U S General Services Administration Section 508 Basics
U. S. General Services Administration Section 508 Basics – Procurement Procuring ICT Products and Services presented by Helen Chamberlain General Services Administration Office of Governmentwide Policy
Office of Information, Integrity, & Access Helping federal leaders tackle their IT and policy challenges Protecting and confirming identity and access to federal systems and buildings 2 Technical assistance to ensure accessibility of ICT Domain registration, management and security for all federal domains Improving access to shared services through support to agencies and use of a data catalogue
Who’s Involved? GSA Provides Technical Support for Implementing the Law DOJ Enforces the Law through Administrative Processes and Surveys Access Board Provides Guidelines, Standards and Technical Support Section 508 Coordinators DHS Trusted Tester Program Provides a standard for Testing 3 Accessibility Community of Practice Provides Networking and Resources
Section 508 Ecosystem 4
Procuring ICT Products and Services • Section 508 starts at the creation of ICT requirements 5
Requiring Authority Responsibilities The most important person in the procurement process! Identify Section 508 requirements and include in SOW Conduct market research Use BA Tools (Quick Links) for CC purchases Coordinate with: IT Specialist to: Identify 508 technical requirements IT Testers to: Identify inspection and acceptance criteria for deliverables Program Management to: Determine proposal evaluation factors Contracting Officers to: Ensure that accessibility requirements, inspection and acceptance criteria, and evaluation factors are appropriately represented in the solicitation Participate in proposal evaluation 6
Contracting Officer Responsibilities – Ensuring that the Requiring Authority : • Micro Purchases – Properly identifies Section 508 technical requirements – Conducts market research – Documents Section 508 due diligence (BAW) • Complex Purchases – Above plus – Ensure that requirements, inspection and acceptance criteria and evaluation factors are appropriately represented in the solicitation – Participates in proposal evaluation • Makes sure the solicitation is in an accessible format 7
CIO Responsibilities • CIO is responsible for: • Identifying current needs for IT purchases • May be purchasing authority • CIO may coordinate with Requiring Authority to: • Identify applicability and Section 508 technical requirements • Determine inspection and acceptance criteria for deliverables • Determine program evaluation factors –Conducting accessibility testing 8
GPAT VS VPAT 9
VPATS and GPATS 10 • • What is a VPAT? Voluntary Product Accessibility Template Industry created form Who uses it? • • What is a GPAT? Government Product Accessibility Template Output from BAW How is it used?
Summary: How to Comply with Section 508 Make a strong statement of Section 508 relevance Identify applicable technical provisions Identify applicable functional performance criteria Information documentation and support always apply! If you have an EXCEPTION, state it Ensure accessible solicitation documents Ask the vendor to conform to your accessibility requirements, do not ask the vendor to comply or “certify” accessibility Consider accessibility in source selections Inspect what you expect to accept Document and audit To do all this, use the Buy. Accessible System • • • 11
Buy. Accessible Tools and Resources • www. section 508. gov • The Buy Accessible Wizard is a web-based tool that: – Guides users through the acquisition process, gathering data and providing information about Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and Section 508 compliance – Compiles a running summary documenting the process and its results • The Vendor Accessibility Resource Center (VARC) – access to vendor provided accessibility information 12
Buy. Accessible Process Buy. Accessible Wizard Coordinates Four Basic Steps: 1. Need: Identify ICT deliverables and determine if any Section 508 exceptions apply 2. Requirement: Define physical and functional characteristics of ICT deliverables to identify Section 508 requirements, documented as Government Product Accessibility Template (GPAT) 3. Research: Document accessibility market research 4. Solicitation: Generate solicitation language for acquisitions above the micro-purchase threshold (> $3000) 13
Section 508. gov 14
Buy: Procuring Accessible ICT 15
Welcome to Buy Accessible 16
Government Product Accessibility Template for Smartphone 17
Section 508 BA Quick Links 18
Micro Purchases • • • 19 Section 508 still applies! Still have to do market research Purchases under $3500 Usually with a Credit Card Can use the Buy Accessible Wizard Can use the Quick Links
Why Quick Links? • Some buyers are in a hurry. • Some buyers know exactly what they want. • Great for Micro Purchases! “Just get me to the bottom line and fast!” 20
Quick Links Currently Provide • Standard definition of the deliverable • GPAT: – Technical standards (Subpart B) – Functional performance criteria (Subpart C) – Information, documentation and support (Subpart D) • Solicitation language: – – 21 Section 508 Program Need (Section B) Section 508 Product Requirements (Section C) Section 508 Evaluation Factors (Section M) Section 508 Acceptance Criteria (Section E)
Quick Links home page 22
GSA IT Solutions Navigator • What is the IT Solutions Navigator tool? The IT Solutions Navigator tool is a support system that assists customers in evaluating GSA’s Integrated Technology Services (ITS) solution categories and identifying an appropriate acquisition vehicle to meet their business needs. 23
How do I use the IT Solutions Navigator Tool? • The IT Solutions Navigator tool walks customers through a simple contract matching process, as identified below: • Step 1, ”Define Your Organization”: Federal, state, local, or tribal government • Step 2, “Select from the Solution Categories below”: desired solution categories, • Step 3, “Specify Acquisition Requirements and Priorities”: customers specify their acquisition requirements and priorities. • The system displays the most suitable contract vehicle(s) matching customers’ selections and responses. 24
GSA IT Solutions Navigator Tool 25
First Cell Phone - 1973 26
First Portable Computer - 1981 27
First Website - 1991 28
Helping at the Bank 29
Suggestions Please! • The BA team encourages your input so: – Go to www. section 508. gov – Take a tour – Review the content – Test the links – Open the documents – Send us your input – This is your site and we want to make sure you can find all the information you need to do your job successfully! 30
Questions? 31
- Slides: 31