In association with Chelford solutions and Sitecore,  I was recently asked to write a paper on the WCAG and ATAG, the focus was on version 1 of these initiatives rather than the still to be completed version 2.0, i tried to focus on the user aspects of the processes and as is my want leant towards the parallels between usability and accessibility, grateful thanks to Mike Ellis or electronic museum fame for the multiple peer reviews and edits

"Building accessibility and usability can often seen as a desirable add-on to your web project, something you do after the graphics and technical development has been completed. The process of making your site service can be seen as either extra effort, with limited benefit to the organisation or as simple tick box activity run the site through a few automated checks make a few changes to comply with the rules ad there you have it job done.

A standards compliant site is not necessarily accessible or usable.

In truth accessibility should be part of the structural design process, part of the technical development process and a continuous process owned by the business once the service has gone live. The effort involved, however, is easily manageable by using the resources available online, which will guide you through the processes, and solutions which are designed to help make this process part of your business process.

Understanding the roles of the WAI, the aims of the WCAG and the ATAG will lead you towards, accessible, and by definition usable, web solutions which will meet the legal requirements, but more beneficially increase your organisations profile, and improve the experience for all your site visitors."

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