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The Cynthia Says™ portal educates users in the concepts behind Web site accessibility. The simple, well-designed interface puts accessibility compliant code within the reach of all users, even those with little or no knowledge of Web design. The Cynthia Says™ portal provides feedback to users in a reporting format that is clear and easy to understand. Accessibility issues are detected within web sites from Web-based applications, dynamic pages, or static HTML pages. Users get an immediate “status” of their Web site accessibility. To find these, Cynthia Says™ utilizes HiSoftware’s AccMonitor Server technology, through which USER Agents (crawlers/scanners) collect individual page or dynamic page accessibility data. This information is then sent to the central server where actual accessibility verification is performed. The output is returned immediately to the user's browser.
This page will describe the challenges of developing this site and the solutions that were selected to deliver this portal that on its 6th day in existence is well over 5000 users a day taking advantage of its service. We will discuss:
The Cynthia Says portal had to meet several Key Goals:
The Content Development Environments: The requirement of being accessible had to be met. All content had to conform with Section 508 and WCAG Priority One accessibility guidelines. The selected content development environments were Microsoft FrontPage and Microsoft Office. The content developed for the site was tested with AccRepair for FrontPage and AccRepair by HiSoftware.
The HTML 4.01 Specification: The site had to comply to a formal HTML specification. It had to be configured so this could be accomplished easily and so that the developers, using templates could easily deliver and test documents that did comply, without the technical knowledge of the standard and a code level understanding, which would not make sense for general "contributors." Again, the selected content development environments were Microsoft FrontPage and Microsoft Office. The content developed for the site was tested with AccRepair for FrontPage and AccRepair by HiSoftware as well by using the HTML Validator at the W3C web site.
It had to support a high number of transactions per hour: The platform selected was a Windows 2000 Server running Internet Information Server Version 5.
It had to be easy to use: Well this is an interesting topic, since usability does not mean the same to all users. The main items to accomplish this were to make the site accessible and provide user and understanding guides. In addition to creating tutorials for each main Priority one and Section 508 guideline/standard, several instructional videos were created. These videos were edited, formatted and resized using Microsoft Movie Maker. Captioning was added using Hi-Caption generated SAMI files. These tutorials provide an introduction to the Cynthia Says Portal Service.
It had to be easy to maintain: The solution for Web site management was Microsoft FrontPage, with templates and include files, and HiSoftware AccRepair. With simple web site structure and reporting features the creation and maintenance of the Cynthia Says portal is a breeze, and the integrated AccRepair made accessibility an integrated function. The HiSoftware WebSite Promotion Suite and TagGen for FrontPage were used for promoting the Cynthia Says site. FrontPage, along with AccRepair excelled at creating an accessible and usable web site that was easy to manage. The promotion and metadata tools made it simple to manage a promotion and outreach plan.
A simple feedback mechanism was required: For this simple forms were used that easily integrated with the FrontPage Server Extensions to provide e-mail feedback to the Cynthia Says Portal team. Additionally, an ASP driven forum was created to allow for user feedback.
Content had to be accepted from multiple authoring Environments: Whether content was developed in Microsoft FrontPage or Microsoft Office, it had to easily be managed. Again Microsoft FrontPage was the system used to manage the content.
The Content Quality needed to be Monitored for Structure and Accessibility: To monitor the site for accessibility, we used the technology that drives Cynthia Says, the AccMonitor Server. You can view the reports that are generated on this site. From a structural perspective, the HiSoftware Web Site Monitor was used as this quickly reported back an inventory of files and any errors with internal or external links. This again is scheduled and a system of email alerts immediately lets the support team know if there are any problems with the site. You can view the site structure reports that are generated on this site.
The Site and Server needed to be monitored for Up Time and Performance: It was important that since this service had to be up 24/7 to fulfill its education and outreach goals, it be stable and perform well. The Windows 2000 Server offered this, but in the best of worlds there can still be performance and Internet outages. With this in mind, we monitor the site with the HiSoftware Web Site Monitor. We keep this configured to monitor both performance and up-time.
The Cynthia Says Validation and Reporting Technology is developed with the Web Test interface of HiSoftware AccMonitor. This same technology is available for use in desktop editions, server editions, and web-based testing solutions. There are also versions available for leading testing and CMS solutions. To learn more please visit the HiSoftware Site
Founded in 1998, The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet (ICDRI) is a non-profit center based in the United States and designated as a 501 (c)(3) entity.
Our overarching vision is the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities. As an internationally recognized public policy center organized by and for people with disabilities, ICDRI seeks to increase opportunities for people with disabilities by identifying barriers to participation in society and promoting best practices and universal design for the global community.
ICDRI’s mission includes the collection of a knowledge base of quality
disability resources and best practices and to provide education, outreach and
training based on these core resources. ICDRI makes this information available
in an accessible format through their web site at
http://www.icdri.org
About Internet Society Disability and Special
Needs Chapter
This is the first chapter in the Internet Society that is not a geographically
based chapter. It is dedicated to addressing the needs of people with special
needs that are related to the Internet and its attendant technologies. The
chapter brings together the experts and leaders of the sector presenting the
most up to date knowledge and technologies to eliminate barriers and increase
the number of users/clients of a "Website". As a web content accessibility
interest group, the conveners of this chapter aim to make the Internet and its
attendant technologies accessible to the largest audience possible regardless of
disabilities. More information about the chapter is available at:
http://www.isocdisab.org/about.htm
About HiSoftware
HiSoftware Company, the leader in enterprise content quality management
solutions, provides innovative products that empower quality assurance teams,
content developers, Web site architects, and company executives to work
collaboratively on their efforts to create and manage corporate Web standards
for Accessibility, Privacy, Searchability, Usability and custom guidelines and
policies. HiSoftware’s integrated, full lifecycle solutions dramatically reduce
the time required to test, manage and deploy e-business Web sites.
HiSoftware works closely with industry leaders and visionaries to provide
solutions for today's information accessibility, content quality, search and
retrieval needs. HiSoftware’s customers represent Fortune 500 companies, and
many of the largest e-commerce, government, and educational sites in North
America and around the world and include ChevronTexaco, Commerce One, Mercury
Interactive, and Microsoft Government.
Founded in 1998, HiSoftware Company maintains North American corporate
headquarters in Concord, New Hampshire. Further information about HiSoftware can
be found online at http://www.hisoftware.com
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The HiSoftware Cynthia Says Portal complies with WCAG 1.0 Priority 1 Guidelines and Section 508 Standards, view our site accessibility statement
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