Web Accessibility Validation Scheme and Quality Mark
Author Note: The term "certification" is used in the following content according to its definition in ISO documents.
Dislaimer
Please, read carefully the disclaimer before any use of this curriculum.
Overview
Introduction
In several European countries, organizations working with disability groups have developed labeling schemes based on third party testing. In some cases they have been recognized by official governmental organizations. They also appear to have met expectations of Web site owners and small or medium sized Web agencies. In general these initiatives have been welcomed also by public opinions as a mean to force the path towards a more inclusive society. In several countries those organizations are exploring the possibility to adhere to certification or inspection schemes provided by international standards for certification or inspection.
The problem with these approaches is that regional schemes and lack of harmonization will lead to market fragmentation, increased costs, and thus deserve the benefits of end-users. A first step towards harmonising was found in holding a CEN/ISSS Workshop ([CEN]) on "Specifications for a Web Accessibility Conformity Assessment Scheme and a Web Accessibility Quality Mark" in the frame of the Support-EAM project.
Objectives
The objective of this module is to make the reader familiar with the problem of market fragmentation in the field of Web Accessibility validation and to explain the process and the results of the above mentioned CEN/ISSS Workshop.
Contents
Background
Market fragmentation
Concerning Web Accessibility, no international norm exists. But the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines of W3C/WAI are recognised by European countries as a recommendation. Several national organisations, in co-operation with stakeholders (Web professionals, consumer and user organisations, administrations, etc.), have undertaken the adaptation of these recommendations into national reference documents, norms, technical rules or even labels. One can mention for instance :
National policies documents
- France: "Référentiel accessibilité des services Internet de l'administration française", reference document regarding the label AccessiWeb, developed by BrailleNet, published by ADAE (which is now integrated into DGME) in 2004 ([NORMDOC-FR])
- Italy: "Requisiti tecnici e i diversi livelli per l'accessibilità agli strumenti informatici", decree of 8 July 2005, published in the Official Journal n. 183 on 8 August 2005 ([NORMDOC-IT])
- Netherlands: "Normative Document Drempelvrij", prepared by a normative commission ([NORMDOC-NL])
- Spain: "Requisitos de Accesibilidad para Contenidos en la Web", UNE 139803:2004, developed by AENOR, the Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification ([NORMDOC-ES])
- UK: "PAS 78: Guide to Good Practice in commissioning Accessible Websites", developed by BSI British Standards ([NORMDOC-UK])
Existing quality marks
Several existing quality marks around Europe and in the United States are currently running:
- Accessibility Mark ([LABEL-IT]), Italy
- AccessiWeb ([LABEL-FR]), France
- BlindSurfer ([LABEL-BE]), Belgium
- Drempelvrij.nl ([LABEL-NL]), The Netherlands
- Excellence through Accessibility Award ([LABEL-IE]), Ireland
- NCAM ([LABEL-US1]), USA
- Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification Seal ([LABEL-US2]), USA
- See it Right ([LABEL-UK]), UK
- Sello de Accesibilidad Technosite ([LABEL-ES]), Spain
- W-Mark ([LABEL-W-MARK]), Ireland, UK, USA, Australia
Moreover, several countries have already implemented laws and policies regarding Web Accessibility ([POLICIES]). Some of them reference directly to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines of W3C/WAI ([WCAG-1.0], [WCAG-2.0]), while others are built on the national references mentioned above.
Can Web sites be evaluated and validated?
It is sometimes objected that Web sites are changing permanently making any evaluation obsolete immediately after it has been completed. Several answers can be given to this point:
- This is not specific to Web sites, but rather usual in evaluating and validating many services. The same question could as well be raised for services welcoming the public, elevators, tourist sites, etc.
- There are solutions to the problem of changeability:
- The frequency of controls could be adapted to the nature of services.
- Controls can be performed with the assistance of tools.
- The services are continously exposed to public, so complaints can be collected in real-time.
What is needed for Web Accessibility validation?
Nevertheless, neither the WCAG nor the national adaptations can constitute the technical instrument for validating a Web site by themselves, because these documents do not contain the methods for deciding the conformity or not. To summarize, the following questions have to be answered in order to apply accessibility validation to Web sites:
- What are the criteria the Web sites have to conform to in order to be validated?
(These criteria should of course be based on WCAG.) - How can conformance to these criteria be decided?
(This implies the need for an evaluation methodology.) - How could a scheme for Web Accessibility validation look like (certification, inspection or self-declaration)? And how can standard validation schemes commonly used in Europe be applied to Web Accessibility validation?
To find an answer for the last of the three items, a CEN/ISSS Workshop on "Specifications for a Web Accessibility Conformity Assessment Scheme and a Web Accessibility Quality Mark" ([WS-AFNOR], [WS-CEN]) has been initiated in the frame of the Support-EAM project. Details and results from the workshop will be discussed in the next chapter.
CEN Workshop
General
The CEN/ISSS Workshop mentioned above provided an opportunity to build up a first level European agreement on how standard validation schemes commonly used in Europe can apply to Web Accessibility validation. The purpose of the workshop was to reach a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) on "Specifications for a Web Accessibility Conformity Assessment Scheme and a Web Accessibility Quality Mark".
In general, participation in a CEN Workshop is open to everyone. Therefore, it is a great possibility for all stakeholders to discuss their needs and find a common solution. Besides the Support-EAM project partners, organisations from industry, research and government as well as user / consumer organisations participated in the workshop, so all market players were included.
Meeting agenda
To discuss and work on the CEN Workshop Agreement, the members of the workshop held five face-to-face meetings in Brussels or Paris respectively.
- April 14, 2005: Kickoff meeting (Brussels)
- June 22-23, 2005: First meeting (Paris)
- October 19-20, 2005: Second meeting (Paris)
- December 14-15, 2005: Third meeting (Paris)
- March 14-15, 2006: Final meeting (Brussels)
Business plan
During the Kickoff meeting, the business plan ([CEN-BP]) for the workshop has been validated. It identified four main sections to work on:
- Specifications for a European Authority for Web Accessibility Certification
- Specifications for the Organizations that can issue the Web Accessibility Quality Mark
- Specifications for the Process to be followed by each Organization before Issuing the Web Accessibility Quality Mark
- Specifications for other Good Practices to be followed by Organizations Issuing the Web Accessibility Quality Mark
Further information
Additional information regarding the CEN Workshop on "Specifications for a Web Accessibility Conformity Assessment Scheme and a Web Accessibility Quality Mark" can be found on the Workshop Web sites by CEN and AFNOR ([WS-CEN], [WS-AFNOR]).
CEN Workshop Agreement
General
Four editing groups have been set up in the CEN Workshop in order to discuss the four sections of the business plan and to make recommendations. The work of the editing groups has been based on an analysis of existing European marking schemes and on comments from stakeholders, and their possible applicability to the specific case of Web Accessibility. Three different models have been evaluated, always taking into account existing standards ([ISO-17000]):
- inspection ([ISO-17020])
- product certification ([ISO-65])
- supplier's declaration of conformity ([ISO-17050-1], [ISO-17050-2])
During the third meeting, the results of the work of the four editing groups have been harmonised in one single document. This document has then been opened for public comments for a period of 2 months (from December 20, 2005 till February 20, 2006). After these public comments have been incorporated during the final meeting, the final CEN Workshop Agreement ([CEN-WA]) has been published on MONTH DAY, YEAR.
Outcomes
Basic principles
As mentioned above, three different possibilities for Web Accessibility conformity assessments have been analysed: inspection, product certification and supplier's declaration of conformity. These three possible schemes are built on a common basis:
- A European Authority for Web Accessibility Conformity Assessment (EAWAC) will be built up, which is also refered to as "the institute" in the CWA.
- This EAWAC, which also holds external relations to the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA), the European Committee
for Standardisation (CEN) and the European Union (EU), consists of:
- Committee of Experts,
- Complaints Committee,
- Stakeholders (Website owners, Users),
- Participants.
- The Committee of Experts, which holds external relations to W3C and standardisation bodies, releases the normative document (which shall be in line with the adopted version of the W3C/WAI WCAG).
- All organisations performing Web Accessibility conformity assessment (through inspection, product certification or supplier's declaration of conformity) apply this normative document.
- Websites that use the Quality Mark according to the scheme are listed in a register and presented in a gallery by the EAWAC.
For a more detailed description of these basic aspects that all three schemes have in common we refer to chapter 7 of the CEN Workshop Agreement entitled "Specifications for a European Authority for Web Accessibility Conformity Assessment" and to chapter 8.1 entitled "Specifications for the organisations that can issue the web accessibility quality mark - Generalities".
The following subchapters will give some additional information and present graphical representations of the three possible schemes. For more information on the complete scheme we refer to the final CWA ([CEN-WA]).
Inspection
Organisations that issue the Web Accessibility Quality Mark following inspection, have to meet the requirements of
ISO/IEC 17020:1998 "General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection"
([ISO-17020]).
The following picture shows a graphical representation of the scheme according to organisations performing inspection.
It summarizes how the single players (EAWAC, inspection body, accreditation structure and external relations) are linked
to each other in the case of inspection. For more detailed specifications we refer to chapter 8.2 "Inspection
organisations" and to chapter 9.1 "Inspection" of the CEN Workshop Agreement.
Product certification
Organisations that issue the Web Accessibility Quality Mark following product certification, have to meet the requirements of
ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 "General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems "
([ISO-65]).
The following picture shows a graphical representation of the scheme according to organisations performing certification.
It summarizes how the single players (EAWAC, certification body, accreditation structure and external relations) are linked
to each other in the case of product certification. For more detailed specifications we refer to chapter 8.3 "Certification
organisations" and to chapter 9.2 "Certification" of the CEN Workshop Agreement.
Supplier's declaration of conformity
Those suppliers wishing to use the Web Accessibility Quality Mark in conjunction with a supplier's declaration of conformity,
shall warrant that they meet the criteria contained in ISO/IEC 17050-1:2004 "Conformity assessment - Supplier's declaration
of conformity - Part 1: General requirements" ([ISO-17050-1]) and ISO/IEC 17050-2:2004
"Conformity assessment - Supplier's declaration of conformity - Part 2: Supporting documentation"
([ISO-17050-2]).
The following picture shows a graphical representation of the scheme according to organisations performing supplier's declaration
of conformity. It summarizes how the single players (EAWAC, supplier, external relations) are linked to each other in the case of
supplier's declaration of conformity. For more detailed specifications we refer to chapter 8.4 and 9.3 of the CEN Workshop
Agreement, both entitled "Supplier's declaration of conformity".
Self-evaluation
Question 1
Which of the following is not an existing European label?
- AccessiWeb
- BlindSurfer
- Drempelvrij.nl
- See it through
Question 2
Which of the following statements about CEN Workshops is true?
- A CEN Workshop produces a norm.
- The objective of a CEN Workshop is to reach a CWA.
- Participation in a CEN Workshop is limited to stakeholders from the industry.
- Before publishing the final CWA, there is a period of 3 months for public comments.
Question 3
Which of the following possibilities for performing Web Accessibility conformity assessment are covered by the scheme presented in the CWA?
- Product certification
- Supplier's declaration of conformity
- Inspection
- All of the above
Annex
References
- [CEN]
- General information on CEN/ISSS Workshops
- [CEN-BP]
- CEN Workshop Business Plan (PDF)
- [CEN-WA]
- Final CEN Workshop Agreement (DOC)
- [ISO-17000]
- ISO/IEC 17000:2004 - Conformity assessment - Vocabulary and general principles
- [ISO-17020]
- ISO/IEC 17020:1998 - General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection (EN ISO/IEC 17020:2004, formerly EN45004)
- [ISO-17050-1]
- ISO/IEC 17050-1:2004 - Conformity assessment - Supplier's declaration of conformity - Part 1: General requirements (formerly EN45014)
- [ISO-17050-2]
- ISO/IEC 17050-2:2004 - Conformity assessment - Supplier's declaration of conformity - Part 2: Supporting documentation (formerly EN45014)
- [ISO-65]
- ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 - General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems (DIN EN 45011:1998)
- [LABEL-BE]
- BlindSurfer, Belgium
- [LABEL-ES]
- Sello de Accesibilidad Technosite, Spain
- [LABEL-FR]
- AccessiWeb, France
- [LABEL-IE]
- Excellence through Accessibility Award, Ireland
- [LABEL-IT]
- Accessibility Mark, Italy
- [LABEL-NL]
- Drempelvrij.nl, The Netherlands
- [LABEL-UK]
- See it Right, UK
- [LABEL-US1]
- NCAM, USA
- [LABEL-US2]
- Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification Seal, USA
- [LABEL-W-MARK]
- W-Mark, Ireland, UK, USA, Austrialia
- [NORMDOC-ES]
- Aplicaciones informáticas para personas con discapacidad. Requisitos de accesibilidad para contenidos en la Web.
- [NORMDOC-FR]
- Référentiel accessibilité des services Internet de l'administration française
- [NORMDOC-IT]
- Requisiti tecnici e i diversi livelli per l'accessibilità agli strumenti informatici
- [NORMDOC-NL]
- Quality Mark drempelvrij.nl, normative document
- [NORMDOC-UK]
- P.A.S. 78 - Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Websites
- [POLICIES]
- Policies Relating to Web Accessibility - a compilation written by WAI
- [WCAG-1.0]
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
- [WCAG-2.0]
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Working Draft
- [WS-AFNOR]
- Workshop Web site on AFNOR site
- [WS-CEN]
- Workshop Web site on CEN site