Mobile Accessibility Task Force (Mobile A11Y TF) Work Statement

Page Contents

• Status
• Objective
• Approach
• Timeline
• Dependencies
• Communication
• Participation
• Patent Policy

Status

This is a Work Statement for the Mobile A11Y Task Force (MATF). The minutes of the WCAG WG approval and UAWG approval of this work statement are public. The Task Force is active. Current work may be viewed on their wiki. The home page of the Mobile Accessibility Task Force has links to active information on the group.

Note: this work statement has been updated to remove references to closed groups and change the name of the sponsoring Working Group. These changes have not yet been formally approved.

Objective

The objective of the Mobile Accessibility Task Force is to produce techniques, understanding and guidance documents as well as updates to existing related W3C / WAI material that addresses the mobile space. This work includes developing (or updating):

• The creation of mobile techniques for WCAG using HTML5, ARIA, CSS and JavaScript (primarily the open web stack);
• The development of design guidance or mobile web accessibility best practices;
• Review of existing resources that may exist outside W3C space.

Approach

Initially the Task Force will define the scope of work need to provide complete information on how to support mobile accessibility. The work will likely be broken down into modular components that can be used as independent resources or as part of a cohesive suite. The individual components of the Mobile A11Y Task Force's work may be developed as W3C Recommendations, W3C Working Group Notes, or other W3C / WAI resources. This will be decided after the development of an initial, more detailed set of requirements for handling accessibility in mobile environments.

The work will be carried out iteratively with continual involvement of the public throughout the development. In particular, key stakeholders such as developers, evaluators, experts, researchers, and users will be regularly involved in the development process of the work of the Mobile Accessibility Task Force.

Timeline

Timeline information is updated on the MATF home page

Dependencies

The Mobile Accessibility Task Force depends on the AG WG for the following reasons:

• to ensure accurate interpretation and representation of WCAG requirements;
• utilize the UAWG's previous work that addresses the mobile space;
• to leverage the development of HTML 5 and ARIA techniques for mobile uses.

The Mobile Accessibility Task Force will also coordinate with the Accessible Platform Architectures Working Group (APA WG), for technical advice and Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) where necessary to improve the writing, presentation, and educational value of the developed materials.

Communication

Mobile Accessibility Task Force communications are publicly visible. Communication mechanisms for the Mobile Accessibility Task Force include:

• Mobile Accessibility Task Force mailing list and mailing list archive ;
• Use of a wiki to share development of resources;
• Web-based surveys to poll group opinon;
• IRC discussion on the #mobile-a11y IRC channel, used largely for minute-taking;
• Weekly teleconferences, minutes from the teleconferences are also sent to WCAG WG mailing lists;
• Regular updates and feedback to the WCAG WG, and potentially the WAI CC as needed;
• Regular submission of deliverables to the WCAG WG for approval;
• Summary of current status and progress on the Mobile Accessibility Task Force home page.

Participation

To join the Mobile A11Y TF, individuals must be participants of the AG WG. Particpants are expected to actively contribute to the work of Mobile A11Y TF, including:

• Minimum 4 hours per week of Mobile A11Y TF work (this time also counts towards the individual's participation requirement in the sponsoring WG through which they have joined);
• Remain current on the Mobile Accessibility Task Force mailing list and respond in a timely manner to postings;
• Participate in Mobile Accessibility Task Force telephone meetings, or send regrets to the Mobile Accessibility Task Force mailing list.

Contact Joshue O Connor, Andrew Kirkpatrick to become a participant of Mobile Accessibility Task Force or with questions.

Patent Policy

This Task Force is part of the AG WG Charter, which operates under the W3C Patent Policy (5 February 2004 Version). W3C maintains a public list of any patent disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the AG WG.