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WCAG2ICT Task Force Work Statement

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group Task Force on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies

Status

This Work Statement for the WCAG2ICT Task Force has been approved by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG).

Objective

The objective of WCAG2ICT Task Force is to develop documentation describing how to apply WCAG 2.0 and its principles, guidelines, and success criteria to non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). As part of this work, the Task Force will also review WCAG 2.0 Conformance in the context of how it might apply to non-web ICT.

This Task Force was formed in response to suggestions that WCAG 2.0 could be applied to non-web ICT (Information and Communications Technology) that are not web content. It is not the intent of this Task force to judge as to whether WCAG 2.0 or any particular WCAG 2.0 provisions should be used with non-web content, but rather to comment on the meaning of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines, principles, success criteria and conformance requirements and how they should be understood if they were to be applied to non-web ICT.

This documentation is intended to help organizations that wish to use a single, well-established set of guidelines and principles—WCAG 2.0—across all of the ICT that they develop, procure, and/or assess for accessibility. This activity is consistent with the WCAG WG charter which states that its scope of work includes: "Coordinating with other entities adopting and using WCAG 2.0."

Work of this Task Force includes:

• Evaluating the core WCAG principles—Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust—in the context of non-Web ICT;
• Evaluating WCAG 2.0 Conformance in the context of how it might apply to non-web ICT;
• Determining how to apply each of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines and A, AA, and AAA success criteria to non-Web ICT;
• Producing a Working Group Note (a form of W3C Technical Report)—under the coordination of the WCAG WG, with publication of TF materials as reviewed and approved by the WCAG WG—that describes:
  • how each of the WCAG 2.0 A, AA, and AAA success criteria would apply to non-Web ICT;
  • how each of the WCAG 2.0 principles and guidelines would apply non-Web ICT;
  • what WCAG 2.0 Conformance means in the context of non-Web ICT.

Explicitly out of scope for the WCAG2ICT Task Force work:

• Proposing changes to WCAG 2.0;
• Developing techniques or interpretations of WCAG 2.0 for implementing WCAG 2.0 in Web technologies;
• Developing any specific, sufficient techniques, including platform-specific techniques, for implementing WCAG 2.0 in non-Web ICT, though examples may be in scope;
• Determining whether or not WCAG 2.0 or any of its provisions should be applied to non-web content;
• Developing a normative standard.

Approach

The primary effort of this Task Force will be describing how to interpret WCAG 2.0 and its principles, guidelines, success criteria and conformance requirements when applying them to non-web ICT, including all WCAG 2.0 A, AA, and AAA success criteria; and evaluating what WCAG Conformance means in the context of non-Web ICT. The resulting Working Group Note will include a success-criteria-by-success-criteria discussion of applying WCAG 2.0 to non-Web ICT, including their interface components and platforms, and the extent to which WCAG Conformance is meaningful to non-Web ICT.

The work may be broken down into ad hoc sub-teams if and as necessary, under the coordination of the Task Force facilitator(s), to efficiently develop the core Working Group Note.

The work will be carried out through a series of document drafts, all publicly visible, with opportunities for public comment through publicly available comment lists. In particular, key stakeholders such as developers, evaluators, accessibility experts, researchers, procurement experts, and end users will be regularly involved in the development process. Key participants will be drawn from people with expertise not only in Web technologies, but also those with platform-specific accessibility expertise, including people involved in the development of accessibility frameworks, accessible platforms, accessible user interface components, and accessible applications for a broad variety of computing environments.

Timeline

Following is a rough timeline of the work:

• April 2012:
  • obtain approval for and launch this Task Force;
  • recruit TF participants with necessary expertise.
• May 2012:
  • develop a brief requirements document;
  • develop an outline and initial draft of the Working Group Note;
  • develop initial discussion drafts of remaining sections of the Note;
  • develop initial discussion drafts of Note sections;
  • start reporting to the WCAG WG.
• June 2012:
  • incorporate first feedback from TF and from WG into a (publicly visible) Editors’ Draft;
  • publish First Public Working Draft (FPWD) of the Working Group Note through the WCAG WG;
  • start processing feedback on FPWD.
• July - June 2013:
  • processing feedback on document, further developing and editing WG Note, publishing updated formal drafts of the Note roughly every 3 months.

Dependencies

WCAG2ICT is a Task Force of the WCAG WG, which has oversight over the Task Force to ensure accurate interpretation and representation of WCAG 2.0. While there are no direct dependencies at the Task Force level (please see scope section of WCAG WG Charter for more information), please note the following proposed liaisons:

Liaisons:

The following proposed participating liaisons may change pending confirmation, and/or be expanded:

• US CIO Council, Accessibility Committee
• M-376 Secretariat
• ETSI
• Other?

Communication

WCAG2ICT Task Force communications are publicly visible. Communication mechanisms for the WCAG2ICT Task Force include:

1. WCAG2ICT Task Force mailing list, mailing list archive, and action tracker (to be created);
2. Subpage off of the WCAG Working Group home page;
3. Weekly (and at times twice-weekly) teleconferences, with teleconference minutes also sent to WCAG WG mailing list;
4. Regular updates and feedback to WCAG WG, and to WAI Coordination Group (WAI CG) as needed;
5. Regular submission of deliverables to WCAG WG for approval;
6. Summary of current status and progress on the WCAG2ICT Task Force home page (to be created).

Participation

WCAG2ICT Task Force participants must join the Task Force through the WCAG WG, which includes representatives of W3C Member Organizations as well as Invited Experts (agreement for Invited Experts). Task Force participants must agree to actively contribute to the work of WCAG2ICT Task Force, including:

• Minimum 8 hours per week of WCAG2ICT Task Force work through the end May 2012, and 4 hours per week thereafter;
• Time contributed on WCAG2ICT Task Force counts towards WCAG WG participation requirement;
• Remain current on the WCAG2ICT TF mailing list and respond in a timely manner to postings;
• Participate in WCAG2ICT Task Force telephone meetings.

Contact Michael Cooper (cooper at w3.org) to become a participant of WCAG2ICT Task Force or with questions.

Leadership

• Task Force facilitators: Andi Snow-Weaver and Mike Pluke
• Staff contact: Judy Brewer, Michael Cooper
• Editorial team: Andi Snow-Weaver, Gregg Vanderheiden, Peter Korn, Michael Cooper, Shadi Abou-Zahra, @@other?

Participants

TBA.

Patent Policy

This Task Force is part of the WCAG WG Charter, which operates under the W3C Patent Policy (5 February 2004 Version).

Document Information

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File (not content) last updated on $Date: 2012/10/31 17:47:59 $ by $Author: www-data $