Digital Accessibility 101: How to Successfully …...8/29/2018 3 A Graying Globe… People are getting older… every day, in fact! •Global population growth declining •Life expectancy

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Digital Accessibility 101: How to Successfully

Jumpstart your Program

Presented by: Jonathan Avila

Chief Accessibility Officer

Who is Level Access?The digital accessibility rock stars

• We rock at digital accessibility so you don’t have to!

Our experts sit

on the advisory

boards that craft

accessibility

laws and

standards

Advisory

Boards

Individuals with

disabilities are

a key part of

our

Accessibility

Services Team

Service

Team

We can dive

into your

code and fix

it—and train

your

developers,

too

Your

Code

You will have a

consistent

team of

experts who

understand

your industry

Industry

Experts

2 levelaccess.com | (800) 899-9659 | [email protected]

8/29/2018

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Topics

Digital Accessibility 101: How to Successfully Jumpstart your Program

• Digital Accessibility

• Overview

• Risks and benefits

• Discover and Inventory

• Blueprint and Roadmap

• Respond

• Continuous Improvement

• Resources

• Please Note: This presentation is not legal advice.


Digital Accessibility

Removing barriers to access by people with disabilities for digital content

• Examples of digital content

• Mobile apps

• Websites

• Web apps

• Documents

• Surveys and questionnaires

• Social media posts

• Emails

• Support materials

• Video

• Adjudications and other official electronic documents

• Intranet sites

• Electronic training materials

• Kiosks

• Other electronic devices, services, and products


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A Graying Globe…People are getting older… every day, in fact!

• Global population growth declining

• Life expectancy is growing

Pretty pictures pulled from Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Talk.


…that uses technology

Seniors like to stay connected!

• 42% of seniors now own a smartphone…

• …but that’s still half the rate of the 18 to 64 cohort

• Technology penetration is working its way up in ages

• Drastically higher rates of use in the 65 – 74 range than the 75+ range

• Educational attainment and socioeconomic status vary adoption rates strongly, positively

• Device, Internet, Smartphone and Social Media usage and penetration all correlated

• Disability status has a material impact on technology use

“42% [of] adults ages 65

and older now report

owning smartphones, up

from just 18% in 2013.”

“67% of seniors use the

internet – a 55-percentage-

point increase in just under

two decades.”

“45% of seniors under the

age of 75 say they … use

social networking sites,

compared with 20% of

those ages 75 and older.”

Data from Pew Research Center Tech Adoption Climbs Among Older Adults


http://www.kpcb.com/internet-trends

http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/05/17/tech-adoption-climbs-among-older-adults/

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Omni-Channel Commerce

• e-Commerce

• Projected as 10.0% of retail sales in 2016

• Last data at 9.1% in Q3 2017 (U.S. Census Bureau)

• Estimated 14.6% by 2020

• Mobile search growing across core retail and retail services categories

• Retailers and retail service providers developing strategies that are

• Multi-device

• Integrate physical & digital experience

• Multi-modal

Graphic: eMarketer (2016), How People Use Their Devices (2016), U.S. Census Bureau (2017)


Discussion: What are ways that you see the physical and digital experience mesh?

levelaccess.com | (800) 899-9659 | [email protected]

https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf

https://storage.googleapis.com/think/docs/twg-how-people-use-their-devices-2016.pdf

https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf

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Do you think you are Accessible?

• Chances are some or most of your digital assets are not fully accessible

• Some people won’t be able to access them

• This poses risk when customers or trolls surf-by access the asset

?levelaccess.com | (800) 899-9659 | [email protected]

Personas

It’s about real people

• Suman is blind and uses a screen reader on her mobile phone to check account balance and deposit checks

• Jason has low vision and uses browser zoom to use his shopping online services

• Darian has cerebral palsy and uses a head-pointer with keyboard to access online services

• Sadaf is deaf and uses captions to watch videos, uses online systems and mobile deposit


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Digital Access Increases Accessibility

• Digital access reduces real world barriers:

• Transportation issues to the branch are problematic for people with disabilities

• Communications and translation services needed for someone who has a speech impairment or who is deaf or hard of hearing

• Mobile banking allows forms to be filled out electronically rather than using paper


Enforcement Status of the ADA

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Expect enforcement privately through litigation, and structured negotiations

• DoJ has cut back on new enforcement actions –continues to manage current agreements

• Advocacy groups and plaintiffs bar using litigation to accomplish access

• Tracking standards continue to be WCAG 2.0 A & AA – moving to WCAG 2.1

“I’ve had to explain to clients

that just because the current

administration might choose to

dial it back, it does not mean the

courts are necessarily going to

do the same.” – Teresa

Jakubowski, Partner, Barnes &

Thornburg LLP


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Litigation Acceleration


• ADA litigation continues to accelerate

• Increased 210% YoY in 2017

• Still a small percentage of overall ADA Title III lawsuits

• We expect growth will slow but still be robust going forward

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

2722

44364789

6601

7735

9063

10620

12444

15 19 57 262814

1945

3296

4441

ADA TITLE III LAWSUIT BREAKOUT

ADA Title III Lawsuits Web Accessiblity Lawsuits

Source: ADA Title III


Target IndustriesAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Industries with links to physical locations subject to more lawsuits

• As we start to reach saturation in some industries, expect new industries to be opened

0

100

200

300

400

Lawsuits by Industry

Academic Entertainment Financial

Hospitality Restaurant Medical

Personal Services Retail Other

Vehicle Manufacturer

Industry 3/16 10/16 1/17 8/17

Academic 2 3 6 7

Entertainment 1 11 14 27

Financial 1 2 9 17

Hospitality 4 12 23 57

Restaurant 3 45 76 186

Medical 0 8 9 42

Personal Svs 1 4 8 18

Retail 43 148 190 353

Other 0 4 8 22

Vehicle Mfr 0 7 8 13

Total 55 244 351 742

Source: ADA Title III


http://www.adatitleiii.com/

http://www.adatitleiii.com/

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Gil v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Gil visited Winn-Dixie’s website in order to download coupons and refill prescriptions

• Gil alleged the site violates the ADA

• Bench trial with three witnesses

• One week after the trial, the Court issued a decision:

• Nexus concept applies –website is covered

• Winn-Dixie ordered to remediate its website to comply with WCAG 2.0

“[Winn-Dixie] is a real cautionary tale for

businesses that think they can sit back and

not be proactive in terms of their

remediation efforts. They can really get hit

pretty hard and have a court fashion a

remedy for them. Even though the present

administration is very clearly not going to

be moving forward in this space with

implementation of any type of regulations

that would clarify the accessibility of

websites and mobile apps, that’s not going

to stop private plaintiffs and nonprofit

groups from moving forward and frankly, it

might even embolden them to press ahead

because of the lack of clarity and the

conflicts in the courts right now.”

– Nicole Sieb Smith,

Partner, Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell


State of the Law


• Different judges, different cases, different rulings

• Slim on precedence, principally fact-based

• Vast majority of cases settle

• A few cases on appeal

“…all we have are largely fact-specific

decisions by federal district courts,

which are not binding on anyone else.”

– Donald Brown, Partner, Manatt,

Phelps, & Phillips LLP

“Each time a new [case] comes out,

whichever side you’re on, you’re going

to point to it and say that’s good news.

Ultimately, cases are still coming down

different ways depending on the judge.”

– Kristina Launey, Partner, Seyfarth

Shaw LLP


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Discussion: Have other businesses in your space received demand letters or litigation?


Ignoring Accessibility is not Realistic

• It’s a civil right for people with disabilities – your customers, citizens, and employees

• Civic engagement, public meetings, and voting

• Access to local government services

• E.g. Transportation, Paying bills and viewing records

• Access to employment applications, employment, HR

• Retail, Financial, travel, and hospitality sites

• Goal: full & equal enjoyment of services, goods, facilities, advantages, & accommodations with effective communications

• Avoid segregation, denial of services without access to auxiliary aids and services.


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Ignoring Accessibility (cont.)

• It creates risk and tarnishes your brand

• Litigation, legal fees, social media backlash

• Settling one lawsuit doesn’t prevent others from threatening litigation

• Growth of recent digital lawsuits likely places you as a target

• Enjoy financial benefits as customers want to buy accessible

• Nearly all states and the Federal government require accessible web sites and most have accessible procurement policies

• More organizations are asking about accessibility in procurement process

• Customers with disabilities and their friends and family support businesses that are accessible

• Having inclusive experiences is the right thing to do in a diverse world


Taking Digital Accessibility Seriously

• Applying band-aids to cover up issues is not a long term solution

• Accessibility must be addressed systemically

• Simply performing an audit of an asset and fixing some issues is not likely to reduce your risk or increase access in the long term

• Non-digital alternatives like phone lines are no longer being seen as equivalents to 24/7 digital access


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Discussion: What do you think is the first step to address digital accessibility?


One size doesn’t fit all

Offering multiple ways of interaction will allow people with diverse ability and situations to perceive, operate, and understand your content.

• People have a spectrum of needs –flexibility, adaptability and personalization are key

• The limitation is not the user’s disability but the digital or physical environment

• Users do not want alternative systems

• Best applied early in the design process – accessibility is the goal

One size doesn’t

fit all


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Accessibility is a Journey

• It takes time to fully implement a program but there are initial steps you can take to help increase access and reduce risk

• A full program may take several years

• Short term steps are needed to reduce immediate risk

• The best long term way to address conformance is inclusive design

• Alternative sites are not welcome options

• Bake accessibility into your organization’s culture rather than thinking about accessibility as a separate task or retrofit add-on

• Accessibility fixes improve the experience for all users

• Accessibility about more than just users who are blind


Inventory and Discover

What assets are causing the most risk or have the least access

• Determine applicable requirements

• Scope

• Public sites, internal sites, third party sites, etc.

• Advanced communication services and video programming

• Health care related items

• Laws/Regulations

• ADA, CVAA, Section 508/508-like, EHR, ACA

• Case law, settlements, structured negotiations

• WCAG 2 as de facto web accessibility standard


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Complete your Inventory

Discover and classify your digital assets

• Complete an Accessibility Questionnaire and System Survey

• Consider future planned assets and updates

• May need to use tools or perform audits or reviews to discover assets

• e.g., many organizations are not aware of exactly how many PDF documents and videos are on their site


Build Your Blueprint

Talk with stakeholders and analyze your organizational map

• Interview stakeholders

• Talk to legal counsel

• Assign specific owners and governance

• Accessibility cannot simply live under legal (although there must be a connection)

• Each person in your organization has a role to play in inclusive design and accessibility

• Having a coordinator and leader is crucial to success

• Effective programs have roll up to the C-level


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Complete Your Blueprint

Prioritize through auditing

• Automatically monitor all web assets

• Test results will help you prioritize

• Manually test highest priority content

• Create a system analysis and risk prioritization model - Prioritization may include factors such as:

• User type (standard users/administrators, patients/care givers, etc.)

• Frequency of use/traffic

• Relationship to core user journeys

• Issues that can be detected automatically or part of core journeys

• Accessibility or other feedback specific pages

• Identify changes needed in process, communications, tools, documentation, procurement


Discussion: What are some core workflows for your industry?


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Respond

• Create a public-facing accessibility statement

• Not a statement on conformance but of your commitment

• Provide contact details so users can provide feedback

• Develop and deploy organizational accessibility policy

• Covers standards, governance, training, etc.

• Disseminate this policy across the organization, including to

• Support, development staff, and contractors

• Create an Issue Resolution Policy

• Provide ways for customers to provide feedback

• Have policy on how to handle accessibility bugs

• Get a procurement policy in place

• If you require third-party content, then you are responsible for its use


Communicate Inclusively

• Implement a process to ensure public communications are accessible

• Social media policy and process in place

• Images will have alt text (easy to do on FB & Twitter!)

• Post alternatives on your site when social media sites are not accessible

• Videos

• Design script to include audible description of visuals

• Plan to have videos captioned

• Email template accessibility

• Messaging formats such as IMs

• Add a link to your accessibility statement from communications


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The Development Lifecycle

Continuously improve – be proactive

• Accessibility is not a one-time fix

• Moving inclusive design upstream in lifecycle makes the cost to address negligible

• Obtain tools to place accessibility into design, development, and testing process

• Monitor quality of production systems

• Integrate testing into continuous testing and development

• Update design guides, pattern libraries,and other materials used to design and build content

• Update CMS templates

• Obtain best practice library31 levelaccess.com | (800) 899-9659 | [email protected]

Discussion: What are some other ways to move accessibility upstream?


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Involve users with Disabilities

• Communicate with users that have disabilities

• Perform user testing to address real world needs rather than just standards


Discussion: What types of things might user testing uncover?


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Training

Create a plan and curriculum

• Top priority for customer-facing and support staff

• Access to materials and scripts

• Awareness of disabilities and assistive technology

• List of accessibility compatibility features

• Escalation path when people have accessibility issues

• Training designers and developers

• All other staff


Inclusive Design

• Focus on design rather than outcome (although outcome is goal)

• Accept user input through iterative process

• Considers diversity of humans and their abilities among other things

• Design outside of the idealized user

• Accessibility and standards are a way to measure how progress has been made

• Conformance to the standards does not mean site will be usable by all

36 | May 17, 2018

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Sample plan for new organization

Phase 1

1. Reach out to accessibility vendor with access to people with disabilities and legal counsel

2. Perform asset survey and analysis with stakeholders

3. Create prioritization report

4. Create accessibility statement and feedback mechanism

5. Create design checklists

6. Audit primary site

7. Train customer service staff, web designers,and developers

8. Update site design documents for future updates

9. Remediate primary site

10. Create conformance statement


Discussion: Has your organization taken a similar or different approach?


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Questions

39

Resources

• ADA and the Internet: Legal Update Q&A and Webinar Resources

• ADA and the Web – What Retailers Need to Know

• ADA and the Internet: ADA Settlements – Customer Service

• ADA and the Internet: ADA Settlements – Testing and Bug Fixing

• ADA and the Internet: ADA Settlements – Policies, Public

Statements, and Personnel

• ADA and the Internet: ADA Settlements – Third-Party Solutions

and WCAG Carve-Outs

• ADA Title III: News & Insights


https://www.levelaccess.com/ada-legal-update-qa-resources/

https://www.levelaccess.com/ada-and-the-web-what-retailers-need-to-know/

https://www.levelaccess.com/ada-internet-ada-settlements-customer-service/

https://www.levelaccess.com/ada-internet-ada-settlements-testing-bug-fixing/

https://www.levelaccess.com/ada-internet-ada-settlements-policies-public-statements-personnel/

https://www.levelaccess.com/ada-internet-ada-settlements-third-party-solutions-wcag-carve-outs/

https://www.adatitleiii.com/

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Thank You/ Contact Us

Contact Us

Jonathan Avila

Chief Accessibility Officer

[email protected]

@jonavilaa11y

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