The document discusses challenges with Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs). It provides an overview of what a VPAT is, including that it is a tool to document a product's conformance with Section 508 accessibility standards. However, it notes that VPATs can be difficult for consumers to interpret and compare products. Specifically, VPATs may lack detail, have subjective assessments, and it is hard to verify claims without the product. The document provides tips for evaluating a VPAT, such as reviewing the language, using accessibility checkers, testing with a screen reader, meeting with the company, and getting user feedback.

1. Is the product accessible?
CHALLENGES WITH
VPATS
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2. The Accessibility Experts
Kathleen Wahlbin
Email: KathyW@ia11y.com
Phone: 978-443-0798
http://www.interactiveaccessibility.com
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3. VPATS
How do I know if the VPAT is
accurate?
If the VPAT says supports, does
that mean it will work with
assistive technology?
What do we need to comply
with? Are there exceptions?
What is a VPAT?
What about 3rd Party
Applications?
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4. What is VPAT?
WHAT IS VPAT?
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5. What is VPAT? What is it’s Purpose?
• Stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template
• A tool to document a product's conformance with
Section 508
• Assists procurement departments and government
agencies in making initial assessments of the level of
accessibility
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6. Section 508
Software
Web
Telecommunications
Video & multimedia
Self-contained, closed products
Computers
Documentation / Support services
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7. Format of VPAT
• List of the Section 508 standards with summary
– Summary table provides an overall level of conformance
to Section 508
– Series of Section 1194 tables list the detailed
requirements and the level of conformance to each
provision
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8. Summary Table
Guideline
Applicable Compliance
Section 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating
Applicable
Systems
Supports through Equivalent
Facilitation
Section 1194.22 Web-based internet information and
Applicable
Supports
applications
Section 1194.23 Telecommunications Products
Not Applicable -
Section 1194.24 Video and Multi-media Products
Not Applicable -
Section 1194.25 Self-Contained, Closed Products
Not Applicable -
Section 1194.26 Desktop and Portable Computers
Not Applicable -
Section 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria
Applicable
Section 1194.41 Information, documentation, and
Not Applicable -
Supports with exceptions
support.
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9. Summary Table
• Table of each of the sections
• Section is compliant if all the provisions meet the
requirements
– Supports
– Supports through equivalent facilitation
– Supports when combined with compatible AT
• Section is partially met if any of the requirements are
“supports with exceptions”
• Section does not meet the requirements if any
provisions has “does not support”
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10. Detail Requirements
• Each table has three columns as follows:
Column Name
Purpose
Criteria:
Describes a specific provision
Supporting Features:
Provides a summary of the support for the
subpart of provision
Remarks/Explanations:
Explains how it does or does not support the
provision
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11. Level of Support
Supporting Feature Phrase
What It Means
Supports
Fully meets the provision
Supports with Exceptions
Does not fully meet but provides some level of access
Supports through Equivalent
Facilitation
Meets by providing an alternative method
Supports when combined with
Meets the provision when used with compatible assistive
compatible AT
technology
Does not Support
Does not meet the provision
Not Applicable
Provision does not apply
Not Applicable – fundamental
Fundamental alternation of the product would be required to
alternation exception applies
meet the criteria
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12. Example – Section 1194.21
Criteria
Supporting Features
(a) When software is designed to run on a system Supports through
that has a keyboard, product functions shall be
equivalent facilitation
Remarks and explanations
The website can be accessed with the keyboard except for the drag
and drop form control, increase and decrease value and the
executable from a keyboard where the function
calendar control. An alternative and equivalent version has been
itself or the result of performing a function can be
provided for all data entry.
discerned textually.
(b) Applications shall not disrupt or disable
Supports
The website does not disrupt or disable Windows operating system
activated features of other products that are
accessibility features such as high contrast mode, filter keys, toggle
identified as accessibility features, where those
keys, sticky keys, and the on-screen keyboard.
features are developed and documented
according to industry standards. Applications also
shall not disrupt or disable activated features of
any operating system that are identified as
accessibility features where the application
programming interface for those accessibility
features has been documented by the
manufacturer of the operating system and is
available to the product developer.
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13. What Sections Are Required?
• Websites
– Subsection 22 & 31
• Web applications
– Subsection 21, 22, 31 and most of the time 41
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14. WCAG 2.0 Statement of Accessibility
• Two options:
– Accessibility statement describing level of compliance with
WCAG 2.0 success criteria
– Conformance claim
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15. CHALLENGES WITH VPATS
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16. Company Perspective
Release schedules often tight
Balance between features and accessibility
Time for accessibility testing
Large, distributed teams
New staff may not know accessibility
New product acquisitions / third party applications
Section 508 is outdated set of guidelines so does not
always make sense given current technology
• Telling too much can hurt the sale of the product
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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17. VPAT Consumer Perspective
• Procurement officer does not know how to interpret it
• Difficult to know whether or not the VPAT is accurate and
complete
• Often does not have a lot of information
• Information contained in the VPAT may be confusing
• Product may not be available to verify the information
• Hard to compare competing products based on VPAT
– Subjectivity by VPAT authors and product reviewers
– Detail and completeness may vary by authors
– The product with fewer apparent problems may get selected even if
it is not the most accessible
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18. General Issues with VPATs
• Provisions are high-level and do not provide enough
information to know if it will work for a person with a
disability
• Meeting the guidelines does not always mean it will
work well with all assistive technology
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19. What challenges do you face?
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20. What is a good VPAT?
• Has enough information to know what the issues
are and the impact of those issues
• Clearly identifies what areas of the site are
covered under the VPAT
• Documents types of users who may have issues
with the product
• Provides details for all provisions on how it meets
or does not meet the requirements
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21. What are some examples of good VPATS?
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22. Example VPAT language
(d) Sufficient information
about a user interface
element including the
identity, operation and
state of the element shall
be available to Assistive
Technology. When an
image represents a
program element, the
information conveyed by
the image must also be
available in text.
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Supports
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Application includes
modal dialogs,
expand/collapse sections,
and tab structures. The
identity, role and state
information that is convey
visually is available to
assistive technology such
as screen readers.
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23. Example VPAT language
(d) Sufficient information
about a user interface
element including the
identity, operation and state
of the element shall be
available to Assistive
Technology. When an image
represents a program
element, the information
conveyed by the image must
also be available in text.
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Does not
support
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Application includes modal
dialogs, expand/collapse
sections, and tab
structures. The information
including identity, operation
and state is not provided to
assistive technology. Users
with visual impairments
using screen reader and
screen magnifier with
speech may have difficulty
interacting with these user
interface elements.
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24. 5 Practical Tips
HOW TO VERIFY A VPAT
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25. Tip 1: Review the VPAT language
•
•
•
•
Review content for clarity and completeness
Identify inconsistencies
Look for detailed explanations
Understand what the impact would be and who would
be affected
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26. Tip 2: Run Accessibility Checker
• Many tools available to check underlying code
– WAVE toolbar
– Sortsite
• Cross-reference reported issues to VPAT
WARNING: Automated tools only capture 25-30% of the
accessibility issues on the page
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27. Tip 3: Try Product with Screen Reader
• Goal of the guidelines is to ensure that it works with
assistive technology
• Testing with screen reader will identify issues that all
users with disabilities may face
– Keyboard only
– Navigation structure
– Readability of content
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28. Tip 4: Meet with Company
• Get further insight into details of provisions
• Gauge the level of knowledge of the team in Section
508
– Did they just copy language from some where else
• Get development plan for areas of non-compliance
• Ask questions about the impact the issues identified
would have on a person with a disability
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29. Tip 5: Get Feedback From Users
Satisfaction
Error
Prevention
Learnability
Efficiency
Effectiveness
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30. What do you do?
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31. Questions?
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32. Kathy Wahlbin
Email: KathyW@ia11y.com
Phone: 978-443-0798
http://www.interactiveaccessibility.com
@wahlbin
Are you accessible?
Thank you!