Lowest Cost/Minimum Resources Option

Introduction

This option for the design of Silver is most oriented toward using low cost and minimal resources to design Silver and write the requirements. This may be reality if we cannot get other resources. This option is pretty close to the status quo of WAI Working Groups, but there are still innovative methods that can be implemented without a budget and with a small group of motivated volunteers. These methods will still guide the development of Silver with research and informed opinions.

Phase 1: Discovery

Understand needs, identify opportunities

Objectives

• Learn from people who use WCAG currently as a design spec or technical standard; who measure and document compliance; to support laws and regulations; and to teach accessibility.
• Learn from people impacted directly or indirectly by WCAG currently such as. web visitors, application users, content creators, application creators; people who implement or support IT, and people who create adaptations of WCAG.

A NOTE ON RESOURCES

If WCAG WG selects (or has to default to) this option, the Silver Sub-group will need more participation for the research phase. It will be helpful to turn this sub-group into a full Task Force to facilitate more participation.

User Research

The methods in this section will emphasize gathering data and insights into user needs of the people who use WCAG, and the people impacted by WCAG.

Stakeholder Map

Identify groups of stakeholders and associate names of thought leaders in each of the groups. The stakeholders will primarily be people within the larger circle of W3C WAI, and will be identified through brainstorming and asking for input from the WCAG WG and WAI IG email lists. Throughout the process of designing Silver, we will reach out to this group (mostly by email) to keep them informed on the progress and solicit their participation in surveys, interviews, prototype testing, etc. The Silver subgroup will try to enroll stakeholders to participate in various levels. It is anticipated that at least a few of the stakeholders will join the Silver sub-group or Task Force.

Survey

The on-line survey will be designed and vetted by the Silver sub-group, and be advertised through the usual WAI email lists, Twitter, and word of mouth. The survey will identify priorities in the way that people use WCAG today, and new features that they would like to see in a future update.

Stakeholder Interviews

Stakeholder interviews focus on thought leaders in the various stakeholder groups and will be conducted by email and phone. The Silver subgroup will draw up a list of questions and conduct the interviews.

Research

Secondary research from other organizations

The Silver subgroup will email the contacts of W3C working groups with track records of successful production of RECs on faster timelines, to identify techniques or insights for more effective approaches to a new spec.

WCAG Analysis

Discussion on the WCAG email list of ideas of what works and what doesn't in the structure of WCAG and get ideas of areas of improvement.

Analysis of WCAG Adaptations

Members of the Silver subgroup will examine different public, popular adaptations of WCAG to make a list of insights from the organizations that use WCAG, find it doesn't meet their needs, and have made their own adaptation of WCAG. Most of that material is public and can be studied with an eye toward common themes of what is needed. The results will be primarily bulleted lists.

Phase 2: Interpretation

Transform data into insights

Objectives

• Synthesize data from discovery phase into actionable insights, considerations, recommendations, etc.
• Communicate insights via reports, blog articles, presentations

Synthesis

Assembling the information from the Discovery phase in a logical way so that we can make useful conclusions.

Personas

Minimal personas that represent Stakeholder groups will be created to help validate the recommendations made to WCAG. Personas will be created by the Silver subgroup in a F2F meeting, so that the process doesn't drag on. The personas will be used to create the User Stories, which is where the emphasis will be.

User Stories

User stories are short stories of the persona in action using Silver. These will be used for validate decision making throughout the Silver development process.

Analysis

The Silver subgroup will use part of their F2F meeting identify key themes and insights and report on the conclusions of the Discovery and Interpretation phases.

Communication

The results will be posted to the wiki and notification will be sent out to the usual W3C email lists and Twitter.

Phase 3: Ideation

Build insights and opportunities into possibilities

Objectives

• Identify viable options for structure and substance of Silver
• Choose a subset of viable options to use for experimentation

Concept Generation

The second half of the Silver subgroup F2F meeting will be to brainstorm ideas for alternatives for Silver design.

Choosing

The sub-group will take the best ideas (group consensus) and progress to mock-up prototypes.

Phase 4: Experimentation

Prototyping

Members of the Silver subgroup will make mock-up prototypes of the 2-3 best ideas from the F2F and put them online with a survey for the WCAG WG to look at.

User Research

Desirability Testing

The prototypes will be publicly available for WCAG WG and stakeholders to complete a survey where they can give their opinions on the comparative desirability (higher, lower) of the different prototypes.

Refinement

The results of the desirability testing will lead to refining the prototypes with the feedback from the survey until there is one prototype.

Choosing

The Silver subgroup will write a Requirements document which will be presented to the WCAG WG.

Phase 5: Production and Evolution

Resourcing

The Silver sub-group will convert to a task force (if it hasn't already happened). Members of the subgroup will do outreach to W3C member organizations where they have relationships to ask for more people to be dedicated to the work. There will be outreach on the usual W3C email lists to ask for participation. The task force will need 1-2 facilitators and 1-2 editors who will be enrolled from volunteers.

Management

• W3C re-Charter as needed
• Set milestones
• Set decision-making policy

Production

Developing Silver itself will be done in weekly teleconferences with periodic updates to the WCAG WG.

Maintenance and Evolution

Part of the Requirements document will be the plan for updates to Silver.