actively engaged in a procurement and using the tool to help manage the process– Navigation through a ‘standard’ process under user control
– Modules corresponding to steps in the process
– Consistent presentation of explanatory and clarifying information
– Some decision logic to focus on requirements
– Collection, storage, and management of procurement data
– Use of gathered data to support required documentation
• Users ‘just visiting’ – browsing for general information and help about E&IT procurement and Section 508– Depending upon security, maybe browse agency-wide or beyond
– Reuse of previous procurement experience from others
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 1 – micropurchase– Screen 1. Section 508 Assistant home - welcome,
information about the tool, links to related resources, and identification login interface
• User logs in
– Screen 2. Procurement management home – thumbnail list of active procurements, option to create new or open existing. Also presents options to search or browse other procurements
• User selects ‘new’ procurement
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 1 – micropurchase
– Screen 3. Procurement home – organization, contact, and other administrative information characterizing this procurement. Also displays status information on the procurement: status = new. Also displays status of reports and options for generating reports.
• User selects ‘continue’ - navigates to checklist step Intended Need
– Screen 4. Checklist step Intended Need – basic data collection to qualify that the procurement is for E&IT, and to help characterize the existing technical environment. Navigation frame on left shows indentured list of steps in overall process with current process step indicated.
• User clarifies definition of E&IT, selects ‘yes’ the procurement is E&IT, then selects ‘continue’
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 1 – micropurchase
– Screen 5. Checklist step General Exceptions – basic checklist of Section 508 exceptions with many terms identified as selectable, providing definitions and additional related resources.
• User clarifies definition of terms, selects ‘yes’ and documents justification for micropurchase exception, then selects ‘continue’
• System notification about generation of exception documentation
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 1 – micropurchase
– Screen 6. Procurement home – organization, contact, and other administrative information characterizing this procurement. Also displays status information on the procurement: status = done. Also displays status of reports and options for viewing or generating reports.
• User selects view report
– Screen 7. Procurement home – example report mock-up that documents micro-purchase exception for use by Contract Administration.
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 2 – applicability– Screen 1. Section 508 Assistant home - welcome,
information about the tool, links to related resources, and identification login interface
• User logs in
– Screen 2. Procurement management home – thumbnail list of active procurements, option to create new or open existing. Also presents options to search or browse other procurements
• User selects ‘open’ existing procurement
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 2 – applicability– Screen 3. Procurement home – organization, contact, and
other administrative information characterizing this procurement. Also displays status information on the procurement: status = applicability. Also displays status of reports and options for viewing and generating reports.
• User selects ‘continue’ - navigates to checklist step Applicability
– Screen 4. Checklist step Applicability – characterization of E&IT through series of product and functional categorizations.
• User selects appropriate categories and functionality, then selects ‘continue’
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 2 – applicability
– Screen 5. Checklist step Applicability – results of tool logic displayed as list of applicable provisions, with many terms identified as selectable, providing definitions and additional related resources.
• User clicks terms and reads definitions and clarification, selects ‘save’
• System notification about generation of requirements documentation
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Example User Scenario
• Scenario 2 – applicability
– Screen 6. Procurement home – organization, contact, and other administrative information characterizing this procurement. Also displays status information on the procurement: status = market research. Also displays status of reports and options for generating reports.
• User selects selects view report
– Screen 7. Procurement home – example report mock-up that documents applicable requirements for use by Contract Administration.
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Conclusions
• Information content from Accessibility Forum resource documents map to valid Section 508 requirements in the E&IT procurement process
• Delivering the right content as an information service through appropriate tools at the right point in the procurement process can help federal agencies meet the Section 508 requirements
• For more information:– Skip Crane, [email protected]
– Bill Hetzner, [email protected]
– Jim Kindrick, [email protected]