Make digital services accessible

You should have an accessibility plan/s for ensuring new and existing digital services are accessible within time frames outlined in the digital services assessment framework and the transition plan for the digital services policy. This may be agency-wide or for individual digital services and may be separate or incorporated into other planning processes.

In Discovery stage

During the Discovery stage you will have developed a good understanding of how your users may access your service. To make sure everyone will be able to use your service you need to show:

the type of environments users may access the service in, including with different browsers and desktop and mobile devices, and when connections are slower and there may be limited data (for example, through user stories)
diversity in research recruitment and targeted users, including people from different cultural backgrounds and people with disability
consideration of situational and environmental limitations that affect a users ability to access the product
the plan to meet accessibility requirements in the design of the product (for example, how it will meet meet the latest version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) both Level A and AA.
what digital assistance might be needed to support users (for example, web chat, telephone assistance, face-to-face, clear instructions, checklists, and so on).

In Alpha stage

During the Alpha stage:

your prototypes can accommodate users from different backgrounds and users with disability
any accessibility issues and barriers might need addressing in the Beta stage
you have access to facilities to perform testing on various devices or platforms (for example, a plan for testing)
the procurement of any platform or service whether paid or unpaid is in line with the Accessibility compliance in procurement ensuring accessibility for people with a disability guide.

In Beta stage

During the Beta stage you will be developing your service and you must make sure accessibility requirements and needs of all your users are being met.

This may include:

iteration in the design and content of your service to meet accessibility requirements and improve usability for people with disability
non-digital access and support for people unable to use, or struggling with, the digital service
end-to-end user journeys, including assisted digital journeys, and demonstrate that they work and how you tested them
how you've included cultural and linguistically diverse communities in your design
a plan to include translation for non-English speaking audiences, as appropriate
you have testing environments, systems and approaches for non-digital parts of the service, including assisted digital routes (for example, a testing plan)
how the service will perform under expected loads, including assisted digital routes
strong understanding of the environments your users may access the service in, for example which browsers, desktop and mobile devices they will use, and which remote locations; you might use user stories and a journey map to show this
definition of supported browsers and devices, and how they are accommodated
any barriers to the digital service and its content on mobile devices, and plans to address them
the design requirements for users using a mobile device and other identified environments (for example, design specifications)
how you have tested for the users ability to complete all digital transactions on supported devices and platforms
detail of users interactions with the product during testing
a demonstration your service in a live-like environment
the majority of users can access the service in their environment.

As you launch publicly you should be able to show:

your service is accessible
evidence that your service meets the latest version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) both Level A and AA
evidence of usability testing, including users with low level digital skills, people with disability, and people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
a run through of how you've designed and tested for users of assistive technologies based on user research, usability testing and analytics
ongoing testing plans for accessibility so that your users can continue to access the service.

In Discovery stage

In Alpha stage

In Beta stage

WCAG and techniques

Evaluation

Content

Easy read documents (examples)

Training

Statistics and user research

Procurement

Further reading

Cultural acknowledgement

Make digital services accessible

Minimum you need to do

Why it's in the standard

How you can meet the standard

In Discovery stage

In Alpha stage

In Beta stage

Guidance related to this criteria

WCAG and techniques

Evaluation

Content

Easy read documents (examples)

Training

Statistics and user research

Procurement

Further reading

Further reading