Content created by Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
Requirements and Authorization
All information and communication technology (ICT) must conform to Section 508. ICT includes documents and systems/web applications among other technology. The HHS Section 508 Conformance Checklists serve as the test set for conformance. As determined by the HHS Policy for Section 508 Compliance and Accessibility of ICT, the OS Section 508 Program Manager has established a process to test ICT against the HHS Section 508 conformance checklists and provide customers with conformance feedback. Per the policy, “Owners and authors must consult with their respective OpDiv Section 508 program team to confirm compliance has been met”. Meaning it is the sole responsibility of content owner(s) to ensure conformance with HHS Section 508 requirements.
Engaging the OS Digital Accessibility Solution Center during an initiation phase is strongly encouraged. Remediating content is rework, which requires the added (or unplanned) use of resources. Rework is organizational waste. Content owners are responsible for scheduling enough time for conformance validation to occur.
OS Digital Accessibility Solution Center Operations and Contact Information
The solution center is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. eastern time, excluding federal holidays. Processing of requests received outside of service hours occurs the next business day.
Submit general inquiries to the OS Digital Accessibility Service Desk. Inquiries will receive a response within 1 business day.
Standard (no cost) services are available to all OS StaffDivs. Standard services include:
- ICT Acquisition and development life cycle consultation
- ICT conformance validation by certified digital accessibility subject matter experts (SMEs)
- ICT conformance defect reviews
Premium (paid) services are available to all OS StaffDivs and OpDivs. Email the OS Digital Accessibility Program to request premium services. A request for more information will occur within 1 business day. Cost estimate generation often needs extra details. Estimates account for format(s), complexity, deadlines, quantity, and iterations. Premium services include:
- Testing as a Services (TaaS) (available to OpDivs)
- Remediation as a Service (RaaS)
- Embedded Digital Accessibility SME on development team
- Website Scanning and Defect Calibration
Standard Service Level Agreement
ICT Conformance Review Timeline
Service requests are processed on a first come first serve basis. Important: Each request for service must allow at least 2 weeks for fulfillment. The timeline can vary due to the volume in the ticket queue and the complexity of content submitted. Reasonable attempts are made to meet customer deadlines. But the content owner’s responsibility is to ensure adequate time is available to test and remediate content.
Deferral or expedited review consideration requests must contain a justification. Email the OS Digital Accessibility Service Desk with the content and justification. Deferrals and expedited requests are only approved by the OS Digital Accessibility Program Manager or designee.
ICT Conformance Review Submissions
To submit content for testing, download and complete the intake form. Submit the completed intake form and content (or URL and access credentials) to the OS Digital Accessibility Service Desk. A new download of the intake form for each submission ensures use of the correct form version. Missing required form fields and attached content (when applicable) delays the intake process. Note: Incomplete submissions will be rejected and will not enter the queue.
Upon submission acceptance, the customer receives a ticket number within 1 business day. Re-submitted content must include the last associated ticket number. Ticket numbers identify the correct iteration of content. Re-submitted content does not need a new intake form. Re-submitted content will receive a new ticket number.
ICT Conformance Review Reports
A conformance review results in a conformance report for each associated content type. The HHS Section 508 Conformance Checklists are the report template. The report provides a conformance status of each HHS digital accessibility conformance rule.
Non-conformant checkpoints include failure details. The failure details provide context about the failure(s) and expected resolution(s). Failure details do not identify all instances of a failure. The responsibility of remediating all instances of failures belongs to the content owner.
An OS certified digital accessibility SME must confirm content meets all HHS requirements. Each associated content type then receives a clean conformance report.
ICT Conformance Defect Reviews
Customers can request a defect review for failure details that are not understood. The OS Digital Accessibility Service Desk receives and coordinates defect review requests. Defect review requests must include associated content ticket number(s). Defect reviews are 30-minute virtual sessions. The primary audience is the content owner and/or author and an OS Digital Accessibility SME. The SME will provide an overview of the failures and show best practices to meet conformance. The SME will not remediate the content but will answer questions. The content owner and/or author should record the session for future reference.