(DRAFT) WAI Authoring Tool Guidelines Working Group Charter

(WAI-AU)

Mission
Scope
Duration
Deliverables
Dependencies of other groups on this group's deliverables
Dependencies of this group on other groups' deliverables
Intended degree of confidentiality
Relation to other groups
Milestones for work items & deliverables
Meeting mechanisms & schedules
Communication mechanisms
Voting mechanisms
Level of involvement of Team
W3C staff contact
Estimate of time commitment a group member would have to make in order to participate
Participants
How to join

1. Mission

Compose and assess implementation of W3C guideliness which can be used to ensure that authoring tools achieve two objectives:

to provide author support for creating accessible Web documents, and
to make authoring tools accessible to authors with disabilities.

2. Scope

2.1 Scope of WAI AU guidelines

The scope of applicability for WAI AU is tools which are used to produce Web content. These include:

Editing tools specifically designed to produce Web content (eg WYSIWYG HTML editors)
Tool which offer the option of saving material in a web format (eg Word Processors or desktop publishing packages)
Tools which translate documents into web formats (eg from PDF to HTML)
Tools which produce Multimedia, especially where it is intended for use on the web (eg video production adn editing suites)
Tools for site management or site publication (including on-the-fly conversion and website publishing tools)

2.2 Criteria for success

The adoption of Authoring Tool Guidelines as a Recommendation by the W3C. Widespread implementation of the guidelines would be a further measure of success. Given lead times for development of software this is unlikely to be achieved within the duration of the activity.

3. Duration of work items

The WAI AU Activity is expected to continue for approximately eight and a half months, until 1 October 1999.

4. Deliverables

The WAI Authoring Tools Guidelines, as Working drafts and as a Proposed Recommendation.

5. Dependencies of other groups on this group

5.1. Groups which will use deliverables

The deliverables will be used by the WAI Education and Outreach activity to promote the development of tools which lead to a more accessible web.
Activities such as the Amaya project, the graphics activity, and others, will use the guidelines in designing their own goals and outcomes.

5.2 Liaison Methods

The Chair of the WAI AU sits on the WAI Coordination Group (CG) which is made up of chairs of all the WAI groups and two or more at-large representatives of the WAI IG.

6. Dependencies of this group on other groups

6.1 Groups on whose work this activity explicitly depends:

The WAI Page Authoring Guidelines group
The WAI User Agent Guidelines group
The WAI Interest Group
6.2 Groups whose work will be or is likely to be used

W3C Groups:

Other Groups:

Groups with specific expertise in user interface and assistive technology.
Developers of Authoring Tools.
Writers' and content providers' groups.

7. Intended degree of Confidentiality

The WAI AU home page, proceedings, and charter are all public.

8. Relation to other groups

8.1 Relation to W3C Groups

This group is related to other W3C groups via the dependencies on deliverables described in sections 5 and 6 above.

8.2 Relation to External Groups

The WAI AU activity will rely on the expertise of various groups, some of whom may be outside the W3C, as described in the dependencies in item 5 above.

9. Milestones for work items and deliverables

22 January 1999: New Public Working Draft.
15 February 1999: New working draft released to IG for comment.
1 March 1999: New Public Working Draft.
29 March 1999: New working draft released to IG for comment.
12 April 1999: Third Public Working Draft.
10 May 1999: New working draft released to IG for comment.
24 May 1999: New Public Working Draft. Presented for 'Last Call'.
21 June 1999: Working Draft to Proposed Recommendation.
July 1999: End of AC review of Proposed Recommendation.
July 1999: Guidelines become W3C Recommendation

Note: The milestones assume that the Working group will produce a working draft every six weeks. It will be presented to the WAI IG for comment, with one week allowed for comment and a further week for those comments to be reviewed by the WG and incorporated into the document before release as a public working draft. There are then four weeks before the working group produces its next (internal) working draft.

10. Meeting mechanisms & schedules

The primary fora for WAI AU discussion are the WAI AU mailing list, and regular (weekly to fortnightly) teleconferences. As an alternative to telconferences the group will trial the use of an Internet-based chat system, which will provide logging of the session. If the group unanimously feels that this is an improvement it may be adopted in place of some scheduled telephone conferences.

The WAI AU will hold regular face-to-face meetings, where practicable in conjunction with other WAI face-to-face meetings or with an event where WAI IG members gather. WAI AU meetings are announced to W3C Member organizations, to WAI AU participants through the WAI AU mailing list, to WAI IG participants via the WAI IG mailing list, and to the general public via the WAI home page.

11. Communication mechanisms

11.1 Communication within the group

11.2 Communication with W3C

WAI AU coordinates with other WAI working groups through the WAI Coordination Group;
WAI AU coordinates with W3C through the WAI Domain Leader;
WAI Domain Leader communicates about W3C and WAI activities through postings to WAI IG;
WAI groups report to the WAI IG at quarterly face-to-face meetings.

11.3 Communication with the public

WAI AU communicates with the public through the WAI AU home page and general W3C communication mechanisms.

12. Voting mechanisms and Escalation

One vote per member organisation or technical expert's organisation, via e-mail, as per the standard W3C process for working groups [http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Process/Plan/process.html#GroupsWG]

13. Level of involvement of Team

70% Charles McCathieNevile,
5% Ian Jacobs, 5% Judy Brewer, 5% Daniel Dardailler

14. W3C staff contact

Charles McCathieNevile

15. Estimated time and effort commitments a group member would have to make in order to participate

It is expected that participants would need to commit 3-6 hours per week, including meetings other than face to face meetings. Participants are expected to attend teleconferences and meetings, or send regrets to the chair at least one day in advance of teleconferences, one week in advance of meetings. Participants are expected to respond in a timely manner to discussion taking place on the email list. Participants are also expected to maintain up-to-date familiarity with the WAI Page Authoring and User Agent Guidelines, as Working Drafts as well as Recommendation.

16. Participants

As the Web Accessibility Initiative is a multi-stakeholder/partnership project, it is critical that different stakeholders in Web accessibility are represented on the WAI AU group. These include:

representatives of Web-related industry, especially Web content-generating application developers;
representatives of disability organizations, including cognitive disabilities, hearing disabilities, physical disabilities, and visual disabilities;
representatives of research organizations specializing in accessible design for diverse disabilities and functional requirements;
representatives of government.

17. How to join

To join the working group please complete the following information and return by email to wai-au-call@w3.org.

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First Name:

Last Name:

Email Address

Telephone Number

Employer / Organisation:

Area of interest:
(Non W3C members please state area of expertise)

I have read the charter for this group, and agree to participate as per the charter

Intellectual Property Rights: To the best of my knowledge, I believe my organization has the following/does not have any IPR claims regarding Guidelines for the Accessibility of Authoring Tools.