Authoring Tools Working Group
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG) Charter
This charter is written in accordance with
section 4.2.2
of the W3C Process Document.
- History and mission
- Scope
- Duration of work items
- Deliverables
- Dependencies and relations with other groups
- Degree of confidentiality
- Milestones for work items & deliverables
- Meeting mechanisms & schedules
- Communication mechanisms
- Voting mechanisms and escalation
- Level of involvement of Team
- Participation
Information about how to join the AUWG
The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG) was originally
chartered in December, 1997 as a Working Group of the WAI
Technical Activity. It was rechartered in February 1999
and November 2000, and is being rechartered again in
January 2003. The group has produced a number of working
drafts leading to the Authoring
Tool Accessibility Guidelines, a W3C Recommendation; three versions of Techniques
for Authoring Tool Accessibility, a W3C Note; and Authoring
Tool Accessibility Guidelines - Wombat, a W3C Note. It is being rechartered
to perform the following tasks:
- Support and track implementation of the Authoring
Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, including specifying evaluation techniques.
- Develop a second version of the Authoring Tool Accessibility
Guidelines (ATAG 2.0).
- Revise the W3C Note Techniques for Authoring
Tool Accessibility for compatibility with ATAG 2.0.
- Develop test suites for ATAG 1.0 and ATAG 2.0.
2.1 Scope of work
The scope of the AUWG's work under this charter is to support implementation
of the W3C Recommendation Authoring
Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (ATAG 1.0), and to develop a second version
of ATAG.
This work is expected to include :
- Developing a version of ATAG which is compatible with other documents,
such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and reflective of
current practice.
- Developing techniques for implementing ATAG 2.0 in a range of different
types of authoring tools;
- Developing methods for evaluating conformance of authoring tools;
- Tracking related work in other working groups, commenting on and integrating
it as appropriate;
- Evaluating authoring tools for conformance to the guidelines;
- Working with authoring tool developers in implementation methods and techniques.
The AUWG is expected to continue for 17 months, from January 2003 to May 2004. The AUWG likely will
re-charter itself after May 2004 if the WAI Technical Activity is renewed.
4.1 Deliverables to be produced
- Minutes of AUWG meetings.
- Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, as a W3C Recommendation.
- Techniques for ATAG 2.0, as a W3C Note.
- Original publication and semi-annual revisions of the W3C Note Techniques
for Authoring Tool Accessibility 2.0, as a W3C Note.
- Techniques should consist of implementation detail for implementation
of checkpoints in the guidelines.
- Techniques should include examples and information for various types
of authoring tools.
- The techniques should include techniques for evaluating the conformance
of authoring tools, either as a separate document or part of the same
document.
- The techniques should include material developed to date by the Evaluation
and Repair Working Group in the W3C Working Draft Techniques
for Accessibility Evaluation and Repair Tools (AERT). This document
contains algorithms that may be used by software programs to evaluate
conformance of Web content to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
1.0 (WCAG 1.0) as well as to repair documents to conform to WCAG 1.0.
- Evaluations of how authoring tools conform to ATAG 1.0 and/or ATAG 2.0.
- End of charter report on implementation progress and assessment of need
for subsequent work in this area, including if appropriate requirements for
further revision of ATAG.
4.2 Success criteria
- Production of deliverables listed above.
- Commitments from significant authoring tool developers to implement
ATAG 1.0 and 2.0 in future product releases.
- Implementation of ATAG 1.0 and 2.0 in a range of authoring tools
5.1 Communication about dependencies within WAI
- The Protocols and Formats WG (PFWG
public page also available) is the primary conduit for describing
and resolving dependencies between WAI groups and other W3C Working
Groups. Consequently, requirements for dependencies between the AUWG
and other W3C WG's are primarily channeled through the PFWG, and only
groups with which AUWG requires direct discussions on dependencies
are listed here.
5.2 Groups with which AUWG has dependencies
- (WAI) Protocols and Formats WG (PFWG
public page): The AUWG provides input on accessibility requirements
with regard to W3C technologies for which PFWG manages dependencies;
- (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WG: The
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines rely on the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines;
- (WAI) User Agent Accessibility Guidelines WG --
The two groups coordinate on common components of user interface accessibility;
- (WAI) Education and Outreach WG -- EOWG will
assist in promoting awareness & implementation of ATAG 1.0;
- (WAI) Evaluation and Repair Working
Group develop and track development of tools and documents which
are important to the AUWG.
- MathML WG (MathML
public page)-- The AUWG will coordinate with the MathML Working
Group to ensure that the Guidelines and techniques are appropriate for
the needs of MathML Authoring Tool developers;
- SYMM WG (SYMM
public page), -- The AUWG will coordinate with the SYMM Working
Group to ensure that the Guidelines and techniques are appropriate for
the needs of SMIL Authoring Tool developers;
- SVG WG (SVG public
page) -- The AUWG will coordinate with the SVG Working Group to ensure
that the Guidelines and techniques are appropriate for the needs of
SVG Authoring Tool developers;
- The Amaya Activity will provide
an important test-bed for techniques and refinements to the Guidelines.
- Device Independence Activity-- The AUWG
and the Mobile Access IG will coordinate to ensure consistent approaches on guidelines
development and on CC/PP
(Composite Capability/Preference Profiles).
Additionally, the Working Group will coordinate with the
IMS Global Learning Consortium to track its work on
accessible authoring practices in "e-learning" applications.
The AUWG home page, deliverables and working
drafts, proceedings of meetings, email lists and archives and this charter
are all public.
As with other WAI groups, AUWG Working Drafts must first be reviewed
by the WAI Interest Group before being posted on the W3C Technical Reports
page or sent to the W3C Advisory Committee (AC) for review. The minimum
WAI IG review period is one week, after which the AUWG must review and
incorporate WAI IG comments.
Proposed milestones:
The Working Group will maintain a list of proposed milestones.
The AUWG will hold regular face-to-face meetings, which are likely to
be quarterly. Where practicable these will be held in conjunction with
other WAI face-to-face meetings or with an event where WAI IG members
gather. Working Group meetings are announced to W3C Member organizations
through the Member Events Calendar and the Member Newswire; to Working
Group participants through the w3c-wai-au@w3.org mailing list; to WAI
IG participants via the WAI IG mailing list; and to the general public
via the WAI home page.
9.1 Communication within the group
The primary fora for Working Group discussion are the w3c-wai-au@w3.org
mailing list (archives
are publicly available), and regular teleconferences. As an alternative
to teleconferences the group may 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 primary record of the group's activity is the
AUWG home page.
- w3c-wai-au@w3.org
mailing list archives
- Publication of minutes or log files
for all meetings
- Working Group home page
- Face-to-face and teleconference
meetings
9.2 Communication with W3C
- The AUWG coordinates with other WAI Working Groups through the WAI Coordination
Group and the wai-xtech@w3.org list;
- The AUWG coordinates with W3C through the WAI Domain Leader;
- The 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.
9.3 Communication with tool developers
The AUWG encourages developers to become part of the group or to maintain
close contact with its work. In addition, the group will specifically
seek contacts from developers who can provide additional feedback for
conformance evaluations, and act as contact points for their development
teams.
9.4 Communication with the public
The AUWG communicates with the public through the AUWG home page and
general W3C communication mechanisms.
12.1 Who should participate
As the Web Accessibility Initiative is a multi-stakeholder/partnership
project, it is critical that different stakeholders in Web accessibility
are represented on the AUWG. 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 policymakers;
- experts in the use and usability of a variety of different types
of authoring tools.
Participants are expected to observe the requirements of the W3C
Process for Working Groups. The following is an excerpt from the
November 11, 1999 Process Document:
"Participation on an ongoing basis implies a serious commitment
to the AUWG charter. Participation includes: attending most meetings
of the AUWG, providing deliverables or drafts of deliverables in a
timely fashion, being familiar with the relevant documents of the
AUWG, including minutes of past meetings."
For this Working Group, the following commitment is expected:
- 4-8 hours per week, including meeting time and reading/responding to mailing
list.
- Remain current on the group mailing list and respond in timely
manner to postings on mailing list;
- Participate regularly in telephone and face-to-face meetings
or send timely regrets;
- Remain aware of related work in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines,
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, XML Accessibility Guidelines, and other
groups where dependencies exist or arise.
- Evaluate the conformance of one or more authoring tools in
a year.
- Act as scribe for working group meetings on a rotating basis.
Information about how to join the AUWG is available
on the Web. Existing members
in good standing at the time of rechartering will be required to join the
rechartered group.
12.3 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
The purpose of the AUWG is to produce public documents available
royalty-free to everyone, following W3C standard IPR
terms. Therefore, anyone commenting in the AUWG will be considered
to offer these ideas as contributions to the AUWG documents. Organizations
with IPR in areas related to the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
or Techniques must disclose IPR as described in the W3C
Process regarding IPR and W3C's
IPR fact sheet. Invited
experts are required to disclose IPR claims in the same manner
as individuals from W3C Member
organizations.
Last updated 28 January, 2003 by Matt May (mcm@w3.org)
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