[Athen] accessibility demonstration for rfp

[Sean Keegan]

Hi Nazely,


> My question is how you request the vendor to demonstrate in real time,

> like how would they demonstrate “remove style sheets”?


If the product is viewable in the browser, they could use the Web Developer
Toolbar (Firefox or Chrome plugin) to turn off CSS. That said, that's
probably not a requirement I would focus on.


> Or “well defined keyboard visual focus throughout”?


The simplest method is to use the tab-key to navigate around the web page.
Is there a visual focus ring around the interactive elements? The default
focus indicator for Safari and Chrome is a blue outline, but for Firefox,
it is a thin, dotted outline that is more difficult to perceive. It helps
to test in a few different browsers.


> What if they don’t have a screenreader? Does that mean they fail?


I think that is a decision you have to make for your specific
circumstances. In my opinion, if a product was to be used with students and
the vendor was claiming the product was accessible, but had never tested
with a screen-reader, I would be concerned. Also, it is important to note
that NVDA for Windows is available at no cost and VoiceOver is part of
macOS. Cost should not be a reason for not testing.

I have asked vendors to demonstrate similar actions and have not had too
much of an issue. Just a note - I don't "surprise" them in a demo and give
them plenty of advance notice along with a use case scenario (e.g., "I am a
student using a screen-reader and want to register for a course"). What
this has usually done is create a larger conversation about the
accessibility of the product and how the vendor should be conducting
accessibility tests.

I would also refer you to Mike Gifford's GitHub repo - "Building
Accessibility Best Practices into Contracting" (
https://github.com/mgifford/a11y-contracting/). Many of the questions in
that repo may help the vendor thinking about accessibility in a proactive
fashion before you even get to a demo of the product. If the vendor can't
answer any of those questions in a semi-knowledgable manner, then the demo
is the least of your concern.

Take care,
Sean
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