Canadian-Based Government Agency Accessibility Study
Abstract
As a public-facing entity, the agency had two main objectives for conducting the audit. They wanted to identify possible accessibility defects with their digital presence that could be acting as a barrier for engagement, and they wanted to improve application usability overall.
At a Glance
This Canadian-based government agency is committed to ensuring that its digital platforms and services are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Their commitment to providing services in ways that respect the dignity and independence of people with disabilities is a gold standard for all government agencies to aspire to. The agency engaged QA Consultants to provide a detailed accessibility audit for its constituent-facing website. The review tested over 65 website pages (mobile and desktop) using the WCAG 2.1 framework and 3550 success criteria as the baseline standard, as well as its web application.
The Challenge
The QA Consultants team expedited the launch of the audit, which required rapid, weekly feedback. Due to the size of the agency’s online presence, in terms of the number of website pages, the strategy involved focusing the audit on the website’s most critical and highest volume pages (65).
The Solution
The project goals were accomplished within a 6-week timeframe through a comprehensive audit, identifying 1,092 consolidated defects. Specific remediation techniques were provided to aid developers, and application usability was markedly improved.
The Results
1,092
consolidated accessibility defects identified and reported
Improved
application usability
Identified
false positives and negatives, which were eliminated due to experienced WCAG specialists
Recommended
improvements be made in their SDLC