About these guides We understand that there can be common aspects, organisations work in different ways and what works for one, might not fit so well with another. These guides are written as an example of what best practice might look like in your organisation, but it may be that you have to adjust what is recommended to accommodate your particular circumstances. Similarly the guides do not include detailed technical information as this would tie them to a specific technology or set of circumstances. Instead the guides convey important principals and approaches that can be applied in any industry and using any technology. Where appropriate the guides reference other sites and resources which contain more technical detail at the time of publication/last review. Introduction Why should we make everyone learn about accessibility? Traditionally, if accessibility was considered at all, it has been seen as the responsibility of a particular individual or team who developed the specialist knowledge required. In fact, it is best practice to make sure that everyone is aware of accessibility requirements, whatever their job role. The alternative is that when one person picks up on the need, they have to kick it back ‘up the chain’ for accessibility to be built in at the point(s) it was missed. Double-handling is never a good policy, and universal accessibility awareness will help to avoid that. It is true that not everyone needs to develop an in-depth understanding of all aspects of accessibility provision. What they should have is an understanding of how their own role can impact the accessibility of the organisation’s products, and where to go for help in making that a positive impact. Authors: Chris Felton, DWP Contributors: Paul Smyth, Barclays, Neil Milliken, Atos, Sean Smith, HMRC Editors: Lucy Ruck and Bela Gor Mandatory IT Accessibility Training Courses Management buy-in: To make accessibility training mandatory, you need a business case which persuades senior management that resources devoted to it will produce good returns.
Empathy training for developers will teach them not to accept customers’ solutions, but (in a suitably diplomatic way) to break them down and find out the basic requirements behind them. Those come from the customer’s ‘situation and motives.’ Once the requirements are reduced to functional needs, the developer can then design and build solutions from the ground up to be as efficient as possible. From the organisation’s point of view this empathetic approach will produce better designs for their IT solutions. They will run more quickly and efficiently and be structured with the capacity for future improvements in mind. The return on training for their developers will be immense. Further Reading: The Business Disability Forum and other organisations have a range of guidance products which cover the issues raised in this summary in more detail. They include: Accessible eLearning Guidelines [provide link when published] A uses case studies from a variety of organisations which demonstrate that informed, inclusive design results in smart, successful design. The Barclays staff consultation best practice guide gives further details on empathy training and the use of disability simulation kit, including vendors. It is available through the BDF website: . www.technologytaskforce.org Technology Taskforce is committed to ensuring that all its products and services are as accessible as possible to everyone, including disabled people. If you wish to discuss anything with regard to accessibility of this document please contact us. Registered charity no: 1018463. Registered Office: Nutmeg House, 60 Gainsford Street, London SE1 2NY. Registered in England under Company No. 2603700