DRAFT Requirements for WCAG 2.0

W3C Working Draft 19 April 2000

This version:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wcag20-req-20000419.html

Latest version:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wcag20-requirements

Previous version:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wcag20-req-200002.html

Editors:

Wendy Chisholm, W3C

Ian Jacobs, W3C

Copyright © 2000 W3C^® (MIT, INRIA, Keio), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark, document use and software licensing rules apply.

Status of this document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. The latest status of this document series is maintained at the W3C.

This is a W3C Working Draft produced by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group. The purpose of this document is to outline the requirements for the next version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The working group encourages feedback about these requirements as well as participation in the development of the revision by people who have experience trying to create Web content that conforms to WCAG 1.0.

@@Do we want to say something about when we expect to have an initial working draft of the revision published? (i.e., when are we aiming to publish the first public working draft?)

This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use W3C Working Drafts as reference material or to cite them as other than "work in progress". A list of current W3C Recommendations and other technical documents can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/.

Send comments about this document to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group mailing list. The archives for this list are publicly available.

1. Add requirements beyond HTML and CSS

WCAG 2.0 will include requirements for:

• HTML
• CSS
• SVG
• SMIL
• MathML
• Metadata
• DOM
• XML technologies (DTD authoring? namespaces?)
• Non-W3C technologies such as JavaScript, PDF, and Flash

WCAG 2.0 requirements should be expressed in generic terms so that they may apply to more than one markup language.

2. Ensure that the minimal conformance requirements are clear

WCAG 2.0 must clearly specify the minimal requirements necessary for conformance. Each requirement must be easily verifiable. The WG will provide resources to help readers evaluate conformance, such as technology-specific checklists, sample sites, sample renderings (aural as well as graphical), and processes for determing conformance (e.g., in conjunction with the ERT and EO WGs).

The deliverables must:

• Distinguish what is required for conformance from what provides additional accessibility.
• Clearly specify how content that is tailored according to client or user capabilities may conform (dynamic content or database driven).
• Resolve the relationship between user agent support and author supplied content (cross-platform and backwards compatibility issues).

3. Ensure that the deliverables are easy to use

The structure of the deliverables must be simple and easy to use. As part of ensuring the usability of the deliverables, the WCAG WG will incorporate usability testing into the development process.

4. Write to a more diverse audience

WCAG 2.0 deliverables must meet the needs of a variety of readers, including people who wish to:

• Create accessible, innovative, internationalized Web sites.
• Create policies related to Web accessibility.
• Assess whether a Web site conforms to the guidelines.
• Develop authoring tools, user agents, or evaluation and repair tools.
• Teach principles of accessible Web content.

The number, length, and organization of the deliverables must meet the different needs of these readers. As part of ensuring that the diverse needs of readers are met, the WG will work closely with the Education and Outreach Working Group.

5. Clearly identify who benefits from accessible content

• WCAG 2.0 will clearly identify the target audience of each requirement.
• WCAG 2.0 will address as completely as possible the needs of users with
  • blindness,
  • low vision,
  • color deficit or distortions,
  • deafness,
  • hearing loss,
  • impairments of intelligence, memory, or thinking,
  • the inability to interpret and/or formulate language symbols,
  • learning disabilities,
  • speech impairments,
  • paralysis, weakness, and other problems with movement and coordination of limbs,
  • photo sensitive epilepsy,
  • and combinations thereof.

6. Ensure that the revision is "backwards compatible"

• @@this needs work: A number of other materials and tools rely on WCAG 1.0, such as ATAG 1.0, the WCAG Curriculum, U.S. Government Section 508 Guidelines, AERT, Bobby, etc. Therefore, a revision of WCAG 1.0 must not completely change the requirements for what is accessible content but clarify the complexities and fix the specifics.

$Date: 2000/11/08 08:27:06 $ Wendy Chisholm