DRAFT Maturity Model Task Force (MMTF) Work Statement

Status

The Maturity Model Task Force is under exploration by the APA Working Group. The Task Force home page contains information about the proposed operation and resources of the group.

Objective

The mission of the Maturity Model Task Force (MMTF) is to craft an Accessibility Maturity Model (AMM) narrative and assessment tool in support of W3C standards and other related guidance, such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Accessibility Rich Internet Applications (ARIA), in consultation with the APA Working Group. Specifically, the MMTF Accessibility Maturity Model will assist organizations in building capacity to develop, and maintain, accessible products or services.

There are multiple reasons why a comprehensive W3C Accessibility Maturity Model is needed and will be different from other models currently available elsewhere. These include:

The W3C AMM is available at no cost.
The W3C AMM can be completed and managed by an Organization without the assistance of outside contractors.
The W3C AMM can be completed in part, i.e., assessing a single Dimension like procurement, or in whole, assessing the entire Organization. Its output is useful either way.
The W3C AMM is established to be extensible. Users may add proof points or mark them as not applicable to adequately mirror their Organization’s unique requirements.
The W3C AMM informs Organizations on best practices for establishing and maintaining accessibility throughout the organizations web-based products and processes.
The webforms anticipated to be part of the final AMM deliverable can be used to produce reports that can be provided to others in the Organization, Customers, or regulators.
The W3C AMM maturity model anticipates questions that come up in the field and provides guidance on how to produce the most accessible response consistently and reliably.

Scope of Work

The MMTF works with multiple stakeholders to identify short and long-term strategies to measure organizational accessibility gaps. The stakeholders are non-profit organizations including public sector groups, and for-profit organizations of any size from one-person consulting companies to multinational organizations with hundreds of thousands of employees.

The MMTF will develop an informed Maturity Model narrative and an assessment tool that can be used to respond to the narrative which will calculate a score and identify areas that an organization can focus on to improve capacity to develop and maintain accessible products and services. Other metrics may be identified as comments are received from the stakeholder community implementing the AMM.

Approach

The MMTF works within the APA Working Group to identify organizational practices that will limit an organization’s ability to develop and maintain accessible products and services. The Task Force will define these gaps in terms of Maturity Model Proof Points and then seek to identify potential solutions via research findings to fill these gaps where possible. Using the WAI Interest Group, liaisons established as appropriate with other W3C groups, and networks of accessibility researchers maintained by Task Force members. The Task Force will conduct outreach to seek the latest findings that can fill gaps. The APA Working Group will pose Maturity Model questions to the MMTF.

The MMTF will prepare brief reports summarizing its findings in response to Maturity Model, then deliver these reports to the APA Working Group and disseminate them to relevant W3C and research communities.

Communication

MMTF communications and discussions must be visible to the public. The task force home page details communication mechanisms in use. The task force will:

Support synchronous (e.g., teleconferences, face-to-face meetings) and asynchronous (e.g., mailing list discussions, issue trackers, wiki, surveys, etc.) methods of communication;
Use the procedures of the APA Working Group Decision Policy to make decisions;
Provide updates and feedback to APA Working Group teleconferences, as appropriate. These liaisons are primarily the responsibility of the Maturity Model Task Force Facilitators;
Maintain information resulting from its activities (deliverables, participants, face-to-face meetings, teleconferences, etc.) on the Maturity Model Task Force home page.
Review minutes of meetings for mistakes and comment by email on any significant mistakes that need correction.

Participation

Any participant in the APA Working Group may participate in the Maturity Model Task Force. Participants should expect to dedicate 3 to 4 hours per week for Maturity Model Task Force work, which is considered part of the overall work commitment to the APA Working Group:

Remain current on the Maturity Model Task Force mailing list and respond to postings in a timely manner;
Provide feedback to editors of specifications via email or by filing GitHub issues;
Participate in weekly Maturity Model Task Force teleconferences, or send regrets to the Maturity Model Task Force mailing list. Participants are expected to attend at least 60 % of the meetings.

Participants may also join Maturity Model Task Force sub-groups. Sub-groups take on specific assignments for the Maturity Model Task Force.

If you are interested in becoming a participant of the Maturity Model Task Force or have any questions regarding its work, contact one or more of the task force facilitators listed below.

Current WAI-Adapt Task Force participants

Facilitation

Staff contacts from the APA Working Group oversee attention to W3C Process with respect to the chartered requirements of the Working Group. The Facilitators set agenda, lead meetings, determine consensus and are the primary liaison to the APA Working Group.

Facilitators: Janina Sajka, Sheri Byrne-Haber, David Fazio
Staff Contact: Ruoxi Ran

Patent Policy

This Task Force is part of the APA Working Group Charter, which operates under the W3C Patent Policy (Version of 15 September 2020). W3C maintains a public list of any patent disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the APA Working Group.