BCAB is a lively community of blind and partially sighted computer users. We offer training, discussion, networking and help to all our members.
BSI was founded in 1901, and is the national standards body for the UK.
BS8878 defines a process for creating and implementing an eAccessibility strategy within an organisation.
BS8878 defines a process for creating and implementing an eAccessibility strategy within an organisation.
BS8878 is a process for creating an organisational strategy, so it can be used in harmony with other technical guidelines and in support of legal obligations.
Increasingly people were using mobile, tablet and even TV or console based devices to access the web.
Increasingly the public and private sectors were moving towards "digital by default", a phrase since championed by UK government.
The Equality Act was being written, and the law was being brought up to date with regard to digital services.
BS8878 was written by people with experience of creating and implementing eAccessibility strategies within different organisations.
BS8878 was written by people with experience of creating and implementing eAccessibility strategies within different organisations.
BS8878 was written by people with disabilities, and by people with experience of working with different user groups.
The research showed that websites were under performing, and that no official processes existed to help website owners strategically implement accessibility.
The research showed that websites were under performing, and that no official processes existed to help website owners strategically implement accessibility.
PAS 78 was a non technical guide to using standards to build accessibility into the development lifecycle.
The information in PAS 78 was becoming dated, and the aim was to bring it in line with current thinking as well as to transition it into a fully fledged UK standard.
There was a considerable response from the wider accessibility community, and the resulting comments were used to adapt and refine BS8878 as it evolved.
The response was again considerable, and feedback suggested that BS8878 was coming together as an effective standard.
BS8878 was officially launched in London, and was given a positive reception by all those who attended the event.
The role or department should have responsibility for compliance with BS8878, and should consider the organisation's legal obligations as well as the business benefits of accessibility.
The policy should define a default position for all web products, including compliance with web accessibility guidelines, degree of user experience, and the platforms and technologies that will be supported.
A web product might be a rich internet application, browser based cloud service, software as a service, or an internet enabled widget.
Each web product should have its own policy that documents the research, strategic decisions and implementation of accessibility throughout its lifecycle.
A web product policy follows the process through research and requirements, strategic choices, procurement, production, evaluation, and post launch.
The purpose of the web product will have an impact on the way accessibility is considered. Some web products may be more challenging than others.
The web product may be target at a particular audience (for example students, musicians or patients), or it may have a limited audience (an intranet for example).
Desktop or ethnographic research will provide solid information about the web product's target audiences, and will help inform decisions made later in the process.
Internal audiences may be constrained in their technology choices by in-house policies, and general audiences may be constrained because of cost, uncertainty or availability of technology.
Where a web product is available to the public it may be that accessibility is considered in terms of broad user groups, or it may be possible for individuals to make choices about the way they receive the web product.
Defining and prioritising the web product's goals will help ensure that the web product is designed to enable its target audiences to achieve those goals.
The web product is likely to offer different levels of user experience, based on different audience groups and goals.
The web product may follow an inclusive design approach (based on existing guidelines and standards), facilitate product adaptation (enabling people to personalise their experience), or a combination of both.
The web product may be optimised for desktop and assumed to work on alternative platforms, be designed to be responsive to different delivery platforms, or be split into a suite of purpose built alternative versions.
The web product is likely to support different operating systems, browsers and assistive technologies, based on its target audience and their requirements.
The choice of in-house development or third party procurement will be influenced by capability, resources, budget and timetable.
The core technologies used to create a web product should be capable of meeting accessibility goals, and should have a good level of assistive technology support.
The accessibility guidelines should be the most appropriate for the web product (WCAG 2.0 or Section 508 for example), and where applicable a specific conformance level should be identified.
An accessibility test plan should be created and implemented throughout production, either by the in-house development team or by a third party supplier.
The decisions, justifications and key points of the web product's policy should be presented as an accessibility statement available from the web product itself.
Make sure any outstanding work is completed on the web product, then put in place a plan to stay on top of accessibility as new content and features are added to it.
BS8878 provides useful information about a range of guidelines that may be applied to web products.
BS8878 provides useful information about the practicalities of each step within the process.
BS8878 includes information covering UK law, user testing, the business case for accessibility, measuring user success, procurement, and handling feedback from users, as well as example policy documentation.
Information about the law, and examples of user demographics, technology preferences and other aspects of BS8878 are provided for a UK audience.
BS8878 is a process. It assigns responsibility for accessibility, and advocates a research based methodology for making accessibility part of "business as usual" within an organisation. The core principles of BS8878 can be taken out of the UK specific supporting information, and applied within any organisation in the world.
Jonathan Hasseel will look at how BS8878 has helped UK organisations (such as the Royal Mail) take a better approach to eAccessibility.
Jonathan Hasseel will look at how BS8878 has helped UK organisations (such as the Royal Mail) take a better approach to eAccessibility.
