Government Web Standards
New Zealand Government Web Standards Assessment 2008 - Focus on Accessibility
The State Services Commission will be conducting an assessment of the accessibility of government web sites between April and May 2008. This assessment is part of a programme to measure the progress being made across government on making web-based information accessible to citizens following the introduction of the New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations.
We are focussing on accessibility and your web sites will be assessed against the ten accessibility indicators listed below. These indicators test for the common accessibility problems identified in our 2006 assessment, as well as other problems regularly encountered by the Web Standards team. The assessment will indicate if there are any major barriers to accessibility on your web site which need to be addressed.
The methodology which will be used for this assessment is heuristic testing, where expert testers apply a number of manual tests to a web site, to simulate the kinds of issues users may encounter if they use assistive technology or handheld devices (e.g. screen readers for the blind or mobile phones), cannot use proprietary technologies like PDF, Javascript or Flash, are using a low speed internet connection or have other special requirements.
You should note that this assessment will not measure New Zealand Government Web Standards compliance for your web site. If your web site is required to comply with the Standards you are expected to complete a self audit at least once a year. It is also good practice to run usability testing with your users at least this often as well.
Which government web sites are we testing?
We will test all public-facing web sites (including stand-alone blogs, wikis, applications, etc) belonging to Autonomous Crown Entities, Crown Agents, Crown Research Institutes, Independent Crown Entities, Non Public Service Departments, Office of Parliament, Public Service Departments and the Reserve Bank. We will not be testing commercially focused sites, extranets or sites which require registration.
What are we testing?
Here are the ten indicators we’ll be looking at to assess the accessibility of your web site:
1) The home page is simple to use
Does the layout and structure of your home page help users identify important content on your web site? Are there any major barriers to accessibility?
2) Information about the site, privacy, contact and accessibility information
Can users find information about your web site, privacy, accessibility and contact information from your web pages?
3) The web site does not use pop-ups
Does your web site create pop-up windows without warning?
4) The web site provides all its functions with or without Javascript
Can someone use your web site if they use a screen reader or have Javascript turned off?
5) The web site provides all its functions with or without styles and images
Can someone use your web site if they use a screen reader or have styles (CSS) turned off?
6) The web site is usable when text is resized
Have your web pages been designed to allow text size to be increased and decreased while remaining usable?
7) Critical content and navigation elements have sufficient colour contrast
Is there sufficient colour contrast between foreground and background for your web site’s main content and navigation areas?
8) An accessible contact method is provided and monitored
Are the contact methods (such as contact forms, email, phone, etc) provided on your web site accessible and monitored regularly?
9) The web site search engine produces relevant search results
If your web site has a search engine, is it returning the right pages for your most common search requests?
10) Text alternatives are provided for any non-text content
If information on your web site is given in a non-text format (such as PDF, Flash, video, audio, etc) is it also provided in an accessible alternative (such as HTML, RTF, TXT)?
What do I need to do?
Your Chief Executive has been sent a list of your agency’s web sites to complete. You need to ensure that all your public-facing web sites (including stand-alone blogs, wikis, applications, etc) are on the list so they can be included in the assessment. We are also gathering some additional information about each web site to assist with the assessment. Please email or post us a complete list of your web sites, including contact details for the web site owner for each site by 11 April 2008.
How accessible do we expect government web sites to be?
We expect government agencies to make a reasonable effort to make their web sites accessible to all users. In this assessment, we want to acknowledge those web sites that follow good accessibility practice, without penalizing those sites which are reasonably accessible but could be improved.
Web sites will be graded on the following scale for each of the ten indicators:
- Good = The web site follows good accessibility practice for this indicator
- Room for Improvement = The web site is mostly accessible when tested against this indicator but there is room for improvement
- Fail = The web site is not accessible when tested against this indicator and changes should be made
If a web site receives a Room for Improvement or Fail result for any indicator, the report will include a simple explanation of the cause of the failure and some practical advice on how to fix the issue. The Web Standards Team at the State Services Commission will be available to provide advice, training and support relating to issues identified in the accessibility assessment.
Who will be testing my web site?
Testing will be shared among a number of accessibility experts. Testers will assess each web site against the ten accessibility indicators according to detailed evaluation criteria provided to them by the State Services Commission. Each of the test reports will be quality-assured by the Web Standards Team at the State Services Commission to ensure that web sites are graded consistently and fairly by the testers.
When will my web site be assessed?
Testing is scheduled for April and May 2008. If you are planning any major work on your web site during that time, let us know so we can test the most recent version of your web site.
How will I get my web site’s assessment results?
Your web site assessment results will be sent to the Chief Executive of your organisation and copied to the web site owner supplied by your agency on the list of your web sites. Copies of your results can also be requested directly from the Web Standards Team. We anticipate that assessment results will be posted out by July 2008 at the latest.
What should I do about areas where my web site fails?
The assessment results are provided as a starting point for improving your web site. If you receive a Fail result for any of the ten indicators, you should consider making the changes recommended in the report immediately.
If you are unable to fix the problems identified immediately, please contact the Web Standards Team to find out if you need to apply for a temporary exemption from the Web Standards. This will give you more time to resolve any accessibility issues on your web site.
What do I do if I disagree with the assessment results for my web site?
While we make every effort to ensure that each web site receives a fair assessment, there may be situations where the results are incorrect (for instance if you redevelop your web site during April or May). If you believe that your assessment results are incorrect, the Web Standards Team will be happy to review your assessment results and issue a revised version if required.
For more information
If you have any questions about the accessibility assessment, or would like to let us know what your web sites are so we can test them, please contact AnneMarie Curtis.
