3F. Organizational Level

Unlike other sections, Section 3F of the Body of Knowledge is not organized by theme, but source. The weird information hierarchy is reflected on this webpage so hopefully cross-referencing is easier.

Table of Contents

  1. Organizational Implementation Strategy
  2. Maturity Models
  3. Source: Body of Knowledge

Organizational Implementation Strategy

Source: WAI Recommendations

Memorizing

I am going to simply memorize all of the key parts here and develop mnemonics to do so. Notes on the actual content to follow after the memorizing stage.

Phase 1: Initiate

Mnemonic: SOLACE BC. Imagine many people fleeing the prairies and taking solace in Vancouver, BC. That requires some initiation!

Phase 2: Planning

Mnemonic: SPAM BREW. Imagine some witch planning to make her brew out of spam, and then deciding it's maybe not a good idea.

Phase 3: Implement

SIPPED

Phase 4: Sustain

Mnemonic: SMUTS

WAI Recommendations Mnemonic Deck on Quizlet

I've got to the point where I can cough it up pretty reliably. Let's move onto the actual content!

The Initiation Phase

The WAI separates the planning phase from the initiation phase, recognizing the awareness and broader buy-in/support is the number 1 reason for accessibility efforts to fail. Broadly, you should be generating two things in your initiating phase: Hype and Basic Education. If you're an organization newly pursuing an accessibility stage, this means a lot of outreach.

Within the basic education portion of the initiation phase, come to have at least a basic idea of what accessibility entails and what your objective might be. Ideally, it should be a SMART objective with a clear timeline. At this stage, use your preliminary learning efforts to develop a business case tailoured to the scope of your work. If you are an individual, find your own motivation and 'case for accessibility' that can help sustain focus throughout the next three stages.

Now, to generate hype. Invite everyone to learn the basics and to feel connected to the business case. Across your organization, tailour the argument to what workers themselves can get from the endeavor (new skills, etc), and create opportunities to share knowledge and generate excitement. Some of these will be formal, but informal chats will be helpful too. Literally everyone at some level has some opportunity to contribute to accessibility, but some people will have a harder time seeing this.

With your motivation established, the ball is rolling. It's time to start actually planning an implementation.

The Planning Phase

The planning phase centers around establishing the who, the what, the why, and the how.

What exactly are the activities the project pursues? Review the current state of the websites the project is concerned with, and craft an accessibility policy was a defined scope and timeframe, and accounting for contingencies.

How will you execute this project? Determine the budget and the resources you are able to dedicate to this endeavor, considering also what kind of evaluations, training and tools may have to be secured. Decide on what sort of monitoring framework you will use to track progress once the implementation stage is formally underway; ensure some kind of standard reporting structure can regularly assess where progress is being made. Additionally, take a bird's eye few of this new policy within the greater context of your organization. What activities and norms will re-enforce the project? Where might there be some conflict? How much training will you and your staff need?

This takes us to the 'who' of it all. Who is doing what? Identify the accessibility responsibilities of each role within the organization and assign responsibilities as needed. Identify those key actors that will require additional training.

In ensuring these logistical aspects are worked out, don't lose sight of building your momentum. Engage your stakeholders and continue the hype train, bring them on board if you haven't done so already. This includes internal and external stakeholders: supplies, advocates, the broader public. Engaging the public now can increase internal morale and sense of responsibility. Ensure there are clear lines of communication to management, and ensure they too have bought in.

The Implementation Phase

Finally, we can concentrate all of our engineered hype and prep into action. Start by building capacity through training targeted at different roles. Maintan momentum by directing energy towards low-hanging fruit at first before tackling increasingly difficult issues. Start evaluating your approach early on, and use those evaluation to revisit your accessibility policy to ensure that your objectives are still properly reflected in your plan.

Ensure everyone knows what they are expected to do and are equipped for success.

Include testing with Disabled users if feasible. Record progress and share early wins. Ensure the knowledge gained in training embeds itself into the fabric of the organization by facilitating regular knowledge sharing and progress reports. Accessibility is an everyone project, so making progress visible is very important.

When the bulk of the main project is complete, you can transition into the final phase.

The Sustain Phase

Continue to monitor the situation to ensure new habits stick. Engage stakeholders and solicit user feedback: do people internally and externally still feel on board? Do internal stakeholders feel any impact from the accessibility endeavor leaking into other aspects of daily activities?

Additionally, you will need to adapt to new changes in technology and regulations to ensure your efforts don't stagnate in a frequently changing world. It is best to anticipate this and have a process already in place for what to do when changes occur, and when new user feedback is received.

Source: EU Agency for Inclusive Ed Recommendations

The Body of Knowledge shows that we should not be so concerned with the guidelines themselves, than with the recommendations that the agency suggests for the implementation of these guidelines.

Memorizing

There are seven core recommendations for implementation, and I've drawn a small representation of the seven of them below.

Diagram showing seven phases in implementation arranged in a clockwise circle with arrows pointing to each subsequent phase. Small doodles accompany each phase's name, all is elaborated below.

My memorization strategy is to associate the information with the small doodles that I've drawn here. The first stage, Statement, is associated with a silhouetted figure speaking. Strategy is associated with a document and a light bulb to signify a guiding light. Responsibility is associated with a silhouette with a crown ordering four small silhouettes to take off into four different directions. Incremental implementation has two doodles: first the toirtoise symbolizing the parable of the tortoise and the hare, second is a cardiogram that shows consistant heart beats. Production process is associated with two silhouetted figures at either end of a long table, hunched their laptops with steam rising from their heads. Training is associated with a silhouette lifting a massive weight above their head. Finally, Outsourcing sees a dark silhouetted figure hand over a bag of cash to a light silhouetted figure.

Seven Recommendations

  1. Statement. "Include an accessibility statement in the organisation's long term strategy". For the authors of the implementation handbook, a public-facing accessibility statement will serve interally to drive and empower actors to get this work done. They acknowledge that the task of accessibility is one that is very easy to ignore and to write-off. Making a public statement a positive impression on clients, but it also creates client expectations for you to now follow through with.
  2. Strategy. "Develop a strategy or plan for implementing accessible information." In order for a plan to even have a chance of working, it must meet the following criteria: It has buy-in the top, someone responsible of carrying it out, and enough people and other resources for them to do so. The plan should be contextualized within a grander long-term vision and should be developed with consultation from stakeholders. In drafting this strategy, citing the UCRPD's article 9 alongside other standards (regional and international), building in quality assurance measures, and being very explicit about what training is required will all help to create a more robust plan. Consider implementing a pilot program; the agency has seen the effectiveness of pilot programs demonstrated repeatedly.
  3. Responsibility. "Make someone responsible for implementing the information accessibility plan and provide them with the required resources." This person or team must be empowered formally and equipped with the resources to accomplish the goal. They need not be in a leadership position, but their authority on the matter of accessibility ought to be established as they will serve as the focal point for the whole endeavor.
  4. Implement Incrementally. "Plan an incremental implementation – be ambitious and modest at the same time." Have an ambitious long term vision, but don't jump into the deep end right away. Starting with simple tasks such as text, images, and audio are a way to build momentum. Identify the difficulty of various accessibility tasks and always start with the easy ones. This stage can also be accomplished through a pilot project. Note that some tasks might be too complex for existing staff to complete, and you may have to seek professional help. Ensure regular reviews on progress are completed and small wins serve to move the project forward.
  5. Production Process. "Embed accessibility into your information production and dissemination processes." Make accessibility guidelines present at the point of production. Analyzing the workflow, identify where electronic templates and guidelines can be incorporated. This might not be the first thing you do (keep in mind incremental change), and it might start with a small group of stakeholders in a working group. Additionally, incorporate a mechanism that can provide a 'final accessibility check' prior to production. With all the training and prompting in the world, there will be times where it slips through the cracks.
  6. Training. "Provide information, education and training on accessibility for all staff." This is a daunting task. Consider segmenting the training; alongside basic training that everyone receives, other roles get targetted training based on accessibility-relevant responsibilities. All staff, new and old, need to stay-up-to-date. Another consideration is to ensure third party workers are also equipped with accessibility competencies.
  7. Outsourcing. "When outsourcing information production, make sure accessibility requirements are addressed and undergo a quality check." Develop a procurement policy that prioritizes accessibility, and a way to verify that accessible projects are actually delivered.

Organizational Implementation

The seven recommendations are slightly asynchronous and cannot be neatly organized in a timeline. In which case, the Agency suggests a three-phase model: Policy, Plan, Practice. This model might be especially pratical to organizations who want a tiered timeline.

I'm going to break the category 'Practice' into two; one for training, and the other for production process. This is not how it is represented in the Body of Knowledge, but that's how it's reflected in the original source material. We're gonna go with more acronyms.

Policy

LPP: Long-term, Public statement, Procurement

Like the Liberian People's Party!

Plan

DARPAR: Detailed, Ambitious, Realistic, and Person with Authority and Resources

A funny sitcom catch-phrase.

Practice(1)

PGSM: Pilot, General training, Specialized training, Materials

Like BDSM, but with a different plosive.

Practice(2)

UUTT: Update, Use the material, Third-party compliance, Test before release.

Maybe a sound made when your toe is stubbed?

Maturity Models

Source: Business Disability Forum

Source: Carnegie Mellon University

Source: Body of Knowledge

Management Champions

Evaluating for Accessibility

Recruiting and Hiring

Communication Management strategies

Procurement