City of Northglenn :: Official site for the City of Northglenn

508 Implementation Plan

This two-part plan is to address the web implementation of Section 508 at the Web site level: Setting the Stage, and Implementation.

Part One: Setting the Stage

Step 1: Set up communication channels

Create a mailing list or other communication mechanism for sharing information with individuals responsible for web content and platforms. Be sure to include owners of future sites as well as existing ones when creating your list.

Although the standards have been set, new interpretations, tools, training and information resources regularly become available, and sharing this information is vital. Assign at least one individual with coordination and information sharing responsibilities.

The individuals responsible for the sites are responsible for making them compliant. Although some of these individuals will be technically inclined and others not, we will call them all site managers for simplicity in this document

Step 2: Become familiar with the Section 508 standards

Provide information to site managers, other hands-on contractors, and staff about Section 508. Before making changes to your Web pages, technical and non-technical individuals should become familiar with the broad goals related to Section 508 and accessibility issues in general. See http://www.access-board.gov/news/508-final.htm

Step 3: Learn the technical details

Staff and contractors responsible for the hands-on development of Web pages should become familiar with the details of the 16 individual items necessary to be compliant with Section 508.

Step 4: Learn about the tools

There are various evaluation, repair and transformation tools available for diagnosing or fixing your site. See http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html

It is possible to create pages that are technically compliant yet still very inaccessible. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you run your web site through a screen reader such as JAWS, WindowEyes or IBM Home Page Reader to further assist with compliance.

Step 5: Prioritize the site(s)

Create a list of the sites at your IC. Prioritize the sites based on their usage (i.e. users or # of hits). Sites that are more heavily used should receive a higher priority (e.g., more resources or support) towards becoming 508 compliant.

Part Two: Implementation

Step 1: Assess the site(s)

Specific ways of assessing a site can vary depending on how the site was set up. For example, simple sites with many pages using the same template should be assessed differently than a complicated site with many different page designs. Sites with interactive programs and scripts should anticipate the potentially large number of resulting interfaces a user may encounter. Each assessment should be planned to leverage the site’s particular organization or technical infrastructure to be as efficient as possible.

Site managers should create a written assessment for most (but not necessarily all) sites, in order to perform the following steps.

Step 2: Plan the fixes

Unless a site has few problems that can be quickly and easily fixed, a written plan for fixing the site can help with organization and tracking. The plan should prioritize the fixes based on:

* Level of effort: Problems that can be fixed quickly and easily should generally be done first. Site management tools or dedicated retrofitting tools may make otherwise difficult fixes straightforward.
* Problem Priority: Some problems identified in section 508 may make a site or page completely unusable by a screen reader--others may just add inconvenience. The bigger the barrier created by a problem, the higher a priority it should be.
* Schedule: Problems that can be fixed as part of other site changes or modifications should be integrated into those plans.
* Make sure to include time to learn basic navigation using a screen reader.

Step 3: Plan to have adequate resources

Write procedures that ensure the resources you need are available. This can include people, hardware, software, and training.

Step 4: Provide information to the public about our 508 activities

Provide links on prominent pages providing users information about the accessibility level of your pages, and a contact for obtaining information about your 508 compliance efforts.

If there are alternative methods of obtaining information on your site is available, provide that information as well.

Step 5: Fix the site(s); keep it compliant

Before starting, test all planned changes using a screen reader, especially those that will be repeated (like skipping over navigation bars). For a valid test, do not use the monitor or the mouse.

Implement your changes according to your proposed implementation plan. The ongoing accessibility of your pages should be integrated into the procedures to keep your site maintained.

Step 6: Test the site(s)

Test your pages using screen readers or assessment tools. See http://www.w3.org/wai/er/existingtools.html

Step 7: Document time spent

It is recommended that each site manager keep track of the time spent on making each of their sites compliant. This will not only assist in preparing for future IT budgets but will make this statistical information easily accessible when asked for from management.

Step 8: Document the process

Write procedures to document that a site is Section 508 compliant. In addition, you might want to keep a record of your progress, to help manage the process and to document it for the future.

Step 9: Validate the site(s)

Performing third party certification will provide an extra level of comfort that a site is compliant, but providing this type of additional resources or effort is optional.

Attribution Of Sources

This plan borrows extensively from the 508 compliance plan of the National Institute of Health.