[a11y Process Work] Create an a11y maturity model for teams

[joshkimux]

[!IMPORTANT] GITHUB PROJECT LOCATION Per @eli-oat on 11/15/2023: Notes for this work will be recorded on GitHub.

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Issue Description

@artsymartha68 had the idea of creating an a11y maturity model for teams to identify:

• which teams are more or less in need of accessibility support
• what kind of support teams may need
• who is currently supporting teams (e.g. specialists/champions)
• what pain points and strengths emerge as patterns for us to take strategic action on
• who to celebrate for their a11y success

A prototype of this by @coforma-terry and @joshkimux exists in the a11y dashboard

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Tasks

• [ ] Co-determine criteria to assess team a11y maturity
  • [ ] Ensure criteria considers team resources and staffing
  • [ ] Co-design criteria with a sample of product owners, product managers, a11y specialists, designers, and (if possible) disabled Veterans and the Section 508 office
  • [ ] If co-design is not possible, document it as a risk and future opportunity/need
• [ ] Operationalize criteria onto the a11y dashboard (or public equivalent)
  • [ ] Create and publish a plan on how to maintain the dashboard
  • [ ] Determine hours needed to operate and a responsible owner(s)
• [ ] Create a strategy to regularly publish/share team a11y maturity across VA.gov

Acceptance Criteria

• [ ] Measurable, non-vanity metrics exist to assess team a11y maturity
  • [ ] Metrics are reviewed by specialists, product owners, and any other relevant stakeholders
• [ ] Team a11y maturity is easily visible in a public location (e.g. the a11y dashboard, platform website, etc)
• [ ] A maintenance plan exists and is feasible based on the resources available
• [ ] An explicit owner(s) exists for the maturity model

• [ ] A strategy to publish and share to teams

  How to configure this issue

• [ ] Attached to a Milestone (when will this be completed?)
• [ ] Attached to an Epic (what body of work is this a part of?)
• [ ] Labeled with Team (product support, analytics-insights, operations, service-design, Console-Services, tools-fe)
• [x] Labeled with Practice Area (backend, frontend, devops, design, research, product, ia, qa, analytics, contact center, research, accessibility, content)
• [ ] Labeled with Type (bug, request, discovery, documentation, etc.)

[sara-amanda]

@coforma-terry @eli-oat moving ticket to match pipeline in ZenHub and Projects.

[eli-oat]

@joshkimux and @sara-amanda is okay if I start to tackle this one? If ya'll are cozy with it I'm happy to own this.

[joshkimux]

@eli-oat WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU

Yes. Please. And let's chat to get you caught up on the work done so far.

[eli-oat]

@artsymartha68 I'm looking to validate a few assumptions, given this:

• which teams are more or less in need of accessibility support
• what kind of support teams may need
• who is currently supporting teams (e.g. specialists/champions)
• what pain points and strengths emerge as patterns for us to take strategic action on
• who to celebrate for their a11y success

is it safe to say that this work aims to produce a tool that helps to...

• prioritize what teams need support at what point in the design and development lifecycle (this could be within, or external from the Collab cycle)
  • as an added benefit, provide teams with a roadmap on how to "level up" their internal accessibility practice

That 2nd point isn't clearly supported by the previous goals, but I know we've talked about it in the past. I think it can be an outgrowth of meeting the first goal.

[artsymartha68]

@eli-oat this looks great. I think that this tool also aims to show where we may need to request additional team members or contracts. Or, dare I say, even help us forecast where we are going to need more! I know we don't always get a heads-up for new projects spinning up, and even if we do, those teams don't always bring a11y specialists with them. Does this make sense?

[eli-oat]

Notes for this work are recorded on GitHub.

[sara-amanda]

Next Steps

• @artsymartha68 how would you like to proceed with your ticket, based on the work that Eli has completed?
• Note: We have it documented as an Eli follow-up item in ticket #83204, and it is currently open.
• Moving to Blocked for now. Perhaps we can discuss in our next meeting with @NaomiPMC and team?

[artsymartha68]

This certainly feels Icebox-y.

[sara-amanda]

Ticket Status

🧊 Putting on ice for now, per a11y/OCTO call with @artsymartha68 and comment above.

This certainly feels Icebox-y.

cc: @NaomiPMC