Best Practice Library

• IT Accessibility Playbook The Technology Accessibility Playbook provides Federal Government CIO and CAO offices, and Agency Section 508 Program Managers, guidance on what is needed to build and manage effective Section 508 Programs. A web version of the Accessibility Playbook web version can be found here.

• Agency-wide Accessibility Policy Successful accessibility programs start with a good agency policy to identify roles, authorities, responsibilities, and how the many stakeholders will cooperate and interact within the agency. Some examples include DHS Section 508 Directive [doc], VA Section 508 Directive [pdf], HHS Policy for Section 508, and DOJ Section 508 Model Complaint Process [doc].
• Internet Accessibility Policy Benefit from a formal Section 508 Internet policy whose components include roles, responsibilities, technical requirements, and resources available to stakeholders. Examples include SSA Internet Accessibility Policy. [pdf]
• Directives Review Process Some agencies have a formalized process for developing and approving IT policy. This article describes the importance and advantages of including a Section 508 representative in these processes.
• Section 508 Coordinator Core Competencies The Section 508 Program Manager is a unique role that leads and coordinates all Section 508 activities in your agency. The Section 508 Program Manager establishes and implements agency policies, procedures, governance models, performance measurement, communications and training initiatives. The Core Competencies model defines the qualifications necessary to fulfill this role
• Integrate IT accessibility in the Development Life Cycle Achieving Section 508 compliance requires injection of accessibility into all phases of the development lifecycle. Whether using waterfall, agile, or any other development approach, achievement of 508 compliance is critically dependent upon your ability to incorporate accessibility needs from the very beginning of the project (conceptualization and planning), and on through design, development, testing, deployment, continuous enhancements and maintenance activities.
• Section 508 Compliance Reporting The OMB Section 508 Compliance Report provides agency’s with a tool to benchmark and plan improvements to the maturity of their Section 508 compliance program and compliance of their technology inventory. Resources: How to measure your 508 program training OMB Section 508 Reporting Template Detailed Instructions

Web & Software Accessibility Testing

The following baseline tests for web and software accessibility support:

• Unified testing for the Section 508 technical requirements for Software and Websites, as well as Functional Performance Criteria (FPC).
• Provides a minimum set of tests for agencies to streamline/enhance their existing test processes.
• Aligns Section 508 accessibility testing with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) success criteria, according to the Revised 508 Standards.

W3C’s Web Accessibility Perspectives Videos

Web accessibility is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. Learn about the impact of accessibility and the benefits for everyone in a variety of situations:

• Keyboard Compatibility, What is "Keyboard Compatibility"? [video]
• Colors with Good Contrast, What is "Colors with Good Contrast"?[video]
• Clear Layout and Design, What is "Clear Layout and Design"? [video]
• Text to Speech, What is "Text to Speech"? [docx]
• Large Links, Buttons, and Controls, What is "Large Links, Buttons, and Controls"? [video]
• Video Captions, What is "Video Captions"? [video]
• Customizable Text, What is "Customizable Text"? [video]
• Voice Recognition, What is "Voice Recognition"? [video]
• Understandable Content, What is "Understandable Content"? [video]
• Notifications and Feedback, What is "Notifications and Feedback"? [video]

Microsoft Word: Harmonized guidance from the AED COP

Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013 YouTube Videos

• How to make electronic documents Section 508 conformant and accessible for people with disabilities. (November 2016)

Microsoft Word 2013 Instructional Guides

• Basic Authoring and Testing Guide - MS Word 2013, December 2015: plain language guidance outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance. [docx]
• Basic Authoring and Testing Checklist - MS Word 2013, December 2015: a companion set of yes/no checkpoints. [docx]
• MS Word 2013—Section 508 Conformance Test Process, December 2015: example conformance process (technical). [docx]
• MS Word 2013—Section 508 Conformance Test Report Template, December 2015: test process reporting template. [docx]
• Baseline Tests for Accessible Electronic Documents—MS Word 2013, September 2015: guidance outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance for those creating agency test processes (technical). [docx]

Microsoft Word 2010 Instructional Guides

• Basic Authoring and Testing Guide - MS Word 2010, January 2015: plain language guidance outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance. [docx]
• Basic Authoring and Testing Checklist - MS Word 2010, January 2015: a companion set of yes/no checkpoints. [docx]
• MS Word 2010—Section 508 Conformance Test Process,January 2015: example conformance process (technical). [docx]
• MS Word 2010—Section 508 Conformance Test Report Template, January 2015: test process reporting template. [docx]
• Baseline Tests for Accessible Electronic Documents—MS Word 2010, January 2015: guidance outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance for those creating agency test processes (technical). [docx]

Microsoft Excel: Harmonized guidance from the AED COP

• Basic Authoring Guide - MS Excel 2010, December 2015: plain language guidance outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance. [docx]
• Basic Testing Checklist - MS Excel 2010, January 2015: a companion set of yes/no checkpoints. [docx]
• Baseline Tests for Accessible Electronic Documents—MS Excel 2010,December 2015: guidance outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance for those creating agency test processes (technical). [docx]

PDF: Harmonized guidance from the AED COP

• Basic Testing Guide – PDF, October 2015: plain language guidance for outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance. [docx]
• Basic Testing Checklist – PDF, October 2015: a companion set of yes/no checkpoints. [docx]
• Baseline Tests for Accessible Electronic Documents—PDF, October 2015: Guidance outlining minimum steps required to determine Section 508 conformance for those creating agency test processes (technical) . [docx]

Additional Guidance from the CIOC Accessibility Community of Practice

• Creating Accessible Websites with links to the SSA Accessibility Best Practices Library to assist developers in HTML coding techniques.
• Creating Accessible PDF Documents with links to VA Creating Accessible PDFs on-line tutorial.
• Creating Accessible Flash with links to the VA Creating Accessible Flash Course.
• Defects Review with Developer Staff and Vendor.
• Writing Alternative Text for Images with links to the SSA Guide: Alternate Text For Images.