Goal 4: Procure accessible and equitable IT products and services
Vendors provide IT products and services involved in delivering Commonwealth programs and services. Procuring accessible and equitable digital products is essential to a successful digital accessibility practice.
Strategy 7: Incorporate digital accessibility and equity requirements into IT procurement processes
The Commonwealth will provide guidance for procurement staff and information on active contracts related to digital accessibility and equity. This will improve our ability to monitor vendors for compliance with accessibility requirements.
Goal 5: Empower Commonwealth employees to advance digital accessibility and equity
Commonwealth employees are our most powerful asset. They deliver services and products that meet our community's needs. Training is essential to provide basic and specialized training for state employees.
Strategy 8: Develop, deliver, and track general and role-specific digital accessibility and equity trainings
An effective training program is role-specific and multimodal. Well-defined base knowledge and skills, incentives, and completion tracking will strengthen the training effort further.
Goal 6: Design, build, and maintain accessible and equitable digital services, programs, and activities
Accessibility and equity start with planning and design. Digital services Commonwealth staff will work to embed accessibility and equity requirements into all stages of the software development lifecycle. This ensures digital apps meet technical standards and work with assistive technology.
Strategy 9: Understand people’s needs and experiences with our digital services
The Commonwealth will evaluate its digital content and applications to deliver services to people with disabilities and other communities effectively. This evaluation can use user experience research, usability testing, and accessibility testing, among other methods.
Strategy 10: Embed digital accessibility and equity requirements into the software development lifecycle
The Commonwealth will pursue a combination of automated and manual testing, role-based operating procedures, enabling software for key roles, and user testing to integrate accessibility and equity requirements into the software development lifecycle.
Strategy 11: Remediate existing software to meet technical standards
Executive offices will establish auditing and remediation processes for digital applications.
Strategy 12: Create and maintain accessible and equitable digital content (e.g., electronic documents, multimedia, social media, and digital communications)
Digital content other than software requires separate procedures, checklists, and support materials to address digital accessibility and equity.
- Creating Accessible Electronic Documents and Communications
- Video Accessibility
- Social Media Post Accessibility
Strategy 13: Develop and implement an action plan for remediating existing digital content
Executive offices will audit and remediate existing content to meet current accessibility standards. They will do this based on user impact and traffic.