Accessible ICT Design and/or Development
Not all information and communication technology (ICT) we procure or use is pre-built, often called a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product. We hire companies to provide design and/or development work.
Design work is sometimes called creative deliverables:
- online marketing materials, like ad banners or videos
- website maintenance, like copywriting and graphics design
- electronic documents, like Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF documents
Development work often includes design but has a general point:
- develop a marketing or informational website, which may include content pulled from a database
- develop or customize a component or module on a COTS product.
These must be reviewed for digital accessibility compliance like any other IT procured or used by TAMU-CC. The accessibility review process is different from reviewing COTS products.
Steps in the IT accessibility review process for design/development work
The company needs to follow technical accessibility standards, but we have no ICT to review to ensure compliance. It has not been designed and/or developed.
- With no ICT to review, the company needs to fill out the Vendor Accessibility Development Services form. The survey asks about the company's culture of inclusivity and how they test their ICT for accessibility.
- If they need to address information security as well, they can file the current Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT) (version 3.03 or later). The above IT accessibility survey questions are already included.
Companies are often compared by their documentation at this point. The company that is most compliant and addresses TAMU-CC's business needs is hired*. If concerns cannot be addressed, TAMU-CC will start over and reach out for new bids for the services.
When the company is hired, the accessibility review is addressed throughout the "project life cycle". Note the cycle is shorter for just design work.
See example: IBM's Equal Access Toolkit
* Federal and state regulations require TAMU-CC to procure accessible IT solutions. Updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will affect the university's ability to acquire inaccessible IT solutions by April 24, 2026. Inaccessible components should be addressed before this deadline.
Note: This is an ongoing, cyclical process until the university is no longer using the ICT.
Not all areas or elements may be accessible upon launch of the ICT. Ensure a roadmap is in place to address non-compliant items soon. One week after launch? Two weeks? Whatever the plan, the main goal is progress.
If the ICT will not be accessible at launch, an accessibility exception will need to be filed. This needs to include the roadmap showing the work that will continue to improve the digital accessibility compliance of the ICT.