The Buy Accessible Wizard

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The Buy Accessible Wizard

• A Brief Training Presentation

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What Is The Buy Accessible Wizard?

• The Buy Accessible Wizard is a web-based
  application that
• Guides users through a process of gathering data
  and providing information about electronic and
  information technology (EIT) and Section 508
  compliance
• Compiles a running summary documenting the
  process and its results
• The Buy Accessible Wizard makes compliance with
  the requirements of Section 508 as easy and
  thorough as possible

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Why Do We Need a WizardTo Help With Section 508?

• There are Federal regulations for accessible EIT
  that
• specify technical and functional requirements
• are often complex for the non-technical
  lay-person
• ... affect the EIT acquisition process
• (36 CFR Part 1194 Access Board EIT
  accessibility standards)
• Specific responsibilities for compliance are
  stated in the Federal Acquisition Regulations
  (FAR)

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Responsibilities Under the Final FAR Rule for
Implementing Section 508
The requiring official must identify which
standards apply to the procurement, using the
Access Boards EIT Accessibility Standards at 36
CFR part 1194.
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Then the requiring official must perform market
research to determine the availability of
compliant products and services vendor websites
and the Section 508 website would be helpful
here.
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Question

• How can people with requiring responsibility
• Identify which specific standards apply
• Perform market research to determine availability
  of compliant products and services
• Demonstrate due diligence (document an audit
  trail for Section 508 compliance)
• and do so effectively, efficiently, and
  consistently?

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Available Tools

• Quick Reference Guide
• Intent present systematic explanation of the
  standard
• Result of technical activitiesof the
  Accessibility Forum
• Summarizes 1000s of pages of research by leaders
  from government, industry, research, user
  community
• Available at www.buyaccessible.gov

Quick Reference Guide is full of useful
information But it is STILL a very difficult
document to use
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How The Quick Reference Guide Can Be Made More
Usable

• Provide context with a General Acquisition
  Process model
• Develop a more usable structure
• While The Quick Reference Guide is very
  structured, requiring officials and procurement
  officers need the right information at the right
  time in the right form
• Increase automation
• Navigator, Browser, Reporter, and Glossary
  capabilities that make providing the right
  information at the right time possible

These are all provided in The Buy Accessible
Wizard
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General Acquisition Process
program and project planning
acquisition planning
acquisition process
acquisition maintenance
System Development Life Cycle
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The Buy Accessible Wizard
www.buyaccessible.gov
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What to Notice

• On line User Manual
• Describes how to use The Buy Accessible Wizard
• Standard look and feel for each screen
• Described in the User Manual under General Layout
• On line Glossary
• The key for users to become familiar with any
  terminology for making appropriate responses
• Extensive set of links to complementary resources
  and other sources of information

More
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What More to Notice

• Streamlined design Only 7 steps (screens) from
  login to results
• Results reported in multiple ways
• The Wizard currently supports three report
  templates
• There is a full description of each The User
  Manual
• Registered and non-registered users can save
  output reports using browser SAVE AS feature

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Getting Started

• Users from .gov, .mil, or .org domains can
  register using the self-registration feature
• Benefits
• Assign your own user ID and Password
• Save your session before completing all Wizard
  steps and resume later
• Share data with other users as appropriate
• Save results for re-use

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Open the User Manualfor a complete description
for using The Buy Accessible Wizard
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Benefits from UsingThe Buy Accessible Wizard

• An efficient process
• Less time for federal EIT acquisitions
• Section 508 implementation assurance
• That is effective and correct
• Consistent interpretation of compliance
• Vetted with stakeholder communities
• That is consistent and complete
• Standard communication with contracting
• Comprehensive compliance documentation
• That allows users to reuse and share information
• Basis for Section 508 compliance reporting
• Data maintained for use in other acquisitions

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Status and Plans forThe Buy Accessible Wizard

• Buy Accessible Wizard initial release
• Supports Section 508 relevance and applicability
  analysis
• Is available to all US federal agencies as of Oct
  1, 2004
• Next Steps full support for Needs Assessment
• New functionality to support Market Research
• Special focus to support Micropurchasers

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Thank You!

• Need more information?
• Try the Questions or Comments linkon each page
  of The Buy Accessible Wizard
• Or
• The User Feedback Buttonon the Data Summary Page