Kansas Web Accessibility Subcommittee Minutes Archive

August 23, 2006

Present: Michael Huettich, Ray Petty, Anthony Fadale, Heather Ice, Steve McAtee, Kellby Marsh (JJA), Leslie Fisher, Duncan Friend, and Libby Peters.

Agenda Items: Final updates for 1210, Report on Enterprise Tool, Report on Current Activities, Other Business.

Meeting was called to order. Libby served as group facilitator.

New Accessibility Tools

Michael noted that there is a new extension for Dreamweaver MX04 to check for accessibility. He is going to forward the link to it to be forwarded to the rest of the group and for a resource on the WAS website. Heather mentioned that there are expanded accessibility features in Acrobat 7 Professional. She offered to write a review of those features for the members of the group and for the website.

Work on Policy 1210

Duncan led the group through a detailed review of the draft policy to bring up things that he and Denise felt might still be problematic, and some necessary gold plating before the (hopefully) final presentation to ITAB. The significant changes are in Section 2, defining the purpose, we removed the words "using TCP/IP technology" because this takes the scope to a level that was not originally intended. The policy was meant to target web sites and web based services and applications, not everything that uses TCP/IP.

There was discussion on the use of priority 1 & 2 checkpoints for the WAI and Section 508. The previous policy did not require compliance with all of the checkpoint 2 items. The group felt strongly that we should be adhering to this standard at a minimum.

There was quite a bit of discussion about the undue burden exemption, and the fact that it is a temporary exemption. The language was changed in the policy to strengthen that undue burden exemptions need to be requested in advance of deploying inaccessible content, and the necessary information regarding the documents and the request for the temporary exemption are to be sent to the state ADA coordinator's office.

The rest of the document remained virtually unchanged. Anthony has discussed the fact that there were going to be changes to the document with DA Legal, after getting a revised copy he will take it to them for their review before our next presention at ITAB which will hopefully be in Sept.

WAS Charter and Futures Document

Duncan reported that Denise is getting prepared to get back with Troy Findley on the proposed WAC charter. She is working on expanding the scope some to include security on the TCP/IP issues. In addition since the full cabinet will not be meeting regularly for awhile, Denise thought it would be of value for WAS to make our presentation like we did for the HHS sub-cabinet, to the other sub-cabinets. Denise will be working with those sub-cabinet heads to get these scheduled in the immediate future. To that end, the group spent some time going over the presentation to add some more information for the cabinet heads and their technical leads on what their responsibilities are currently regarding web accessibility and what they can do to move the objectives of the WAS into the forefront.

The date and time for the next meeting was not set, however it will be sometime after the next ITAB presentation.

June 27, 2006

Brief meeting of WAS to go over policy 1210 changes and review results of meetings with KITO and Governor's Chief of Staff. It was the understanding of those who were at the meeting with Denise and Troy Findley that they were going to have some meetings to work on the charter and issues we have brought forward in the Futures document, including pursuing an enterprise solution for accessibility checking.

May 23, 2006

Present: Andrew Goodrick, Michael Huettich, Ray Petty, Anthony Fadale, Heather Ice, Steve McAtee, and Libby Peters.

Agenda Items: Futures Document Updates, Policy Re-write Update, Enterprise Solution Report, AIR Report, Upcoming Meetings.

Meeting was called to order. Libby served as group facilitator.

Futures Document Updates

Ray discussed our scheduling strategies for meetings with the Governor's chief of staff. We are currently on their calendar for June 8th at 2:00 PM. Libby confirmed with Anthony that we are still on the schedule for the June ITAB and ITEC meetings. Anthony confirmed that he has spoken with Vickie Rogers and we are confirmed for the June ITAB meeting, which is June 20th. Libby will not be available to do the presentation for that meeting. The ITEC June meeting is June 29th and we have not received a confirmation for that meeting. The group discussed what the important points were for these two meetings: 1) awareness - show the presentation; 2) present and get buy-in on becoming a council. Anthony will speak up as a sponsor for our charter and we will ask Jim Hollingsworth to co-sponsor. As for the meeting on June 8th, the group brainstormed on ideas of what questions we want to ask, and what questions may be asked of us. The group felt that the idea of overall improved e-government was important but harder to nail down to specifics and not something that the State can be held accountable for legally. Maybe after the WAC could get established and some of the critical work done, the council could be expanded to overall improved e-government. The other discussion point is what are the next steps that need to be taken and who should be carrying the ball.

Enterprise Solution

The task group has met several times. At the most recent meeting there was much discussion of the type of solution to pursue, with most group members leaning towards a desktop solution. The critical issue now is that the group does not want to move forward with any centralized solution grant request and purchase until there is dedicated staff people on board to support it. Conversely, INK is hesitant to move forward on a grant proposal for the critical staff without the Enterprise Solution. The task group is moving forward with writing a grant for the desktop solution, which may be ready for the Aug. grant review deadline.

Accessible Internet Rally (AIR)

Andrew is waiting for an e-mail reply. If he doesn't hear soon, he will make another phone request.

Policy Re-Write

Libby reported that the task group had met again on the 19th and reviewed what had been distributed and discussed adding a section for undue burden. A new draft will be circulated to the group in the near future. Handed out a draft of the proposed policy 1210 rewrite for comments from the group.

The next meeting will be June 13th, 10 - Noon. Anthony will reserve the room and the phone bridge.

May 9, 2006

Present: Pam Cress, Leslie Fisher, Andrew Goodrick, Frances Smith, Michael Huettich, Ray Petty, Sandy Sadowski, Anthony Fadale, and Libby Peters. Special guest: Ivan Weichert.

Agenda Items: Futures Document Presentations, Charter Update, Enterprise Solution, WAS website, Update on Accessibility Event, Policy Re-write, Next Steps - Group

Meeting was called to order. Libby served as group facilitator.

Futures Presentations

Sandy, Pam and Libby reported on the follow up meeting with Jim Hollingsworth and KIC staff. Jim had gone through the Futures Document and made considerable notes with suggestions on how things might be accomplished or who would accomplish them. Jim also stated that he would be willing to work with us on putting some more inclusive language into the charter for overall improved e-government, and that he would take it to ITEC. The next steps are to work with Jim on the charter and to work on getting the Futures Presentation to ITAB at their June meeting.

Anthony will call the person who makes the ITAB agenda and see if we can be on the agenda for their May or June meeting which is prior to the ITEC meeting in June. Anthony said that he has received feedback on the two position descriptions from Pat Writt. Pat said that the coordinator position seemed to be properly classed based on the PD but that the trainer position needed some work in the job duties to bring it up to the proposed classification.

Ray has followed up with Denise about the possibility of having a meeting of the same group who started our launch on the Futures Document sometime in the near future. Also, the meeting with Troy Findley from the Governor's office may be scheduled soon. He had indicated that it would be after the session was over.

Enterprise Solution

Leslie and Pam reported that the task group is still updating the information in the software matrix and developing questions for vendors. They are looking at desktop and server solutions, however some agencies who already have something in place are leaning heavily towards a desktop solution. One of the features being explored is if a desktop solution is purchased can someone centrally use that software to check state agencies sites.

WAS Website

Ivan Weichert, from the KITO office discussed his role in making and maintaining the websites for the KITO, ITEC, and ITAB and the WAS. He has been working with Mary Grace on helping her get our pages modified and uploaded. There were some initial concerns because the look and feel of the WAS pages was radically different than the other pages he maintained. Those issues have been resolved and he has worked with Libby to get a standard WAS template, and a process of sending information that needs revised. He did state that they (DISC) are buying some copies of a content contributor software that will allow people such as Mary Grace from our WAS group to update just content, without having to be able to have access to their web servers.

Accessible Internet Rally (AIR)

Andrew reported that he is going to contact the person connected with AIR in Indiana regarding the process of having an AIR event.

Policy Re-Write

Libby handed out a draft of the proposed policy 1210 rewrite for comments from the group. Several expressed concerns about their being too much oversight for web implementors, especially considering that most of them work on their entities websites as an add on duty. Additionally there was discussion about the complaint process and using existing resources (State ADA Coordinator) to funnel web accessibility complaints through. Libby encouraged all to send written comments to her to have available before the next task group meeting.

The next meeting will be May 23rd , 2-4 PM. Anthony will reserve the room and the phone bridge.

April 25, 2006

Present: Eve Tracy, Leslie Fisher, Sandy Sadowski, Andrew Goodrick, Michael Huettich, Mary Grace, Steve McAtee, Anthony Fadale, Cheryl Fink and Libby Peters.

Agenda Items: Futures Planning Presentation Updates, Update on Enterprise Solution, Update on Stakeholder Lists, Update on WAS website, Update on Accessibility Event, Work on Charter.

Meeting was called to order. Libby served as group facilitator. Group members introduced themselves.

Libby asked that those who had assisted with, or were present at the Futures Planning presentations give a report of the audience comments and helpful suggestions that have been offered by the various groups (HHS Secretaries, Don Heiman & Bill Roth, Diversity Network, INK Board). All groups have been very receptive. Some of the critical outcomes to date are that members of the HHS secretaries group, along with Denise are going to be taking our message forward to the Governor's office and her Cabinet; Don Heiman and Bill Roth gave us some critical information and encouragement on becoming an official ITEC Council; the INK board offered their support and encouragement in applying for a grant for our immediate funding needs for the positions and/or the enterprise solution. Mary has discussed with Denise and Duncan possibilities for the organizational structure for the two positions and she has drafted position descriptions for the two positions. Libby had worked with Leslie on some wording for the Description of Duties sections and Education and Requirements for these PDs. Mary and Libby will work together to merge the two and forward them on the George Vega and Pat Writt for their review and assistance.

Anthony gave an update of the progress on the Enterprise Solution. Some of the main issues being discussed are whether the tool needs to be a desk top solution, a server side solution, or both. The consensus is that to meet the needs of the Enterprise, both will be necessary. Cheryl commented that they are reviewing the specifications document and updating it with any new softwares on the market and/or changes in known packages. Also, a survey had been put together by the group for web implementers to find what development and/or site checking tools are being used.

Libby distributed a print-out of the web implementers list. This list is a work in progress, and members were encouraged to send Libby updates and/or additions to the list. Andrew will check with DiAnna to see if she has a list of web implementers we can merge with our list. Libby will draft a memo to send to the list to try and gain membership and support for the WAS.

Mary reported that requested changes/updates to the WAS website pages had been shared with Ivan Weichert who is responsible for the ITAB web pages. He will be scheduling a meeting in the near future to discuss procedures to assist with updates etc. Anthony mentioned that the changes in our website were noted and well received when previewed by the INK Board in our presentation last week.

Andrew gave a brief update and description of the accessibility event we had discussed (AIR Accessible Internet Rally) for new group members. Pam had a contact name of someone in Indiana and was going to follow up with them.

Libby handed out copies of the Schedule E from our Futures Document and a revision of that document which is a proposed ITEC policy to make WAS a full ITEC council. The group was in favor of proceeding with pursing the charter. The charter, as revised by the group, will be distributed as an attachment to these minutes.

The next meeting will be May 9 th , 2-4 PM. Anthony will reserve the room and the phone bridge.

March 28, 2006

Agenda Items: Stakeholders List update, Enterprise Solution update, KTARB Subcommittee update, WAS Web, Futures Document Presentations, Accessibility Event, Group Charter, Guidelines.

Anthony gave an update on the effort to get a true stakeholders list established. Only three responses have been received. Mary is going to coordinate with Anthony and send a follow up e-mail from Anthony and Denise to the members of ITAB. Anthony is going to send a similar message to his ADA coordinator list to try to get the names of the web implementors. If these efforts do not work, group members may need to divide up the list of stakeholders and make some calls to get the information.

DiAnna will be back to work next week and will be setting up a meeting for the Enterprise Solution Tool. Anthony mentioned that he has heard that KDOT is researching purchasing the Hi Software tool. There was discussion on this effort and it was felt that we should make sure that members of ITAB know that we are looking at an enterprise wide solution. Anthony will announce this at their next meeting.

Libby reported on the progress of setting up presentations for targeted groups. Anthony got a meeting set up with Don Heiman and Bill Roth for April 11th, this would be a preview for them to get their buy in and approval to take it to ITAB. Mary and Sandy will be attend that meeting. Ray and Pam got us on the agenda for the Human Service agency meeting that Dr. Daniels chairs. That presentation is on April 13th, and Pam, Leslie and Anthony will be at that meeting. Libby will be doing the presentation for both of these groups. Anthony has been talking to Jim Hollingsworth about getting on the INK board agenda. He is waiting to hear back from Jim after he speaks with other members of the board. Ray is going to have additional dialogue with Rocky Nichols and Troy of the Governor's Office.

The kick-off meeting of the KTARB was held and the sub committees met with their leads to set up meeting dates, etc. Some of the language regarding accessibility and usability is already in the state architecture document, which is good news. Libby will serve as the group facilitator for the Interface and Integration group.

The new WAS website is up and running. Thanks to Mary for uploading the files and collecting the initial comments from state staff. Most comments so far have been really positive. Mary will check to see if we can get site statistics to see how much traffic we are getting, and Andrew will see how we can get better results for people searching for WAS from the kansas.gov page. Mary gave Libby some e-mails with minor problems that need to be corrected on the website. Leslie will make the corrections to the training page.

Libby is going to meet with the policy and guidelines group this week. The first meeting will be to recap what is out there and do some looking at what other states are doing. The group felt that it would be of benefit to coordinate with some border states. Pam has a contact in Oklahoma and she will contact them to see if we can get some information sharing. There was much discussion on what direction we need to take with the guidelines. Many in the group feel that our policy should just state that we expect compliance with Section 508 and the WAI.

Andrew brought information on having an Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) these events started in Texas and have branched out across the US. It is a way to increase awareness of accessibility and usability, and for web implementors to get some real training and hands on experience in accessible web development. Andrew and Pam will get more information for our next meeting from knowbility.org.

Next meeting will be April 25th from 2-4. At that meeting we will work on updating and incorporating an official group charter. Libby will send the draft of the charter that was in the Futures Document, to the group.

March 14, 2006

Agenda Items: Enterprise Solution update, KTARB Subcommittee Representation, WAS Web, Futures Document Presentation, Stakeholder Lists, Guidelines.

Libby gave an update on the enterprise solution task for DiAnna from a note she had sent to task group members. That task group will re-convene after DiAnna's return to work in two weeks.

KTARB subcommittees. Libby followed through with submitting names to Bill Roth's office for the two subcommittees we felt we would like representation on. These are Help Desk and Implementation and Interface. In addition, Anthony will be serving on the Platform subcommittee. There is a kick off meeting on 3/24 for all the subcommittees and then the individual groups will be meeting at a later date to begin their tasks.

Website Update. All of the files have been sent to Mary Grace for uploading right after the last WAS meeting. The files have not been uploaded and no information has been sent regarding any problems with the documents. The group feels that it is critical that the website get updated, as screen shots of the new site have been presented as part of the Futures Document presentation. Leslie F. will send a note to Mary regarding the status of the website.

Futures Planning Presentation - Libby gave an update for the group on the presentation she did for the Diversity Network. She felt that this was a very positive experience, especially since Denise was there and did speak to help answer some of the difficult questions that were asked. The Network was very responsive and offered their help and assistance. They asked why this was being brought to other groups as they viewed it as an IT problem. They also asked how big was the problem, and if state websites were out of compliance with existing policies. The network offered that there is a meeting of State HR directors which they could help facilitate us getting on an agenda for. Libby agreed to coordinate with the representatives from that group. That coordination has occurred and the presentation should be for that groups meeting agenda for June.

The remainder of the meeting was spent discussing what the issues are around gaining support for the Futures Document, gaining the staff that we need to accomplish the work, and how and who to approach with this message. There is work that the WAS committee can do and will still need to do with the dedicated staff in place, but the group feels that that work will be seriously impaired if staff are not dedicated.

Ideas were presented by the group for futures document presentations. Ray is going to talk to Rocky Nichols to find out what support we can gain from the Office of the Governor, Ray and Pam are going to find out if we can enlist Denise's help in getting on the INK board agenda. Anthony is going to send a note to Don Heiman, Bill Roth, and Brian Dreiling regarding scheduling an appointment to show them the Futures Document Presentation. Other ideas for gaining support for the document were a presentation to JCIT, a presentation to ITEC, and an awareness event.

March 14, 2006

Agenda Items: Enterprise Solution update, KTARB Subcommittee Representation, WAS Web, Futures Document Presentation, Stakeholder Lists, Guidelines.

Libby gave an update on the enterprise solution task for DiAnna from a note she had sent to task group members. That task group will re-convene after DiAnna's return to work in two weeks.

Feburary 28, 2006

Agenda Items: KTARB Subcommittee Representation, WAS Web, Enterprise Tool, Futures Document comments and next steps, Memo to Stakeholders, Webcast, Update Guidelines.

Anthony reported that the memo to the stakeholders had been sent from he and Denise. As of the date of the meeting one response had been received. Stakeholders were suppose to respond by the end of the week.

Futures Planning Document - Mary updated the group on Denise's comments and suggestions for next steps. One of the big initiatives for the group to tackle will be the gaining of support from the various stakeholder groups. It was suggested that we look at the stakeholder analysis that we had put together as a starting point. Some of the target groups that should be considered are: ITEC, ITAB, Big Six CIOs, Agency Leadership Teams, Governors Cabinet Leadership, State ADA Coordinators, etc.

One presentation is already scheduled with the State Diversity Network on March 9th at 10:00. Denise is going to be present and will offer any comments she has during the advice and feedback section of the presentation. A preview copy of the presentation will be sent to her and group members the day before the meeting. The task group to work on the presentation and review the stakeholder list is: Mary, Leslie F., Pam, Ray, and Libby. The group felt that snapshots of the website, particularly the training resources information, should be put in the presentation as examples of the work of the group.

Website - Libby gave an update of the progress on the website. Basically it is done and ready to be uploaded. Leslie F. handed out a printout of the training resources page for the groups review. Libby will send all of the files to Mary to be uploaded. There was a discussion of what to do with the older minutes that are on the existing website. These will be left where they are, and in the format that they are in, and will be linked from the new website as minutes archive. After four meetings, the oldest minutes will be moved to a new minutes archive page.

Enterprise Tool - Andrew brought the information from the previous findings including the comparison chart and the cover sheet with the blurbs about each solution and company/contact information. The task group of Leslie S, DiAnna, Leslie F, and Frances. The task group is going to request the participation of John Waldo and Cole Robinson as they were part of the original group. The task group, as an initial step, is going to review the information and make any necessary updates.

Webcast - Mary had sent a note to group members regarding a webcast on 3/1 on an accessibility plug-in for power-point and word. Someone from a state agency had contacted her and had tried to register but the session was full. Libby offered for the individual to view the group session at SRS, Docking State Office Bldg. Pam mentioned that there are many archived webcasts from the Illinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility. She is going to send a list of those to Leslie F. to add to the web training resources page.

KTARB Subcommittees - Anthony had previously distributed to the group a powerpoint presentation by Bill Roth on the Kansas Technology Architecture Refresh. ITAB is looking for people to serve on the various subcommittees. The WAS committee members present felt that we would want to have multiple representation. Libby is going to check with Bryan Dreiling who was the contact person, to see if we could have representatives on the Interface and Implementation, and Help Desk and Problem Management groups. Anthony has already been accepted to serve on the Platform group.

Guidelines - The task group to look at the Guidelines is DiAnna, Andrew, Zach, Frances, and Libby. Libby will try to get in touch with Cole also, to enlist his time for this effort. Libby will convene the group in the near future with Anthony finding a room for the group to work in.

Next meeting is March 14th, 2-4, Room 102E.

Feburary 14, 2006

Agenda Items: Futures Planning Document Review, Discussion of Document Issues, Next Steps, Updates from Task Groups

The group made suggestions for corrections and revisions, which were given to Libby to incorporate into the final document.

Ray brought up the issue of the item in our proposed charter about the chairing of the subcommittee, and if the perception would be that the new positions were not needed since we stated that we were going to proceed. After much discussion, the charter item 7.6 was left in the document.

Anthony and Mary brought up the issue of the position descriptions, which have not been drafted to include in the Futures Planning document. The group was of the consensus that the two positions would be in state classified service and the coordinator in a salary range of 30-32 and the trainer in the range of 27-30.

There was much discussion on the Diversity Network and how or if this may fit into their existing or new directives. Contact has been made with this group and a presentation is planned at their March meeting.

Anthony brought his draft memo to the stakeholders to get their web implementers contact information. After some discussion and suggested changes it was agreed that the memo would be brought up at the ITAB meeting and that the stakeholders would be given until 3/1/2006 to respond.

Mary gave the group some information regarding the WAS website, in regards to where the site should be located and how and who will have access. The site needs to remain on the DA webspace, and files can be sent to Mary for uploading. She will check on the graphics to see if we can use the new ones developed by the WAS web task group.

Mary also reported on the update of the guidelines. The last efforts of the group were to update the pdf guidelines not the web page guidelines. The technical group will need to be reconvened to work of updating the web guidelines.

Leslie S. reported that she will send to the group the information that had been previously gathered by DiAnna Wages on the Site Checker analysis.

Libby is going to send a draft, after the meeting, to the entire group of the Futures Planning Document. Group members are to send their comments and suggestions to her by the close of business on Wednesday. Libby will make any other needed corrections, assemble the document, and create a complete pdf of the document.

Next meeting will be Tues, Feb. 28 th from 2:00 - 4:00.

Go to previous minutes.
Jan. 31, 2006