access

Accessibility and Usability Design

Summary

This approximately nine month engagement provided broad technical and management support to Hawaii Department of Health Disability Communication Access Board (DOH-DCAB) and other agencies. The scope included these primary objectives:

  • Guide management personnel in strategic decisions on policy and procedures to ensure efficient operations and maximize usability and accessibility for their constituents
  • Design and build improved websites on an open source CMS
  • Develop and provide training to office personnel so that they can create accessible content
  • Train other State of Hawaii agency personnel on website usability and content accessibility

Role

Growing awareness of shortcomings of DOH-DCAB web content accessibility, and a desire to “lead the way”, led the agency to engage MataiNet to provide a variety of services, including policy guidance, website design, content accessibility evaluation, remediation of online documents and forms, standardization of content processes, and extensive training on content usability and accessibility, for DOH-DCAB and other State and County personnel.

Outcomes and Innovations

  • DOH-DCAB website was redesigned and created on open source CMS, and all content was corrected for accessibility and transferred to the new website
  • Training for content accessibility was provided in person and via video conference
  • Later, the State Office of Information Management Technology required transition of the site to WordPress platform to standardize state, which I completed also

Example Artifacts

Processes

This was a general services agreement, in which MataiNet was tasked by DOH-DCAB Executive Director and staff. Having acquired considerable understanding on usability design and content accessibility, we were able to help a number of organizations understand the need for, and positive impact of usability and accessibility, as well as the potential negative consequences such as legal and financial when accessibility is ignored.

Platform/Tools

  • DotNetNuke
  • WordPress
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • MS Office suite
  • W3C validation tools, PowerMapper, TotalValidator, SortSite, WebAIM WAVE, UsableNet