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Re: comprehensive list of keyboard accessible software?

for

From: John E Brandt
Date: Aug 1, 2013 12:44PM

Thank you too, Sarah for this important info.

I might add that the VPATs can also be very outdated and with the increase
use of cloud-based services that change moment to moment, increasingly
irrelevant.

~j

John E. Brandt
jebswebs: accessible and universal design,
development and consultation
<EMAIL REMOVED>
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA

@jebswebs

-----Original Message-----
From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Bourne, Sarah
(ITD)
Sent: Thursday, August 01, 2013 11:50 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] comprehensive list of keyboard accessible software?

On 8/1/13 9:01 AM, " Jonathan Metz " wrote:
>Theoretically, if an agency went through the normal market research and
acquired that software on the basis of their VPAT, doesn't the FAR allow the
agency to require that they live up to their accessibility claims?

Almost every VPAT I have ever seen includes a disclaimer along the lines of,
"this document has no legal standing". Here is an example, with the company
name redacted:
"This document is for informational purposes only. Its content is subject
to change without notice, and [company] does not warrant that it is
error-free. [company] MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR OF
MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
The information contained in this document represents [company] 's current
view of accessibility criteria as of the date of publication; it is in no
way intended to be a binding guideline on how to ensure accessibility of
software products. [company] specifically disclaims any liability with
respect to this document and no contractual obligations or commitments are
formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document is for
internal use only and may not be circulated or distributed outside your
organization without [company]'s prior written authorization."

The best tool for ensuring that any given vendor sticks to its accessibility
claims (and/or your standards) is to make sure that it is in your
procurement documents and final contract. I recommend that that you hold
out for adherence to standards rather than their claims to minimize weasel
holes. In cases where a product is not fully compliant at time of selection,
you should include terms that require them to fix bugs (preferably prior to
launch) or to help you identify non-onerous mitigations and accommodations.
We have been using this process for a few years now; results have been
improving over time. A large part of our success is the use of non-biased,
expert third-party testers. This mitigates the quality problems with VPATs.
More information on our IT Acquisition Accessibility Compliance Program can
be found at http://mass.gov/accessibility if you'd like to borrow ideas.

sb
Sarah E. Bourne
Director of Assistive Technology &
Mass.Gov Chief Technology Strategist
Information Technology Division
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
617-626-4502
<EMAIL REMOVED>
http://www.mass.gov/itd
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