From 0063257b4ce2d25bbb2ad734e72e2ff8cd6733a1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jacqueline Quintanilla Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2024 17:18:31 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 1/4] Update champions-program.md Content update as part of website refresh. --- _guide/champions-program.md | 248 ++++++++++++------------------------ 1 file changed, 78 insertions(+), 170 deletions(-) diff --git a/_guide/champions-program.md b/_guide/champions-program.md index 61231dc4..840980ea 100644 --- a/_guide/champions-program.md +++ b/_guide/champions-program.md @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ --- layout: guide -title: Champions program -description: Outlining the basics of CivicActions Champions Program +title: CivicActions’ Accessibility Champions Program +description: Outlining the basics of CivicActions' Accessibility Champions Program excerpt: sidenav: docs categories: @@ -10,180 +10,88 @@ categories: --- ## Building an accessible culture through our Champions Program +The CivicActions [Accessibility Pledge](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/posts/CivicActions-Accessibility-Pledge) confirms our commitment to delivering inclusive digital services. We don’t take this pledge lightly. We know it takes a lot of buy-in and dedication to build a culture of accessibility. It’s not something that a few accessibility experts sprinkled throughout the company can deliver on alone. It takes company-wide effort. The Accessibility Champions program was created to offer CivicActioners a path for increasing leadership and confidence in furthering accessibility initiatives across projects and roles. This community of Accessibility Champions (ACs) are integral to creating and spreading an accessible culture throughout CivicActions. -CivicActions created our [Accessibility Pledge](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/posts/CivicActions-Accessibility-Pledge) to help us keep a focus on delivering inclusive digital services. We knew that a handful of accessibility experts wouldn't be sufficient to deliver on this pledge, so we created this program. - -Accessibility Champions at CivicActions are known as "Champions" (ACs). Champions are responsible for fostering awareness and action on digital accessibility. We have ACs on both client teams (VA, WeCMS, etc.) and in functional teams (other practice areas). Larger projects may choose to have multiple ACs to support different sites/applications. ACs are a conduit of information from the Accessibility Practice Area to their functional and/or client teams. They also support bringing concerns and findings from their functional and/or client teams to the Accessibility Practice Area. Our Champions support their team(s) in building accessibility confidence. The AC is a support role, and it is assumed that anyone can bring their concerns to the attention of the Accessibility Practice Area. Project managers are responsible for ensuring that each of their teams has an accessibility champion. Ideally teams would find folks willing to volunteer for this role. - -### Objectives of the Accessibility Practice Area +Champions are responsible for fostering awareness and action on digital accessibility within their teams. ACs are a conduit of information from the [Accessibility Practice Area](https://guidebook.civicactions.com/en/latest/practice-areas/accessibility/) to their functional and/or client teams. They also bring concerns, findings, and practices from their functional and/or client teams to the Accessibility Practice Area to share knowledge across teams. Our Champions support their team(s) in building accessibility confidence and by advocating for continual improvement. +### Objectives of the Accessibility Champions Program We are building a program in which: -- Everyone gets oriented to basic accessibility with their orientation so that it is a part of the culture. This is already part of our onboarding. -- Key teams build on this basic orientation to ensure that new staff understand accessibility for their functional role. This may also be useful for some client teams. -- Regular engagement or reminders about the opportunities for accessibility certification and study groups to help support learning. -- Each functional team selects a Champion who is also an active part of the accessibility practice area. The person selected should: - - Be engaged in helping their functional role have a clear understanding of accessibility expectations for that role. - - Update the related content on the CivicActions accessibility site. - - Support onboarding new members of that functional team. -- Each client team has selected at least one Champion who is also an active part of the accessibility practice area. - +- Everyone at CivicActions understands the importance of digital accessibility and receives basic training +- Teams are equipped to improve the accessibility of the products they build +- CivicActions staff are able to improve their skills, knowledge, and leadership in furthering accessible technology +- We share what we learn with the wider community + +## Program recruitment +All CivicActioners are encouraged to become Accessibility Champions. Champions come in all sizes and shapes and it is expected that there will be differences in the needs that functional and client teams have. We have ACs on client teams and in functional teams (other practice areas). Teams may decide that they need to have people with more or less experience to lead. Most teams will probably just have one, but some may have more Champions, particularly if there is mentoring or a distribution of labor involved. + +### Who makes a good Champion? +Generally individuals volunteer for this role because they are interested in expanding their accessibility skillset and are passionate about leveling up the accessibility practices of their team. People who are motivating to others, self-directed, self-aware, in tune with team needs, and who have a bias toward action tend to make great Accessibility Champions. + +Champions typically have interest in… +- Learning more about digital accessibility +- Research and investigation +- Ability to describe barriers in a way that allows them to be reproduced +- Coaching and mentoring +- Complex problem solving +- Presenting to audiences +- Relationship building +- Conflict resolution +- Understanding the systems that create barriers to participation +- Learning to use and interpret the results of automated tools + +## Benefits of becoming a Champion +The Champions program makes it easier to: +- **Increase your organizational impact:** Many joined CivicActions because they wanted to work for an impact-driven organization. Helping make websites more accessible can have an impact on millions of people. +- **Advance your career:** We also want to support people in their growth within the company. “Accessibility Champion" looks good on your resume. It will help CivicActions become better innovators and win work. +- **Build cross-functional relationships:** The work of accessibility is multidisciplinary and brings you into contact with specialists, leaders, and stakeholders from areas you may not otherwise interact with. These connections improve team communication and can have a lasting impact on your career and exposure to related expertise. + +## Expectations for Champions +Champions are not expected to be accessibility experts, but they are expected to grow their accessibility knowledge and to support their teams in maturing accessibility practices. Having all of the answers is not required, but a willingness to find answers, foster communication between their client or functional team and the Accessibility Practice Area, and advocate for improved processes and practices is essential. + +A champion will… +- Take responsibility for iteratively making the client’s project more accessible +- Recommend process, tooling or other changes to make accessibility a bigger part of the the client team’s growth +- Work with the Accessibility Practice Area group to surface and codify best practices to share across the company +- Surface opportunities for learning and process improvement +- Help their functional role have a clear understanding of accessibility expectations for that role +- Support team members in meeting accessibility goals including onboarding new members + +Specific examples include: +- Raising accessibility issues in team meetings +- Auditing projects for areas for improvement +- Ensuring there is axe-core testing in our CI/CD process (pa11y with axe, Cypress-axe) +- Ensure developers are using an accessibility linter ([VSCode](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=deque-systems.vscode-axe-linter), phpStorm, atom) +- Ensuring designers include [accessibility annotations](https://medium.com/designing-atlassian/create-accessible-designs-using-the-figma-a11y-annotation-kit-35371f00dac5) in wireframes +- Working with the project team/PMs to better integrate accessibility into ticketing process +- Coordinating actions using shared decision-making and prioritization criteria +- Building [checklists](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/playbook/checklists) or default acceptance criteria +- Do accessibility code reviews and help coach others on the team +- Leading [ARRM workshops](https://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/wiki/ARRM_Project_-_Accessibility_Roles_and_Responsibilities_Mapping) if useful for new project or addressing backlogs ## Champion levels +There is an infinite amount that can be done on accessibility. And yet, we want the program to be a welcoming place for the accessibility-curious to be able to join without the need for advanced study or certifications. Levels provide an on-ramp for staff that may be less experienced with digital accessibility as well as leadership and mentorship opportunities for more experienced staff. The levels are set up to encourage people to push themselves to learn more with time and practice. As champions gain skills, experience, and responsibility they can advance through three levels: ### Level 1 — Basic knowledge - -Attend the practice area calls and engage in the Slack channel / keep up with best practices discussed there. Members active for 3 months get a CA11y T-Shirt. New employees are encouraged to sign up after their first 90 days. - -- Page level -- Identify common problems -- Professional Development (Prodev) -- [Take EdX course (with certificate)](https://www.edx.org/course/web-accessibility-introduction) - -All CivicActions employees are encouraged to get the EdX Certification. The course is free, but the certification costs $99. Staff can use their [Profesional Development](https://guidebook.civicactions.com/en/latest/employee-benefits/professional-development/) (ProDev) to pay for the certificate. New staff can get access early access to their ProDev funds to pay for this certificte. It is estimated to take 16-20 hours over a period of 1 to 4 weeks. - -### Level 2 — Experienced - -Either Certified or presently working to become certified through the IAAP a [Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies(CPACC)](https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/certified-professional) or [Web Accessibility Specialist(WAS)](https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/wascertification) or a DHS [Trusted Tester Certified](https://www.dhs.gov/trusted-tester). Contribute to the website, contribute to articles or lead Onboarding Workshops. Bio added to the accessibility site. - -- Task level -- Recommend solutions with confidence -- Professional Development (Prodev) -- IAAP (CPACC or WAS) -- DHS 508 Trusted Tester program - -### Level 3 — Taking leadership - -Develops and innovates our Accessibility Practice Area. Has 10% of time reserved for accessibility initiatives in CivicActions. Expected to track down & advance issues. Get financial support to buy commercial software like axe DevTools Pro or ARC Tool. Having both WAS & CPACC certified and becoming a [Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA)](https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/certified-professional-web-accessibility). -- Systems level -- Prioritize approaches which will have the biggest impact -- Professional Development (Prodev) -- Attending accessibility conferences -- Example initiatives -- Maintaining modules or themes -- Contributing back to the USWDS, CMS Design System or VA Design System -- Engagement with the W3C Working Groups -- Coaching clients or partners - -## Areas of focus - -Champions will come in all sizes and shapes, and it is expected that there will be differences in the needs that functional and client teams have. Teams may decide that they need to have people with more or less experience to lead. Most teams will probably just have one, but some may have more, particularly if there is mentoring or a distribution of labor involved. - -The levels are primarily set up to encourage people to push themselves to learn more. There is an infinite amount that can be done on accessibility. It is beneficial for CivicActions to have people who have certifications which we can include in proposals. It takes time and effort to maintain some certificates. It is good to do this, but you should be able to be a champion without certifications. - -## Expectations - -A champion will… -- Take responsibility for iteratively making their project more accessible -- Recommend process, tooling or other changes to make accessibility a bigger part of the project growth -- Work with the Accessibility Practice Area group to surface and codify best practices to share across the company -- Raising accessibility issues in team meetings -- Surfacing opportunities for learning and process improvement during project sprint retrospectives - -### Specific examples include: -- Audit their project for areas for improvement -- Ensuring there is axe-core testing in our CI/CD process (pa11y with axe, Cypress-axe). -- Ensure developers are using an accessibility linter ([VSCode](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=deque-systems.vscode-axe-linter), phpStorm, atom) -- Ensuring designers include [Figma accessibility annotation](https://medium.com/designing-atlassian/create-accessible-designs-using-the-figma-a11y-annotation-kit-35371f00dac5) (wireframes) -- Working with the project team/PMs to better integrate accessibility into ticketing process -- Building [checklists](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/playbook/checklists) or default acceptance criteria -- Do accessibility code reviews and help coach others on the team -- Leading [ARRM](https://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/wiki/ARRM_Project_-_Accessibility_Roles_and_Responsibilities_Mapping) workshops if useful for new project or addressing backlogs - -### Interest in -- Learning more about digital accessibility -- Research and investigation -- Ability to describe barriers in a way that allows them to be reproduced -- Coaching and mentoring -- Complex problem solving -- Presenting to audiences -- Relationship building -- Conflict resolution -- Understanding the systems that create barriers to participation -- Learning to use automated tools like WAVE & Accessibility Insights -- Understanding how to interpret the results of automated tools - - -Qualities: Motivating, self-directed, bias towards action, self and team awareness, - -Values: Collaboration, listening, empathy, perseverance, resilience, adaptability, transparency, attention to detail, ownership, accountability. - -### Possible perk -- T-Shirts or other swag -- [EdX Intro to Accessibility](https://www.edx.org/course/web-accessibility-introduction) course with certificate -- Axe DevTools Pro - Free if working on VA or US -- Additional ProDev for accessibility-related training or IAAP Certifications -- 1st attempt at IAAP certification for WAS and CPACC -- IAAP Membership -- Recognized official project role -- Designated time for experimentation and development -- Support in writing blog posts -- Speaking opportunities at conferences and webinars - -## Budgetary considerations - -### Level 1 -- T-Shirt & EdX Certificate - -### Level 2 -- IAAP prep course and certification exam -- Recertification every 3 years - -### Level 3 -- IAAP Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) -- Recertification every 3 years -- IAAP membership -- Axe DevTools Pro - -## Responsibilities -- You are not expected to be an accessibility expert. - -## FAQs - -### How do you advance between AC levels? - -Everyone is encouraged to become a Level 1 Champion. To participate in our meetings, engage in Slack and come to our events. People who are interested in advancing their knowledge should talk with Level 2 or 3 Champions about next steps. Anyone can use their ProDev to participate in certifications, but we would like to support those who are interested in starting the process. Level 3 Champions will require negotiations with their manager as there are time and budget implications. The Accessibility Lead will support negotiations as it is important to support those who have demonstrated leadership in this area. - - -### Should there be checklists for each team? - -We have defined some [role-based checklists](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/playbook/roles) in the CivicActions Accessibility Site. Checklists can be a powerful tool if used right, we have tried to [provide some guidance on this](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/playbook/checklists). As part of building a best practice for a functional or client team, it can be useful to help at least guide expectations and support onboarding new staff. - -### Why should I invest in becoming a Champion? - -Many joined CivicActions because they wanted to work for an impact-driven organization. Helping make websites more accessible can have a huge impact on millions of people. We also want to support people in their growth within the company. Being able to be a IAAP Certified Level 3 Champion looks good on your resume. It will help CivicActions win work, and help us all to understand how understanding people better will help us become better innovators. - -## Metrics for Champions -- Variety of best practices or frameworks to evaluate a project on beyond the WCAG guidelines -- Customizable checklists for how to evaluate an existing project, individual pages, and critical user paths. -- Customizable checklists to ensure a new project is thinking about accessibility throughout the project and where and how often progress should be reported to the client, the Accessibility working group, CA -- User pathways for critical tasks and impacts on personas with barriers (permanent, temporary or situational). - Note: if pathways haven't been defined in a project, the accessibility champion should advocate for them to be defined. -- Some additional ideas for metrics: - - Content design - Reading level improvements and increased use of plain language. - - UX design - These should be comparable between someone with a disability as someone without a disability: time to complete key tasks, completion rate, digital uptake or adoption rate, error rate, user satisfaction; running a certain percentage of user tests with users with a disability. - - Engineering - number of axe-errors in client sites - Purple Hats grade: A. - - Project Management - introduction in official ceremonies as appropriate. - - DevOps - Pa11y tests for sample content types, views, web forms and landing pages. Cypress-axe tests for interactive elements. - -## Resources - -* Minnesota State Government: Accessibility Challenge - Nurture More Champions [Part 1](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-516010) & [Part 2](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-518320) -* [LinkedIN's Program](https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2019/05/scaling-accessibility-through-a11y-champions-program) -* Intuit (Quickbooks) - * [The A11y Global Collective: Scaling Accessibility — Intuit's Accessibility Champions Program (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np6sIWUTPlE) - * [Intuit's Accessibility Champion Program](https://web.archive.org/web/20220216065658/https://www.last-child.com/intuits-accessibility-champion-program/) - * [Lessons Learned from an Intuit Accessibility Champion (Blog)](https://www.intuit.com/blog/innovation/lessons-learned-from-an-intuit-accessibility-champion/) -* AbilityNet - * [How to build accessibility into your organisation - BBC Accessibility Champions](https://www.abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/how-build-accessibility-your-organisation-bbc-accessibility-champions) - * [14 tips to build an accessibility champions' network](https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/14-tips-build-accessibility-champions-network) - * [Creating an accessibility champions network (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWY_YBz5mSI) -* Aimée Danger - * [Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.aimeedanger.com/portfolio/accessibility-champions-program/) - * [Accessibility Champions Program + Empathy Lab (PDF)](https://www.aimeedanger.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ACEL-0330-1.pdf) -* [Pearson: Accessibility Champion Program](https://accessibility.pearson.com/training/champion_program/index.php) -* More Videos -- [GDS/BBC Webinar: Accessibility Culture eats WCAG compliance for breakfast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BktMJzjf7xs&t=1s&ab_channel=UKGovDesign) -- Sagar Barbhaya - [Expand Your Outreach with an Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIVafzpFkw&ab_channel=A11yBytes) -- axe-con 2022 - [Axe-con 2022: We are the Champions](https://www.deque.com/axe-con/sessions/we-are-the-champions/) +No previous accessibility knowledge or experience is necessary for this level, only an enthusiasm to learn. In addition to [Accessibility Onboarding](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/guide/onboarding-staff) for new employees, all CivicActions employees are encouraged to take an [Introduction to Web Accessibility course](https://www.edx.org/learn/web-accessibility/the-world-wide-web-consortium-w3c-introduction-to-web-accessibility). All employees are welcome to attend the practice area calls and engage in the Slack channel to keep up with best practices and internal accessibility discussions. At this level, the goal is to be able to articulate the importance of accessibility and to identify and prioritize common accessibility issues. + +### Level 2 — Experienced +This level is for employees who are able to analyze the accessibility of a task across multiple pages and components and recommend solutions with confidence. Open to employees who have worked toward more in-depth accessibility certification through International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) [Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)](https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/certified-professional), [IAAP Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS)](https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/wascertification) or [DHS Trusted Tester](https://www.dhs.gov/trusted-tester). Level 2 Champions contribute to the website, write articles, and lead Accessibility Onboarding Workshops for new employees. + +### Level 3 — Taking leadership +Level 3 is all about impact. At this level, Champions are able to evaluate the accessibility of a product systemically and prioritize approaches which will have the biggest impact. On projects they are expected to track down and advance issues and assist teammates in navigating complex solutions. Internally responsible for the innovation of our Accessibility Practice Area. Level 3 Champions contribute beyond CivicActions by maintaining modules or themes, contributing back to open source, engagement with the W3C Working Groups, and by coaching clients and partners. + +## Resources to start an Accessibility Champions program +Articles and talks about beginning and growing Accessibility Champion programs to get you started. +- Minnesota State Government: [Accessibility Challenge - Nurture More Champions Part 1](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-516010) & [Part 2](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-518320) +- [LinkedIN's Program](https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2019/05/scaling-accessibility-through-a11y-champions-program) +- The A11y Global Collective: [Scaling Accessibility — Intuit's Accessibility Champions Program (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np6sIWUTPlE) +- AbilityNet + - [14 tips to build an accessibility champions' network](https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/14-tips-build-accessibility-champions-network) + - [Creating an accessibility champions network (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWY_YBz5mSI) +- Aimée Danger + - [Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.aimeedanger.com/portfolio/accessibility-champions-program/) + - [Accessibility Champions Program + Empathy Lab (PDF)](https://www.aimeedanger.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ACEL-0330-1.pdf) +- GDS/BBC Webinar: [Accessibility Culture eats WCAG compliance for breakfast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BktMJzjf7xs&t=1s&ab_channel=UKGovDesign) +- Sagar Barbhaya - [Expand Your Outreach with an Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIVafzpFkw&ab_channel=A11yBytes) From d201f4a56e7a6b43e4414d1e8b30d930cae9c4aa Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "pre-commit-ci[bot]" <66853113+pre-commit-ci[bot]@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2024 22:21:14 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 2/4] [pre-commit.ci] auto fixes from pre-commit.com hooks for more information, see https://pre-commit.ci --- _guide/champions-program.md | 10 +++++----- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/_guide/champions-program.md b/_guide/champions-program.md index 840980ea..37e08737 100644 --- a/_guide/champions-program.md +++ b/_guide/champions-program.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ --- layout: guide -title: CivicActions’ Accessibility Champions Program +title: CivicActions' Accessibility Champions Program description: Outlining the basics of CivicActions' Accessibility Champions Program excerpt: sidenav: docs @@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ categories: --- ## Building an accessible culture through our Champions Program -The CivicActions [Accessibility Pledge](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/posts/CivicActions-Accessibility-Pledge) confirms our commitment to delivering inclusive digital services. We don’t take this pledge lightly. We know it takes a lot of buy-in and dedication to build a culture of accessibility. It’s not something that a few accessibility experts sprinkled throughout the company can deliver on alone. It takes company-wide effort. The Accessibility Champions program was created to offer CivicActioners a path for increasing leadership and confidence in furthering accessibility initiatives across projects and roles. This community of Accessibility Champions (ACs) are integral to creating and spreading an accessible culture throughout CivicActions. +The CivicActions [Accessibility Pledge](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/posts/CivicActions-Accessibility-Pledge) confirms our commitment to delivering inclusive digital services. We don't take this pledge lightly. We know it takes a lot of buy-in and dedication to build a culture of accessibility. It's not something that a few accessibility experts sprinkled throughout the company can deliver on alone. It takes company-wide effort. The Accessibility Champions program was created to offer CivicActioners a path for increasing leadership and confidence in furthering accessibility initiatives across projects and roles. This community of Accessibility Champions (ACs) are integral to creating and spreading an accessible culture throughout CivicActions. Champions are responsible for fostering awareness and action on digital accessibility within their teams. ACs are a conduit of information from the [Accessibility Practice Area](https://guidebook.civicactions.com/en/latest/practice-areas/accessibility/) to their functional and/or client teams. They also bring concerns, findings, and practices from their functional and/or client teams to the Accessibility Practice Area to share knowledge across teams. Our Champions support their team(s) in building accessibility confidence and by advocating for continual improvement. @@ -42,15 +42,15 @@ Champions typically have interest in… ## Benefits of becoming a Champion The Champions program makes it easier to: - **Increase your organizational impact:** Many joined CivicActions because they wanted to work for an impact-driven organization. Helping make websites more accessible can have an impact on millions of people. -- **Advance your career:** We also want to support people in their growth within the company. “Accessibility Champion" looks good on your resume. It will help CivicActions become better innovators and win work. +- **Advance your career:** We also want to support people in their growth within the company. "Accessibility Champion" looks good on your resume. It will help CivicActions become better innovators and win work. - **Build cross-functional relationships:** The work of accessibility is multidisciplinary and brings you into contact with specialists, leaders, and stakeholders from areas you may not otherwise interact with. These connections improve team communication and can have a lasting impact on your career and exposure to related expertise. ## Expectations for Champions Champions are not expected to be accessibility experts, but they are expected to grow their accessibility knowledge and to support their teams in maturing accessibility practices. Having all of the answers is not required, but a willingness to find answers, foster communication between their client or functional team and the Accessibility Practice Area, and advocate for improved processes and practices is essential. A champion will… -- Take responsibility for iteratively making the client’s project more accessible -- Recommend process, tooling or other changes to make accessibility a bigger part of the the client team’s growth +- Take responsibility for iteratively making the client's project more accessible +- Recommend process, tooling or other changes to make accessibility a bigger part of the the client team's growth - Work with the Accessibility Practice Area group to surface and codify best practices to share across the company - Surface opportunities for learning and process improvement - Help their functional role have a clear understanding of accessibility expectations for that role From 7260cc736ae24c5cb7846f9a4fe6a9308abf09db Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jacqueline Quintanilla Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2024 09:46:12 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 3/4] Syntax and spacing updates. --- _guide/champions-program.md | 92 ++++++++++++++++++------------------- 1 file changed, 46 insertions(+), 46 deletions(-) diff --git a/_guide/champions-program.md b/_guide/champions-program.md index 37e08737..5d8283ad 100644 --- a/_guide/champions-program.md +++ b/_guide/champions-program.md @@ -16,57 +16,57 @@ Champions are responsible for fostering awareness and action on digital accessib ### Objectives of the Accessibility Champions Program We are building a program in which: -- Everyone at CivicActions understands the importance of digital accessibility and receives basic training -- Teams are equipped to improve the accessibility of the products they build -- CivicActions staff are able to improve their skills, knowledge, and leadership in furthering accessible technology -- We share what we learn with the wider community +* Everyone at CivicActions understands the importance of digital accessibility and receives basic training +* Teams are equipped to improve the accessibility of the products they build +* CivicActions staff are able to improve their skills, knowledge, and leadership in furthering accessible technology +* We share what we learn with the wider community ## Program recruitment -All CivicActioners are encouraged to become Accessibility Champions. Champions come in all sizes and shapes and it is expected that there will be differences in the needs that functional and client teams have. We have ACs on client teams and in functional teams (other practice areas). Teams may decide that they need to have people with more or less experience to lead. Most teams will probably just have one, but some may have more Champions, particularly if there is mentoring or a distribution of labor involved. +All CivicActioners are encouraged to become Accessibility Champions. Champions come in all sizes and shapes and it is expected that there will be differences in the needs that functional and client teams have. We have ACs on client teams and in functional teams (other practice areas). Teams may decide that they need to have people with more or less experience to lead. Some teams will will have only one, but some may have more Champions, particularly if there is mentoring or a distribution of labor involved. ### Who makes a good Champion? Generally individuals volunteer for this role because they are interested in expanding their accessibility skillset and are passionate about leveling up the accessibility practices of their team. People who are motivating to others, self-directed, self-aware, in tune with team needs, and who have a bias toward action tend to make great Accessibility Champions. Champions typically have interest in… -- Learning more about digital accessibility -- Research and investigation -- Ability to describe barriers in a way that allows them to be reproduced -- Coaching and mentoring -- Complex problem solving -- Presenting to audiences -- Relationship building -- Conflict resolution -- Understanding the systems that create barriers to participation -- Learning to use and interpret the results of automated tools +* Learning more about digital accessibility +* Research and investigation +* Ability to describe barriers in a way that allows them to be reproduced +* Coaching and mentoring +* Complex problem solving +* Presenting to audiences +* Relationship building +* Conflict resolution +* Understanding the systems that create barriers to participation +* Learning to use and interpret the results of automated tools ## Benefits of becoming a Champion The Champions program makes it easier to: -- **Increase your organizational impact:** Many joined CivicActions because they wanted to work for an impact-driven organization. Helping make websites more accessible can have an impact on millions of people. -- **Advance your career:** We also want to support people in their growth within the company. "Accessibility Champion" looks good on your resume. It will help CivicActions become better innovators and win work. -- **Build cross-functional relationships:** The work of accessibility is multidisciplinary and brings you into contact with specialists, leaders, and stakeholders from areas you may not otherwise interact with. These connections improve team communication and can have a lasting impact on your career and exposure to related expertise. +* **Increase your organizational impact:** Many joined CivicActions because they wanted to work for an impact-driven organization. Helping make websites more accessible can have an impact on millions of people. +* **Advance your career:** We also want to support people in their growth within the company. "Accessibility Champion" looks good on your resume. It will help CivicActions become better innovators and win work. +* **Build cross-functional relationships:** The work of accessibility is multidisciplinary and brings you into contact with specialists, leaders, and stakeholders from areas you may not otherwise interact with. These connections improve team communication and can have a lasting impact on your career and exposure to related expertise. ## Expectations for Champions Champions are not expected to be accessibility experts, but they are expected to grow their accessibility knowledge and to support their teams in maturing accessibility practices. Having all of the answers is not required, but a willingness to find answers, foster communication between their client or functional team and the Accessibility Practice Area, and advocate for improved processes and practices is essential. A champion will… -- Take responsibility for iteratively making the client's project more accessible -- Recommend process, tooling or other changes to make accessibility a bigger part of the the client team's growth -- Work with the Accessibility Practice Area group to surface and codify best practices to share across the company -- Surface opportunities for learning and process improvement -- Help their functional role have a clear understanding of accessibility expectations for that role -- Support team members in meeting accessibility goals including onboarding new members +* Take responsibility for iteratively making the client's project more accessible +* Recommend process, tooling or other changes to make accessibility a bigger part of the client team's growth +* Work with the Accessibility Practice Area group to surface and codify best practices to share across the company +* Surface opportunities for learning and process improvement +* Help their functional role have a clear understanding of accessibility expectations for that role +* Support team members in meeting accessibility goals including onboarding new members Specific examples include: -- Raising accessibility issues in team meetings -- Auditing projects for areas for improvement -- Ensuring there is axe-core testing in our CI/CD process (pa11y with axe, Cypress-axe) -- Ensure developers are using an accessibility linter ([VSCode](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=deque-systems.vscode-axe-linter), phpStorm, atom) -- Ensuring designers include [accessibility annotations](https://medium.com/designing-atlassian/create-accessible-designs-using-the-figma-a11y-annotation-kit-35371f00dac5) in wireframes -- Working with the project team/PMs to better integrate accessibility into ticketing process -- Coordinating actions using shared decision-making and prioritization criteria -- Building [checklists](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/playbook/checklists) or default acceptance criteria -- Do accessibility code reviews and help coach others on the team -- Leading [ARRM workshops](https://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/wiki/ARRM_Project_-_Accessibility_Roles_and_Responsibilities_Mapping) if useful for new project or addressing backlogs +* Raising accessibility issues in team meetings +* Auditing projects for areas for improvement +* Ensuring there is axe-core testing in our CI/CD process (pa11y with axe, Cypress-axe) +* Ensure developers are using an accessibility linter ([VSCode](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=deque-systems.vscode-axe-linter), phpStorm, atom) +* Ensuring designers include [accessibility annotations](https://medium.com/designing-atlassian/create-accessible-designs-using-the-figma-a11y-annotation-kit-35371f00dac5) in wireframes +* Working with the project team/PMs to better integrate accessibility into ticketing process +* Coordinating actions using shared decision-making and prioritization criteria +* Building [checklists](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/playbook/checklists) or default acceptance criteria +* Do accessibility code reviews and help coach others on the team +* Leading [ARRM workshops](https://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/wiki/ARRM_Project_-_Accessibility_Roles_and_Responsibilities_Mapping) if useful for new project or addressing backlogs ## Champion levels There is an infinite amount that can be done on accessibility. And yet, we want the program to be a welcoming place for the accessibility-curious to be able to join without the need for advanced study or certifications. Levels provide an on-ramp for staff that may be less experienced with digital accessibility as well as leadership and mentorship opportunities for more experienced staff. The levels are set up to encourage people to push themselves to learn more with time and practice. @@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ There is an infinite amount that can be done on accessibility. And yet, we want As champions gain skills, experience, and responsibility they can advance through three levels: ### Level 1 — Basic knowledge -No previous accessibility knowledge or experience is necessary for this level, only an enthusiasm to learn. In addition to [Accessibility Onboarding](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/guide/onboarding-staff) for new employees, all CivicActions employees are encouraged to take an [Introduction to Web Accessibility course](https://www.edx.org/learn/web-accessibility/the-world-wide-web-consortium-w3c-introduction-to-web-accessibility). All employees are welcome to attend the practice area calls and engage in the Slack channel to keep up with best practices and internal accessibility discussions. At this level, the goal is to be able to articulate the importance of accessibility and to identify and prioritize common accessibility issues. +No previous accessibility knowledge or experience is necessary for this level, only an enthusiasm to learn. In addition to [Accessibility Onboarding](https://accessibility.civicactions.com/guide/onboarding-staff) for new employees, all CivicActions employees are encouraged to take an [Introduction to Web Accessibility course](https://www.edx.org/learn/web-accessibility/the-world-wide-web-consortium-w3c-introduction-to-web-accessibility). All employees are welcome to attend the practice area calls and engage in the Slack channel to keep up with best practices and internal accessibility discussions. At this level, the goal is to be able to articulate the importance of accessibility and to identify and prioritize common accessibility issues. ### Level 2 — Experienced This level is for employees who are able to analyze the accessibility of a task across multiple pages and components and recommend solutions with confidence. Open to employees who have worked toward more in-depth accessibility certification through International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) [Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)](https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/certified-professional), [IAAP Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS)](https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/s/wascertification) or [DHS Trusted Tester](https://www.dhs.gov/trusted-tester). Level 2 Champions contribute to the website, write articles, and lead Accessibility Onboarding Workshops for new employees. @@ -84,14 +84,14 @@ Level 3 is all about impact. At this level, Champions are able to evaluate the a ## Resources to start an Accessibility Champions program Articles and talks about beginning and growing Accessibility Champion programs to get you started. -- Minnesota State Government: [Accessibility Challenge - Nurture More Champions Part 1](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-516010) & [Part 2](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-518320) -- [LinkedIN's Program](https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2019/05/scaling-accessibility-through-a11y-champions-program) -- The A11y Global Collective: [Scaling Accessibility — Intuit's Accessibility Champions Program (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np6sIWUTPlE) -- AbilityNet - - [14 tips to build an accessibility champions' network](https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/14-tips-build-accessibility-champions-network) - - [Creating an accessibility champions network (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWY_YBz5mSI) -- Aimée Danger - - [Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.aimeedanger.com/portfolio/accessibility-champions-program/) - - [Accessibility Champions Program + Empathy Lab (PDF)](https://www.aimeedanger.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ACEL-0330-1.pdf) -- GDS/BBC Webinar: [Accessibility Culture eats WCAG compliance for breakfast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BktMJzjf7xs&t=1s&ab_channel=UKGovDesign) -- Sagar Barbhaya - [Expand Your Outreach with an Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIVafzpFkw&ab_channel=A11yBytes) +* Minnesota State Government: [Accessibility Challenge - Nurture More Champions Part 1](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-516010) & [Part 2](https://mn.gov/mnit/media/blog/?id=38-518320) +* [LinkedIN's Program](https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2019/05/scaling-accessibility-through-a11y-champions-program) +* The A11y Global Collective: [Scaling Accessibility — Intuit's Accessibility Champions Program (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np6sIWUTPlE) +* AbilityNet + * [14 tips to build an accessibility champions' network](https://abilitynet.org.uk/news-blogs/14-tips-build-accessibility-champions-network) + * [Creating an accessibility champions network (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWY_YBz5mSI) +* Aimée Danger + * [Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.aimeedanger.com/portfolio/accessibility-champions-program/) + * [Accessibility Champions Program + Empathy Lab (PDF)](https://www.aimeedanger.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ACEL-0330-1.pdf) +* GDS/BBC Webinar: [Accessibility Culture eats WCAG compliance for breakfast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BktMJzjf7xs&t=1s&ab_channel=UKGovDesign) +* Sagar Barbhaya - [Expand Your Outreach with an Accessibility Champions Program](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIVafzpFkw&ab_channel=A11yBytes) From 012e6b17722104513f128d61141188ca3d6e53e0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jacqueline Quintanilla Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2024 09:51:34 -0500 Subject: [PATCH 4/4] Remove duplicate word. --- _guide/champions-program.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/_guide/champions-program.md b/_guide/champions-program.md index 5d8283ad..6c1bbeac 100644 --- a/_guide/champions-program.md +++ b/_guide/champions-program.md @@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ We are building a program in which: * We share what we learn with the wider community ## Program recruitment -All CivicActioners are encouraged to become Accessibility Champions. Champions come in all sizes and shapes and it is expected that there will be differences in the needs that functional and client teams have. We have ACs on client teams and in functional teams (other practice areas). Teams may decide that they need to have people with more or less experience to lead. Some teams will will have only one, but some may have more Champions, particularly if there is mentoring or a distribution of labor involved. +All CivicActioners are encouraged to become Accessibility Champions. Champions come in all sizes and shapes and it is expected that there will be differences in the needs that functional and client teams have. We have ACs on client teams and in functional teams (other practice areas). Teams may decide that they need to have people with more or less experience to lead. Some teams will have only one, but some may have more Champions, particularly if there is mentoring or a distribution of labor involved. ### Who makes a good Champion? Generally individuals volunteer for this role because they are interested in expanding their accessibility skillset and are passionate about leveling up the accessibility practices of their team. People who are motivating to others, self-directed, self-aware, in tune with team needs, and who have a bias toward action tend to make great Accessibility Champions.