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How to read a �VPAT (ACR)

@accessibilityoz

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Meet our team

@accessibilityoz

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  • Dyslexia
  • Moderate vision impairment
  • Epilepsy
  • Migraines
  • Severe vision impairment
  • Physical impairment
  • PTSD
  • Crohn’s Disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Cerebral Palsy

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@accessibilityoz

@accessibilityoz

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It’s not just �about vision impairments

@accessibilityoz

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About our services

Audits

Mobile

Testing

Building

Websites

CMS

Testing

Accessibility

Design

Video

Accessibility

User

Testing

OS/browser

Testing

Consultation

Accessible

Testing

CMS

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@accessibilityoz

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About our products

Factsheets

Videos

More information: www.accessibilityoz.com

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@accessibilityoz

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About Gian

1998

Worked on first accessible website in Australia

Created Australia’s first automated accessibility testing tool

Invited Expert to W3C WCAG2 Working Group

Worked on Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games

Managed Usability and Accessibility Services at Monash University

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Founded AccessibilityOz

Released OzPlayer

Released OzArt

Spoke at the United Nations �on web accessibility

Inducted into the Australia’s Hall of Fame as Accessibility Person of the Year 2019

Chair of Mobile Accessibility Testing Guidelines

2024

@accessibilityoz

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What is the difference between a VPAT �and ACR?

@accessibilityoz

www.accessibilityoz.com

pz.tt/vpat

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What is an ACR?

@accessibilityoz

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What is an ACR?

  • An explanation of the accessibility compliance of a product
  • Owned and often assessed by the product vendor
  • Required by Section 508 and (almost all) Federal solicitations

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What an ACR is not

  • An accessibility audit report of a product
  • Only for Government
  • Only for web products
  • Always accurate
  • A good indicator of ATAG compliance

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Some ACR categories

  • Web products
  • Operating systems
  • Desktop software
  • Photocopiers
  • Telephones, tablets and smart phones

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@accessibilityoz

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Sections of an ACR

  • Title “[Company Name] Accessibility Conformance Report”
  • Name of Product and version
  • Product Description
  • Report Date

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Sections of an ACR

  • Contact information
  • Notes
  • Evaluation Methods Used
  • Report Information
  • Terms

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Sections of an ACR

  • Tables for each WCAG standard or guideline
  • Additional sections for Section 508 requirements

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How to tell if an ACR is reasonable in 10 minutes or less

@accessibilityoz

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Red flags for ACRs

@accessibilityoz

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Red flags for ACRs

  • Have an inaccurate or unclear description of the product
  • Does the Notes section explicitly says the VPAT does not cover essential features?
  • Not dated or dated over 12 months*

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Red flags for ACRs

  • Not using the latest version of the VPAT (which is 2.5: November 2023)*
  • Not contain details of testing undertaken (“evaluation methods used”), or generic descriptions

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@accessibilityoz

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Red flags for ACRs

  • Automated testing only in the Evaluation Methods
  • Mention only of screen readers in the Evaluation Methods
  • No mention of mobile and mobile assistive technology testing*

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@accessibilityoz

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Red flags for ACRs

  • Missing or inaccurate Contact information
  • “Not evaluated” in Level A or AA
  • One VPAT for multiple products*
  • Cells without content

@accessibilityoz

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Red flags for ACRs

  • Terminology such as “Passes”, “Fails”
  • A lot of “NA”
  • All “Supports”*

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@accessibilityoz

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What does a good ACR look like?

@accessibilityoz

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A good ACR will…

  • Have explanations for each criteria
  • Uses conventional wording: “Supports”, “Partially Supports”, “Does not Support”, “Not Applicable”
  • Stand up to questioning

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A good ACR will…

  • Have been written by someone other than the product vendor*
  • Have a clear description of the product, including associated features
  • Refer to existing accessibility testing tools in the testing undertaken

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Assessing the accuracy of an ACR

@accessibilityoz

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First, read through the ACR

@accessibilityoz

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Read through the ACR

  • Does the ACR contain reference to known accessibility issues with the product? If you don’t know the product – Google it!
  • Read through the description – does it accurately describe the product and its essential features?

@accessibilityoz

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Read through the ACR

  • Read through the Evaluation Methods. Do they sound reasonable?
  • Are there NAs for features the product definitely has?

@accessibilityoz

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Read through the ACR

  • Are the exceptions reasonable or will they block access to essential functionality?

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Second, do some testing

@accessibilityoz

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Testing the accuracy of an ACR- keyboard

2.1.1: Keyboard: Test the product with the keyboard. If you find any issues are they indicated in the ACR?

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Testing the accuracy of an ACR- movement

2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide: Is there movement in the site? Does it have an accessible (mouse, keyboard, touch) pause feature or does it stop within 5 seconds. If not, is this included in the ACR?

@accessibilityoz

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Testing the accuracy of an ACR – skip links

2.4.1: Bypass Blocks: Does every page have a skip link and is it the first focusable link on the page? If not, is this included in the ACR?

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Testing the accuracy of an ACR – skip links

3.3.1: Error identification: Submit an empty or incorrect form. Are the errors described appropriately? Do they have suggestions? If not, is this included in the ACR?”

@accessibilityoz

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Testing the accuracy of an ACR – accessibility testing

Conduct a high-level accessibility audit (or hire someone to do it)

@accessibilityoz

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Testing the accuracy of an ACR – user testing with people with disabilities with assistive technologies

Ask potential users to see if they can use the product with their assistive technology*

@accessibilityoz

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Third, reach out to the vendor

@accessibilityoz

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What do you do if there are red flags?

Question, question, question!

  • “Why is this dated 14 months ago? Has the product not been updated in 14 months?”
  • “Why did you say this section is NA when the product has this feature?”

@accessibilityoz

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More questions

  • “What kind of testing did you do to ensure compliance?”
  • “Why did you decide to fill out this ACR internally?”
  • “Why does the description omit essential features of the product?”

@accessibilityoz

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More questions

  • “Why did you decide to test with only one screen reader?”
  • “There are a lot of Partially Supports. Do you have a timeline as to when these issues will be fixed?”

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@accessibilityoz

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What next?

@accessibilityoz

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What next?

  • Develop a timeline
  • Update the contract
  • Develop an EEAAP (Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan)

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@accessibilityoz

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Q&A

@accessibilityoz

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Australia, USA, Europe

inquiries@�accessibilityoz.�com

US: �415 621 9366