Industry Perspective of Section 508

1. Information Technology Industry Council Industry Perspective of Section 508 John Godfrey jgodfrey@itic.org (202) 626-5734 NIST Accessibility 2001 22 May 2001

2. ITI and Section 508 • Association of the largest U.S. IT companies • ITI members employ over 1.2 million in the U.S. and perform over 15% of all U.S. industrially funded research and development • Supported Section 508 as a participant in E&IT Accessibility Advisory Committee • Our goal: • successful implementation of Section 508 for government, industry, and employees and members of the public with disabilities

3. What ITI members are doing on Section 508 • R&D of accessible products and services • examples are featured throughout this conference • progress dates from long before Section 508 • Federal market demand is increasing the pace • Participating in policy and other forums • use good public policy and education to promote efficient, market-driven demand for accessibility • Results benefit all users of E&IT • not only people with disabilities

4. Performance standards • Performance standards (like most in 508) are preferable to prescriptive design standards • permit innovative accessibility solutions • preserve flexibility to design alternative approaches, whether built-in or bundled • Performance standards may be more subjective to evaluate than design standards • HOWEVER: “forced” objectivity at cost of design freedom would put a ceiling on accessibility

5. Bundling and interoperability • Plug-and-play compatibility and customized, bundled solutions are typical industry practice • Customization depends on interoperability between parts of systems • proprietary interfaces are used by vendors and integrators to build bundled systems • open interfaces can be used more broadly, but consensus may require more time and effort • Over time, features often migrate into core

6. IT-AT compatibility • Compatibility with Assistive Technology (AT) is high priority for Section 508 implementation • AT vendors have specialized knowledge in their area, but not necessarily in E&IT • dialogue and collaboration are needed • ITI-administered Committee V2 • American National Standards Institute processes • project under way to define parameters of AT compatibility; results could be used to define IT-AT protocols for specific systems, devices

7. Efficient procurement • An efficient market requires communication • agencies define their E&IT needs, incorporating 508 provisions, training/education materials, and communication with all stakeholders • agencies perform market research to find out what is available that meets their needs • vendors who meet needs will gain in the market • Industry will communicate with government • voluntary communication about specifically how products and services support the 508 provisions

8. Industry’s responsibility to communicate to government • Finding the right level of information to give • must be useful and usable by procurement officers • a one-size-fits-all “508 certification” would be rigid, subject to interpretation, and give too little information • alternative work in progress: a voluntary Web based template mapped to the 508 provisions • Experience will show how to improve the communication and sharpen the market

9. A partnership • Consumers, government, E&IT industry, and AT industry must continue to collaborate for Section 508 to succeed • IT industry’s jobs: • work with users to learn about accessibility needs • do our part to help our customers make informed choices, get best value, and buy what they need • innovate and produce accessibility solutions