PNSQC and the Statewide QA Program of the State of Oregon co-hosted an Accessibility Workshop & Meetup on March 30, 2022. As a hybrid event, there were some 60 people that participated – both via Zoom and in person at our NE Portland venue.
The Workshop was attended by IT professionals/managers, designers and developers of websites/web apps, and communications professionals. After a brief keynote by Ying Ki Kwong, four speakers spoke on different aspects of accessibility: management considerations, inclusive design, tools & technology, and enterprise integration. The presentations covered:
- Management Considerations from Jack McDowell, Statewide QA Program
- Inclusive Design with Michael Larsen
- Tools and Technology by Kevin Rydberg of Siteimprove
- Building Accessible Services with Matt Snow, Director of Creative Services, NIC Oregon
The case was made that accessibility is about serving the human needs of user communities and should be an integral aspect of software quality.
The event concluded with thanks from the PNSQC Program Chair Bhushan Gupta, reminding all that there are many opportunities for PNSCQ volunteerism and sponsorship – including Call for Proposals of papers, presentations, and workshops for PNSQC’s annual conference in October.
Catch the Replay
You may watch the full event here or on PNSQC’s video channel.
The accompanying slides for all the presentations are available to download.
Post-Workshop Q&A
Q: Where can I download the Accessibility Guidance of the state of Oregon’s E-Government Program?
Ying Ki Kwong: You can get the guide here from the state website.
Q: When should accessibility overlays be used?
Kevin Rydberg / Ying Ki Kwong: Accessibility overlay is at best a temporary response to accessibility issues of a webpage or a web application. While some may like this approach, analytics shows that overlay tools are rarely used. A user who may rely on assistive technology (AT) already has AT set up on the user’s computer/device, and usually will not use customized settings for a single website. Accessibility issues should be addressed more directly by authors of web pages or developers of web applications.
Q: How does a company like SiteImprove work with WCAG / W3C to influence standards development?
Kevin Rydberg: Siteimprove is among W3C members and active in a variety of working groups, including:
- Education and Outreach working group. A Siteimprove consultant wrote or edited training and website instructional and informative content related to accessibility
- The WCAG 3.0 Silver Project – a Siteimprove consultant is active in policy and success criterion development
- Accessibility Conformance Testing Rules (ACT-R) Working Group – a Siteimprove lead accessibility developer is currently chair of this group. Any new rules approved within the ACT-R would be written, edited, or approved with Siteimprove influence.
