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PAS78
Entitled ‘Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites’, PAS78 was launched on 8th March 2006 at an event hosted by Ann Maguire (Minister for Disabled People) in London.
The origins of the document lie in the DRC’s April 2004 formal investigation into the state of web accessibility in the UK which detailed some alarming findings on the state of UK web accessibility. As a result, the DRC commissioned the British Standards Institute (BSI) to produce a Publicly Available Specification (PAS), with the intention of outlining good practice in commissioning websites that are both accessible and usable by disabled people.
The document was eventually authored by a diverse range of well respected accessibility campaigners including Julie Howell (RNIB) as well as representatives from the BBC, IBM, the Cabinet Office and Tesco.
Who should read PAS78?
As the title of the document suggests, PAS78’s intended audience are the commissioners of web sites as opposed to developers. At the launch event, DRC commissioner Michael Burton explained the need for an ‘accountability framework’ which goes ’straight to board level’.
Nevertheless, PAS78 makes excellent reading for anyone involved in the the development of accessible sites. Service providers should familiarise themselves with the document, especially Annex C which provides suggested questions for suppliers
. As a random example, C.2 on page 38 asks for the following:
Describe how you will validate early designs with users, including disabled users, and how feedback will be taken forward with your design process.
Pros
- Reinforces the business case of accessibility
- Introduces accessibility to the early stages of the development cycle
- Demystifies otherwise complicated areas
- Ensures suppliers are accountable for the levels of accessibility they develop to
- The cost. Arguable this one. In fact, some have taken the opposing line but surely £30 is a nominal fee to pay for the insight in to such an important issue. In fact, I’d go as far as to say with a huge variety of different voices debating accessibility for free, the cost may be the necessary point of differentiation for managers to take the message seriously.
- Underlines the importance of user testing and the long term maintenance of accessibility levels
- Advocates an honest and detailed accessibility statement for all sites.
Cons
- Legal status. PAS78 is not currently a British Standard, but as work in progress, may form the basis for one in the future. As such, it would be difficult to use the document as anything more than circumstantial support for a case of discrimination. That said, this has to start somewhere and bearing in mind the length of time required for a full standard to be ratified, this is more than adequate starting point.
- Relies heavily on the WAI guidelines which, as many agree are outdated and have been for some time.
Conclusion
Since it’s inception, PAS78 has been a hotly debated topic. For me, it is an excellent step in the right direction and it’s authors deserve huge credit for co-ordinating and publishing such an informative and powerful document. Despite a few minor flaws, PAS78 again pushes the UK to the forefront of web accessibility and represents an excellent framework for what I’m sure everyone will agree should be a formal British Standard.
Where to find it?
PAS78, can be ordered as a downloadable PDF (600k) from the BSI website. It is also available in the following alternative formats:
- large print,
- easy read,
- Word,
- audio,
- braille,
- daisy
- Welsh
Contact BSI Customer Services on +44 (0)20 8996 9001 for more details.
Update
It seems the good folks over at the DRC are now allowing one electronic copy of the guidance as a free download.