The New Section 508: Modeling Usability, Interoperability, and Harmonization

Presenter: Mike Paciello

The text alternative to a PowerPoint presentation delivered by Mike Paciello, co-chair, Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC), at the October 22, 2008, meeting of Boston-IA.

Quick Links:

• Slide 1
• Slide 5 (TEITAC member list)
• Slide 6
• Slide 10
• Slide 13 (last slide)
• Handout

Slide 1:
Outline

• Introduction to TEITAC
  • rationale
  • members
• Results
• Implementation

Slide 2:
Introduction

• §508 of the Rehabilitation Act
  • applies to federal agencies: all electronic and information technology (E&IT)
  • employees and members of the public
• §255 of the 1996 Communications Act
  • applies to entire telecom market: equipment manufacturers and service providers in telecom and interconnected VoIP
  • TEITAC did not address service provider issues

Slide 3:
Why Update?

• Frequent requests for clarification and technical assistance on 508
  • what products are covered?
  • just procurement, or use also?
• Global market = international harmonization; many other standards activities underway
• Technology convergence
  • products migrating across the 6 categories used in Section 508
  • widespread adoption of wireless and VoIP

Slide 4:
TEITAC Membership

• Federal agencies
• ICT and AT industries and their trade associations
• Standards organizations
• Consumer advocates
• Researchers and developers
• National and international (EU, Japan, Canada, Australia) policy experts and consultants
• Broad public participation
• 8 Subcommittees
  • General Interface, Web/Software, Telecommunications, Audio-Video, Self-Contained, Hardware, Subpart A, Documentation

Slide 5:
41 TEITAC Members

• Adobe Systems, Inc.
• American Association of People with Disabilities
• American Council of the Blind
• American Foundation for the Blind
• AOL LLC
• Apple, Inc.
• Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs
• Assistive Technology Industry Association
• AT&T
• Avaya, Inc.
• Canon USA, Inc.
• Communication Service for the Deaf
• CTIA - The Wireless Association
• Dell, Inc.
• Easter Seals
• European Commission
• Hearing Loss Association of America
• Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (Australia)
• IBM
• Inclusive Technologies
• Industry Canada
• Information Technology Association of America
• Information Technology Industry Council
• Japanese Standards Association
• Microsoft Corporation
• National Association of State Chief Information Officers
• National Center on Disability and Access to Education
• National Federation of the Blind
• National Network of Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers
• Panasonic Corporation of North America
• Paralyzed Veterans of America
• SRA International, Inc.
• Sun Microsystems, Inc.
• Telecommunications Industry Association
• The Paciello Group (TPG), LLC
• Trace Research and Development Center
• Usability Professionals' Association
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Social Security Administration
• WGBH National Center for Accessible Media
• World Wide Web Consortium – Web Accessibility Initiative

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Slide 6:
TEITAC Results (1 of 4)

• More provisions, but more testable and largely harmonized with other standards
• Technical Provisions and Functional Performance Criteria (FPCs)
• Structure and strength of recommendation
  • recommended provisions
  • provisions without consensus
  • "best practices"
  • notes, for Access Board or implementers
• Includes cognitive disabilities

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Slide 7:
TEITAC Results (2 of 4)

• "Product characteristics" rather than "product categories"
  • "Real-time Voice Conversation Functionality", not "Telephone systems"
• Beyond procurement: specific implementation and use provisions
  • agencies must provide access to relay services, including video
  • agencies must configure accessibility features
  • agency-created content ("official agency communications") is covered

Slide 8:
TEITAC Results (3 of 4)

• Specific to 255/Telecom
  • access to relay services
  • software in telecom products
  • volume control & amplification
  • real-time text
  • interactive voice response (IVR) provisions

Slide 9:
TEITAC Results (4 of 4)

• Software, Web, other content, and interface behavior now largely converged into "User Interface and Electronic Content"
• Web is now an application platform
  • actual user requirements virtually the same as desktop software
• Content
  • current standard only addresses Web content
  • everyone creates content

Slide 10:
What Now?

• Access Board will take Report and develop a proposed rule, NPRM
  • economic impact
• Comment period
• Final Rule
• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)
  • balance accessibility with other drivers
• FCC action?
• Timeframe?

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Slide 11:
Implementation

• Information tools and "Communities of Practice"
  • "provision inflation" and complexity
  • consistent procurement practices
  • testing results (or at least protocols, metrics)
  • workarounds and user interface settings
  • VPAT, BuyAccessible, Trace Filter
• Research & development
  • better metrics and tests for hearing and vision
  • emerging technologies
  • cognitive disabilities
  • assistance with AT-ICT interoperability

Slide 12:
Other Jurisdictions

• EU: Mandate 376
  • accessibility standards inventory (includes Section 508)
  • development of European Standards (harmonization)
  • conformity assessment models and protocols
• States
  • many require accessibility, based on some or all of 508
  • some cover education, local government, state funding recipients
  • States lack GSA-type TA, 508 coordinators
  • complexity is burdensome, results in narrowing the scope or relaxing the provision

Slide 13 (last slide):
Conclusions

• TEITAC Report addresses (but does not resolve) all of the issues
  • unresolved: AT-ICT interoperability, when to apply FPCs
• Rulemaking will be … lively
  • minority reports
• Implementation issues involve many federal, state, international actors

Slide 14: Handout

• New Recommendations for Section 508 (handout)

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