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Re: How long between accessibility test/audits?

for

From: Scott Tate
Date: May 29, 2019 1:37PM

If you want a bit of 'hard love' as we call it in the US, we at Blndspt (and many other places including WebAIM themselves) feel like it's an ongoing process, not a reactive catch all that is performed on intervals. Tenon, Monsido, Cyxtera and others all make tools that help you build it into normal software development processes (e.g. test code on a build). Build a proactive process! Build accessibility testing into your QA processes for all the systems you engineer!

I can say with past experience that companies who treat accessibility testing (and remediation) as a scheduled or reactive process almost always fall out of compliance. This has a lot to do with priority. When an urgent project comes along, I promise the first thing to forego will be accessibility compliance. If you (or your colleagues) need help building a culture, the any one of 100 of us (including the WebAIM folks) can help you!

If your guidance is around education, government, or some other fixed annual budget area, facilitate annual budgets for tools and process updates, not projects for reactive testing and remediation!

Cheers!
Scott Tate
CIO, Blndspt.com

http://www.blndspt.com/accessibility


-----Original Message-----
From: James A. < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Tuesday, May 28, 2019 2:23 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: [WebAIM] How long between accessibility test/audits?

Hello everyone,

I am after views on how often accessibility tests/audits should be undertaken on a site once an initial audit has been completed. Do people have a general guideline on the maximum time lapse between audits when previous compliance claims can be considered valid? I realise that in agile development environment timeframes may be irrelevant so are there particular level or type of functionality changes that would mean that a new audit would be required?

To give some context, I am writing some guidance with colleagues in the university sector on the European Public Sector Website and Mobile Applications regulations. Some of the requirements only come into force after a website and/or content undergoes "substantially revision" or "updated" but neither of these terms have been defined. The closest mention to any timeframe is in relation to accessibility statements where is states:

"It is recommended that the claims made in the accessibility statement are reviewed as regards their accuracy on a regular basis, and at least once per year. If such a review has taken place without a full evaluation of the website/mobile app, whether or not such a review has led to any changes in the accessibility statement, please indicate the date of the last such review."

Many thanks in advance

Abi


Dr Abi James

Accessibility Consultant and Reaseacher