We all have experienced varying degrees of the “turf war” that exists when asked the question “where in your agency is Web managed?” The one thing it seems like no one wants to fight over is accessibility and compliance.
So, I pose this question: Where in your agency is accessibility managed?
Regardless of the level of government (Federal, State, or local), there are legal requirements that must be followed.
Does your organization adhere to Section 508 AND WCAG 1.0 or 2.0 guidelines?
Who “owns” this requirement in terms of design, implementation and validation?
I see this as a shared responsibility:
There are user experience components that must be considered to ensure that the experience is accessible and equal for individuals using screen readers, with auditory or mobility impairments, and individuals with low vision.
There are obvious code level considerations for standards-based development.
Then for validation: who is responsible for determining that all requirements have been met?
Again, I see this as a shared responsibility.
You probably already know what Jeffrey Levy just posted (top blog at the moment)?
At EPA, it’s in the CIO’s shop, with strong support from us in public affairs.
At Santa Clara County, it’s solely the CIO’s team.
also, here’s a related (painfully so) funny on the topic of splintered responsibilities: http://redesignland.blogspot.com/2008/12/source-of-all-our-problems.html
at the very least, we need to make it as easy as possible for our customers!
Wow Liz. That’s amazingly close to reality.