So you have the Access Analysis in hand and may have completed the ADAPT training event to help your developers kick off your dive into accessibility. You are ready to begin the project, or are determined to make the next release of existing products 508 “Compliant”, “Accessible” and “Usable”. One way to be sure that the project starts off on-track Accessible Design Consulting. Accessible Design consulting provides the development team with quick answers to their questions as they implement the recommendations in the Access analysis. Accessible Design Consulting provides the “as needed” touchstone to think through and formulate technical next steps in the accessible design development life cycle.
Accessible Design Consulting is support through comprehensive documentation and direct interactive consultation. Our AT/IT Integrators utilize e-mail, teleconferencing, conference bridges, IM—whatever is most effective for us to work optimally with your technical assets. Our flexibility ensures the quickest response using the most appropriate medium, whenever your teams need it. Accessible Design Consulting can be scheduled at specified intervals (“Touch-Point calls”), or as-needed/on-demand, as a quick response resource to get through tough or unforeseen hurdles. Accessible Design Consulting is an “on demand” support service that many times requires a quick turnaround time. To meet that demand, we connect your team with a VVT Integrator that you already know and trust, and who can deliver consulting support in whichever way is most effective for the task at hand.
For single issues, or simple direction, we leverage e-mail, IM, and other quick-turn synchronous and asynchronous communication resources. For more complex issues, multiple concerns, or direct remote assistance, a conference would be recommended as the most direct option for obtaining recommendations and resolving issues. For such a support conference, your development or QA team would compile their questions and concerns prior to the call, formulating an agenda which can be as simple as bulleted issues. We’ll work with you to schedule the most convenient (and immediate, if necessary) time to meet. Let us know who should be participating from your side, and an invite can be sent to directly to your team members to coordinate scheduling.
Remote resolution of issues, (or demonstration of concepts/techniques) is normally the most effective way to provide Accessible Design Consulting. Our Integrators routinely work with organizations’ remote networking or remote control technologies for online, collaboration at a distance (VPN, extranet, remote administration tools like JAWS Tandem, [tight]VNC, MS-Remote Desktop/Terminal Services, RAdmin, etc.). This support delivery method quickly cuts to the heart of any consulting issues without the overhead of logistics required for on-site support.
ACCESSIBLE DESIGN CONSULTING is the consulting support that gets your team going and keeps it on a defined course toward accessibility. Accessible Design Consulting is only paid as it is used and all charges are for real time, making it very cost effective consulting support. Our experience is that teams use Accessible Design Consulting primarily in the beginning, until they find their own “legs” to stand on a platform of good accessibility, usability, and compliance. Later, the need is only sporadic, leveraged if and when they need to define direction for new ventures or alternative options to guide technical next steps.
