The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20121023102030/http://www.w3.org/WAI/Technical/Activity
WAI Technical Activity Statement
The Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI) Technical Activity addresses barriers to Web
accessibility on several levels. First, it seeks to ensure that the full range
of core technologies of the Web, from HTML to the Semantic Web, is accessible.
Barriers exist when these technologies lack features needed by users with
visual, auditory, physical, cognitive or neurological disabilities; or when the
accessibility potential in the technology is not implemented in Web content or
applications. The WAI Technical Activity coordinates closely with the WAI International Program
Office, which focuses on WAI education and outreach, research and
development, and overall coordination of WAI activities.
The WAI Technical Activity reviews accessibility support across all W3C
specifications, and develops the WAI-ARIA suite of resources for making Rich
Internet Applications accessible through the work of the Protocols and Formats
Working Group (PFWG). The WAI Technical Activity promotes implementation of
accessibility improvements in Web technologies through development of a set of
three WAI guidelines as Recommendations: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG), and Authoring Tool
Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG). These guidelines describe features needed to
achieve different levels of accessibility, and include reference checklists and
implementation techniques. The WAI Technical Activity also develops techniques
to improve tools for evaluation and repair of Web sites through the work of the
Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT WG).
Highlights Since the Previous Advisory Committee Meeting
Since the previous W3C Advisory Committee Meeting in November 2011, the WAI
Technical Activity accomplished the following through its five Working
Groups.
The Protocols and Formats Working
Group (PFWG) (Member PFWG
page):
- Published First Public Working Draft of Media Accessibility User Requirements (intended to be a Working
Group Note), and an updated Working Draft of WAI-ARIA 1.0 User
Agent Implementation Guide.
- Processed public comments on the Accessible Rich
Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 Candidate Recommendation, Role
Attribute 1.0 Last Call Working Draft, Media Accessibility User Requirements First Public Working Draft,
and WAI-ARIA
1.0 User Agent Implementation Guide Working Draft.
- Continued to develop testable statements for WAI-ARIA and migrated to a test harness.
Expanded the set of associated test
files and began the process of testing user agents and collecting
implementation information for the draft
implementation report. This work continues to be guided by the test plan.
- Continued review of W3C Last Call Working Drafts and dialog with other W3C
Working Groups to address accessibility issues in W3C specifications.
The PFWG reviewed and in some cases sent comments on Audio Processing
API, CSS 3 Backgrounds and Borders, CSS 3 Image Values, CSS 3 UI, CSS
Speech, CSS Values and Units, CSS3 User Interface, DeviceOrientation
Event, Geolocation API, HTML 5 Web Messaging, HTML Speech Incubator
Group Final Report, MediaStream Processing API, Points of Interest
Core, Requirements for Home Networking Scenarios, Scripted Animation
Timing, Timing Control for Script-Based Animations, Touch Events, Web
Audio API, Web Real-Time Communications, Web Workers.
- Began regular review of new Community and Business
Groups to help ensure accessibility issues are considered from the
beginning. The majority of groups have some accessibility
implications. It is unachievable for the PFWG to centrally monitor the
large number of these groups, so the PFWG focused on suggesting
participation to individuals in the wider accessibility community
based on known skills and interest.
- The joint HTML
Accessibility Task Force with the HTML 5 WG continued to address
specific solutions to accessibility issues found in the HTML 5 Last Call
Working Draft of 25 May 2011. In addition to the main task force,
its five sub-groups work on canvas, media, ARIA mapping, text
alternatives, and issue management. Focus has been on complete
engineering of new features and avoiding removal of older but still
needed features.
- Participated in the joint HTML 5
Techniques Task Force with the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines Working Group.
- Continued the process to spin off a new Working Group, now known as the
Independent User Interface (Indie UI) Working Group, to develop an
event and context model that allows the use of alternate input devices
such as assistive technologies, while providing a simple model for
authors to develop interaction for a wide array of devices. This works
as an intermediate layer between device- and modality-specific events
and the functionality needed by Web applications. Indie UI will be
jointly developed with the Web Events Working Group.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Working Group (WCAG WG):
The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working
Group (AUWG):
- AUWG focused on completing changes to Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 and Implementing ATAG 2.0 based on new comments in response to the July 2011 working draft. Several of these comments represented complex issues that took months to negotiate with other W3C groups or member companies. AUWG published a Last Call Working Draft in April 2012. AUWG has been assembling a preliminary implementation report based on current market products, writing test cases and promoting implementations of ATAG 2.0 in preparation for Candidate Recommendation.
The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group
(UAWG):
- UAWG has completed writing Implementing UAAG
2.0 and continues to improve User Agent Accessibility
Guidelines (UAAG) 2.0. UAWG has not published a formal working
draft in 9 months as they intended the next draft to be a Last Call,
but keep discovering issues that need clarification before finalizing
Last Call. Most recently, the group voted down a Last Call publication
in January citing concerns with the distribution of success criteria.
UAWG continues to resolve outstanding issues and close action items,
and plans to publish a heartbeat draft. Since their last formal
publication, the group has published 19 dated Editors' Drafts, met
weekly, and sent over 325 messages to the group email list. UAWG wrote
a report on the applicability of UAAG 2.0 to mobile devices and
browsers.
The Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT
WG):
The Independent User Interface
Working Group (Indie UI WG)
- W3C Management approved creation of the Indie UI WG just prior to
the AC meeting.
Upcoming Activity Highlights
Protocols and Formats Working Group:
- Publish WAI-ARIA User Agent Implementation Guide Last Call Working Draft
and advance to Candidate Recommendation.
- Publish Role Attribute Candidate Recommendation and Proposed
Recommendation.
- Publish updated Working Drafts of the WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices,
WAI-ARIA Primer, and WAI-ARIA Roadmap.
- Expand the test harness for WAI-ARIA, develop additional test cases and
test files, and collect comprehensive test results on multiple user
agents.
- Continue to process high-priority accessibility issues that were not
addressed in the HTML 5 Last Call or introduced since then.
- Continue review and dialog on accessibility issues in W3C Working
Drafts.
- Continue to monitor Community Groups and other relevant activity that
impacts accessibility.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group:
- Document additional techniques for WCAG 2.0, primarily focused on HTML 5
and WAI-ARIA.
- Maintain and improve Understanding WCAG 2.0.
- Respond to public comments on WCAG 2.0 and support materials.
- Publish updated Working Group Notes of Understanding WCAG 2.0 and WCAG
2.0 Techniques.
- Publish a public review draft of Understanding WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.0
Techniques reflecting the above work.
- Coordinate with other groups to support understanding and implementation
of WCAG 2.0.
- Publish a new Working Group Note documenting a
success-criteria-by-success-criteria discussion of applying WCAG 2.0
to non-Web Information Communication Technology, including their
interface components and platforms, and the extent to which WCAG
Conformance is meaningful to non-Web ICT.
- Improve the effectiveness of How to Meet WCAG 2.0, also known as the
Quick Reference.
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group:
- AUWG will develop a test suite and plans to use the new framework being developed by the Testing IG. The working group will continue to test and develop a implementation report to determine gaps in implementations. Outreach to authoring tool vendors will continue to raise awareness and promote implementation. AUWG will respond to any comments on the 10 April Last Call Working Draft and intends to progress to Candidate Recommendation phase.
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group:
- UAWG plans to return to a heartbeat schedule of publishing and publish a Last Call working draft when the documents are complete. UAWG is planning a face to face meeting in June to: resolve outstanding issues, review success criteria levels and prioritize any remaining tasks to be completed before Last Call. UAWG will continue to promote UAAG 2.0 and look for implementations for Candidate Recommendation. The working group will begin developing a test suite for UAAG 2.0 and plans to use the test framework being developed by the Testing IG.
Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group:
- Publish Last Call Working Draft of EARL 1.0, including:
- Publish the Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 Schema as a
Last Call Working Draft
- Publish the Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 Guide as a
Last Call Working Draft
- Publish HTTP Vocabulary in RDF as a Working Group Note
- Publish Representing Content in RDF as a Working Group Note
- Publish Pointer Methods in RDF as a Working Draft
- Contribute to the W3C testing
infrastructure to develop evaluation and testing methodologies for WAI
guidelines and specifications
Independent User Interface Working Group:
- Form a joint task force with the Web Events Working
Group.
- Collate requirements for Indie UI.
- Publish a First Public Working Draft of Indie UI: Events 1.0.
- Begin preparation of test cases for Indie UI.
Summary of Activity Structure
This Activity Statement was prepared for
TPAC 2012 per section 5
of the W3C Process Document.
Generated
from group data.
Judy Brewer, WAI Technical
Activity Lead
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