Work has begun on the development of a full British
Standard fordeveloping accessible
websites.
According to E-Access Bulletin, the
free e-mail newsletter on
access to technology by people with disabilities, the British
Standards Institution (BSI) has assembled a technical committee to
oversee the development of a full standard.
Julie Howell, former RNIB digital access campaigner and
currently head of accessibility at the digital agency Fortune
Cookie, is the chair elect. Other committee members are likely to
come from organisations such as the British Computer Society, the
Cabinet Office, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The BSi has already published a PAS (publicly available
specification) 78 - "A guide to good practice in commissioning
accessible websites", and this has been downloaded 54,000
times.
The new standard will not set out the technical requirements of
accessibility, but will outline a process developers can follow to
ensure they are making their websites and services inclusive.
The standard will include the need for user testing of websites
by disabled people, and the need for organisations to produce an
accessibility policy.
The standard is likely to be published in the first quarter of
2009, Howell says, and the committee IST/45 could eventually
produce other work such as leaflets and training materials.
Howell said, "We have all agreed this has to be fast - I do not
want it to be so collaborative and consultative that it takes a
decade."