Accessibility Incident Response

This page details the Digital Accessibility and Content (DAC) team’s response to any reported accessibility issues regarding our supported systems. This applies both to issues we are able to remediate in house and issues that must be deferred to the vendor for triage and remediation.

Replicate and Document the Issue

We should attempt to replicate the reported issue before moving forward. Follow this process for each reported or newly discovered barrier:

1. Document error reproduction pathway.

2. Take screenshots and/or screen captures where needed.

   1. Include alternative text.

3. Insert template here; fields:

   1. Reported issue

   2. Can replicate/no

   3. Replication pathway

   4. Comments

   5. Screenshot

   6. WCAG violation

   7. Responsible party (in-house/vendor/vendor with in-house workaround)

4. Generate detailed notes and record them in an internal comment in the original ticket.

5. Determine if the issue is solvable by the system administrator or if it must be referred to the vendor.

In-House Remediation

The in-house system admin(s) should attempt to remediate using accessibility best practices.

1. Try to resolve any reported issues on your own, if you can.

2. Note what you did to fix it, if it was your configuration that caused the issue, or if it was a bug that you worked around that should be reported to the vendor.

3. If you can’t fix it, move to the next step.

In-House Remediation and Vendor Report

Vendor Report

Issues that cannot be solved by us must be escalated to the vendor for resolution. It’s important to be thorough in documenting everything from previous steps so the vendor knows exactly what must be done to remediate. Even if you are able to work around a bug that was causing the original issue, it is important to inform the vendor as it may affect others.

1. Prepare a brief report for the vendor. This should include:

   1. The reported accessibility issue or issues.

   2. The steps taken to replicate, with supporting material such as screenshots or video where appropriate.

   3. Applicable WCAG success criteria or other guidelines.

   4. References to applicable sections of the vendor’s VPAT.

   5. If applicable,

2. Send this report to the vendor contact. Be sure to request that they provide a timeline for remediation as soon as they are able.

3. Prepare an Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan to address barriers until the vendor has fixes in place.

4. Regularly follow up with the vendor until reported issues are remediated.

Follow Up with Customer

Tell the customer that we fixed it or what our follow up is.

1. I fixed it

2. We reported it to the vendor and they fixed it

3. Here’s our EEAAP